Villa Welcome Guide: What to Include and How to Write It
A villa welcome guide answers the questions guests would otherwise message you, in the order they matter: arrive and access, wifi and entry codes, how the property works, a curated local shortlist, the house rules and the checkout steps — plus who to call in an emergency. Written in a human voice, delivered before arrival and printed at the villa, it removes most of the friction that produces messages and mediocre reviews.
The welcome guide is the quiet engine of the guest experience: it prevents problems rather than fixing them, it carries the personality of the villa, and it teaches guests the practical reality “what’s included” in a stay at the precise moment they need it. Yet most are either a 23-page legal-tone tome guests use as a doorstop, or a route map to support messages that arrive at midnight. This guide is the practical method: what to include, in what order, in what format, and how to keep it current without hating it.
Key takeaways
- Order the guide by how guests actually use it: essentials, arrival, house, rules, recommendations, leaving — not by how tidy it is to write.
- Three sections dominate use: access instructions, wifi/entry details and the local shortlist; perfect those first.
- Write like a person, not a contract — a rule delivered warmly is followed; a rule shouted in caps is skipped.
- Run digital plus a slim printed card: digital for pre-arrival and update-ease, print for the moment the phone is out of battery.
- Never print the door code; per-stay codes revealed at arrival and expired at checkout close the door literally.
- Review the guide seasonally and after every change — a guide that lies about the villa is worse than no guide.
Order it like the guest uses it
A welcome guide is professional hospitality, not a form. Structure by the guest’s sequence: what they need standing outside the door first, then what they reference all week, then the goodbye. The framework below matches how guests actually consult a guide:
| Order | Section | What it answers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Welcome | Who you are, one warm line, what to enjoy most |
| 2 | Arrival & access | Address, parking, entry — plus “if the code fails” |
| 3 | Essentials | Wifi name/password, door code, check-in/out times, who to call |
| 4 | The property | Appliances, climate control, wifi/tv quirks, where supplies live |
| 5 | House rules | Quiet hours, guests, smoking/pets, pool rules — warmly |
| 6 | Local shortlist | Curation of places you would send a friend |
| 7 | If something goes wrong | Emergency numbers, fuse box, stopcock, 24h pharmacy |
| 8 | Leaving | Checkout steps as a short visible checklist |
The first two sections are read while still outside the villa and are the ones guests punish you for getting wrong; the property and local sections are read all week; the checkout section is read at the very end, when the phone is in the hand and the bags are out.
The essentials first: the four questions that dominate
Four details settle the vast majority of messages, in order: the wifi, the entry code, the check-in and check-out times, and who to call. Put them at the front, large and copyable. The wifi network name and password belong in a copyable block near the top — a guest who photographs a tiny router sticker behind the TV is a guest building resentment. The door code belongs there too, but with the safety rule noted below.
The property section: appliances, climate, and the quirks
Guests reference this all week, so make it specific and photographic:
- Climate control. Which thermostat, where, and how to stop it fighting the weather. In hot climates, the dehumidify pattern that matters is exactly the button that needs pointing at with a photo.
- Appliances. Anything mechanical deserves a photo and a two-sentence path — the coffee machine that baffles, the induction hob, the remote that does what. “Describe anything you have explained twice by message or photo” is the honest rule.
- What does not work like everywhere else. The window that sticks, the tap that needs a full turn, the fuse box behind the door. Writing these down once means never re-answering them.
- What is stocked — spices, oil, basics — and where fresh supplies and towels live. This is the practical half of the “what’s included” question, covered in our guide to what is included in a villa holiday.
House rules: warm, short, specific
Rules written as a wall of “guests are required to” get skipped; rules written as a neighbour would say them get followed. Instead of “NO PARTIES AFTER 10PM,” write the real reason: “our neighbours love their sleep as much as you’ll enjoy the villa — quiet on the terrace after 10pm.” Keep the rule list short, keep the tone human, and keep the genuinely important lines (no smoking inside, pool safety, occupancy) still clearly stated. The rule’s job is to be followed, not to be weaponised.
Local recommendations: curation is the value
This is the section guests quote in reviews. Three to five tightly chosen places, each with one line on why you would send a friend — not a list of twenty restaurants that is a search result rather than a recommendation. Structure by the realistic moments: the best breakfast, the evening-walk restaurant that books out, the hidden beach, the market day, and one gem guests would never find from a guide site. Add a seasonal line (“the taverna closes late October; the market is Friday”) because recommendations that ignore the season are half useful. James pairs the villa welcome guide with the wider logistics of the stay in the guest experience guide, which covers the rest of the journey around it.
If something goes wrong: the section that earns trust
Emergency details are insurance — nobody is glad to need them, everyone is grateful they are there: your number and hours, the local emergency number, the nearest hospital or urgent care, the 24-hour pharmacy, and the villa’s own basics (where the fuse box is, which switch, where the stopcock is and how to shut it off). The villa address itself belongs here too — guests need it for deliveries and taxis, and it is remarkable how often it is missing.
Digital, print, or both
Both, in the right roles:
- Digital first. A PDF or a simple guidebook link sent 48–72 hours before arrival heads off the night-before questions, is easy to update (one master, one edit), and can carry photos and videos that print tolerates badly. Sending it with the access instructions makes it feel like service, not homework.
- A slim printed card at the villa. Wifi, entry, your number, and the checkout essentials — the one-page “greatest hits” that works when the phone is flat, the signal is weak, or the guidebook needs connection to load. Keep the printed copy to the essentials; the binder with everything is the layer most guests never open.
- A laminated wifi-and-arrival card by the kitchen counter is the strongest single print asset; guests reach for it before they reach for the router.
The right split is the two things each format is best at: digital for “read it on the way”, print for “standing in the kitchen”.
Safety and privacy: the door code rule
A document cannot be taken back. Print the welcome guide with the door code in it, and the guest who leaves keeps the photo — and the code — forever. The discipline that works: per-stay codes (or clearly scoped temporary codes) revealed at the right moment in the arrival instructions, expired or rotated at checkout, and never included in the printed or PDF welcome book that outlives the guest. The same rule protects wifi passwords if your network matters, and any personal or external data the guide might otherwise carry.
Keep it current: the guide is a living document
A guide that tells guests the espresso machine is “on the right” when the kitchen was rebuilt is worse than no guide. Keep it truthful with a small maintenance rhythm:
- After every stay — note the questions guests still asked (each one is a missing line).
- Seasonally — local hours, the market, the weather-typical advice, the open/closed calendar.
- After any change — redecorating, furnishing, upgrades, a new gate code, a changed checkout time.
- Annually — a full proofread and a layout refresh, because a dated guide reads as a dated villa.
One master doc, edited once, serving both the digital and print versions, is the only setup that survives contact with a busy season.
Common mistakes in villa welcome guides
- Essentials buried. Wifi, code and call-me on page 9 of a 23-page book is how the midnight messages start.
- The legal-tone wall of rules. Guests fear the owner instead of following the rule; warm and specific wins.
- Twenty recommendations. A list that is a search result; curation is the entire value.
- Printed door codes. The document outlives the guest; per-stay codes close the door.
- Mobile-only. The guide that needs signal to load fails the standing-in-the-kitchen moment; keep the essentials printable.
- Set and forgotten. A stale guide costs more in messages and reviews than the half-hour seasonal refresh.
FAQ
How long should a villa welcome guide be?
Long enough to answer the real questions, short enough that a tired guest reads the recommendations pages. Six to eight sections, two to four paragraphs each, plus lists — if it runs far beyond that, you are writing for yourself rather than the guest. The essentials, arrival and checkout sections carry the weight; the rest earns its place or is cut.
Should I send the guide before arrival?
Yes — 48–72 hours before check-in, alongside the access instructions. Pre-arrival reading eliminates most of the night-before questions and sets a warm opening. Always send the essentials and the arrival section even when the full guide only lives at the villa.
Should the welcome guide be translated?
If you host guests from abroad, at least the essentials and arrival sections should appear in the languages your guests actually speak — a misread code or checkout time costs the most. Build a shared master with translated key sections rather than running two manuscripts.
Can the welcome guide help with direct bookings?
Quietly, yes. A neutral line in the digital guide — “booked another visit? our website has the villa’s calendar” — plus a welcome card by the kitchen counter are the standard, compliant ways to invite the return (see the direct bookings guide for the full channel). The guide as a trust document also does the job for the whole stay: remove the problems, and the review writes itself.
Write the guide guests thank you for
The villa welcome guide is the cheapest improvement in the guest experience you will make: correct order, essentials first, a human voice, curation over lists, digital-plus-print delivery, and the door-code discipline that keeps everyone safe. It prevents the messages, protects the review, carries the personality of the villa, and — done right — quietly invites the guest back. Pair it with the guest experience journey and you have removed most of the friction between the booking and the five-star review.