Message templates for your guests: from booking to review

One purpose, a few lines and the right moment. A message that contains everything, from the door code to tonight's restaurant, sent three weeks ahead, won't be reread by anyone on the day.

• Short: three to six lines. Anything longer goes in a link.
• Well timed: information arrives when the guest needs it, not before.
• Personal: their first name, and a detail about their stay when you have one.
• In their language: at least for the access instructions.

The templates below are starting points. Replace the parts in square brackets, and keep your own tone: guests quickly spot a copy-and-paste message.

Thank you, and one useful question: the expected arrival time. There's no need to send codes or a list of restaurants yet.

The information to plan the trip: how to get there, where to park, and the link to your local spots. It's when guests plan their stay, and when a guest card with free transport changes their plans.

To find out whether your region offers free transport, see our guide to guest cards in Switzerland.

The access instructions, and nothing else: the exact address, how to find the entrance, the code or key box, and how to reach you. A photo of the door beats a long paragraph.

Everything about an arrival with nobody on site, including for guests who don't speak your language, is in our guide to self check-in.

Once, the day after arrival, to ask if everything is fine. It's the message that prevents bad surprises at the end of a stay: a problem reported early gets fixed, a problem discovered in a review can't be undone.

If rain is forecast, a second short message with two indoor ideas can save a day: our article on what to recommend when it rains gives examples.

The check-out instructions, in a few points, the evening before: the time, the keys, and what you really expect. No list of chores: guests aren't there to clean.

Once, on the day of departure or the day after, with a detail about their stay. Never offer anything in return: Airbnb and Booking both forbid it.

To go further, our guide to five-star reviews explains what really makes a good rating and how to respond to criticism.

• Saying everything in the first message: guests won't find the door code buried among the restaurants.
• Writing the rules in capitals: an important rule is best said calmly, with its reason.
• Chasing too often: an unanswered message doesn't call for three reminders, except for the arrival time.
• Changing information without warning: if the code changes, send it again, even if you'd already given it.
• Asking for five stars: talk about the review, never the rating.
• Forgetting to test links: open your guide link on your phone before sending it.

Reread each template as if you were the guest, on a phone, stepping off the train: whatever isn't clear at that moment isn't clear at all.

Yes for the timing, no for frozen content. Airbnb lets you schedule messages, and most property management software offers templates: it's handy so nothing gets forgotten.

• Keep the first name and at least one personalised detail.
• Reread scheduled messages before each season: a code or a time changes fast.
• Put the link to your guide in the message, rather than the list of places: the link stays current, the text doesn't.

If you rent on several platforms, one guide link works for every guest: that's the idea behind our holiday rental welcome book.