PDF, Google Maps, WhatsApp or QR code: how to share your local recommendations with guests

There are five, and most hosts already use one or two without really choosing: the paper sheet left in the room, the PDF sent by email, the message on WhatsApp or in the booking platform's inbox, the list saved in Google Maps, and the web guide opened by a link or a QR code.

None of them is bad in itself. They answer different needs: a few one-off tips, or a real selection you want to keep current for years. This article compares them on the same criteria, without assuming one wins everywhere. For choosing the places themselves, start with our guide to the best local spots to recommend.

The traditional option: a laminated sheet or a folder in the property. It needs neither a phone nor a network, and some guests like leafing through it when they arrive.

• What it does well: nothing to install, readable by everyone, always on site.
• What it does badly: it stays in the room when the guest goes out, and every correction means reprinting. A closed restaurant can linger on it for months.

A laid-out document sent by email or through the booking inbox. You can make it with any word processor, and it prints too.

• What it does well: a tidy layout, readable offline once downloaded, one file for paper and screen.
• What it does badly: on a phone you have to zoom and scroll sideways. And every guest keeps the version they received: when you make a correction, the old copies keep circulating.

The most natural reflex: writing your tips straight to the guest, on WhatsApp, by text or in the Airbnb or Booking.com inbox. It's personal, immediate and needs no tool at all.

• What it does well: a direct tone, an answer tailored to the question asked, perfect for two or three tips.
• What it does badly: the message ends up buried in the conversation. Three days later, out in the street, the guest has to scroll all the way back to find a name. And you rewrite, or paste, the same list for every stay.

Google Maps lets you save places to a list and share that list with a link. Guests see your places on the map, with the photos, opening hours and directions that Google provides.

• What it does well: free, quick to put together, very practical on the ground, and the opening hours come from Google.
• What it does badly: your opinion takes a back seat to the Google listing, the list is flat (no real categories, unless you create several lists and therefore several links), and it carries neither your name nor your look.

A page designed for phones, which guests open through a link sent before arrival or a QR code in the property. That's what digital welcome book tools do, each with its own scope: some cover the whole stay, others, like HerePicks, only local recommendations.

• What it does well: a link that never changes, corrections that everyone sees at once, categories, a map, and your advice front and centre.
• What it does badly: it's one more tool, it takes a little time to set up, and it needs an internet connection to open. Depending on the tool, it may also cost money.

In HerePicks, each place shows your personal line prominently, with the travel time from your property and one-tap directions. Your text is translated automatically into English, French, German and Italian. The page on local recommendations shows what a place card contains, and our guide to the guest welcome QR code explains where to put it.

The table below sums up the differences. It describes how each option is typically used: a specific tool may do better or worse on a given point.

Start from the need, not the tool. Three questions are enough: how many places do you want to share, how often do they change, and are your guests on site without you?

• Two or three tips, a one-off stay: a message is enough, no need for a tool.
• Guests who prefer paper, or a weak network: keep a sheet for the essentials, and add a QR code to it for the rest.
• A list for yourself or for friends: a Google Maps list does the job very well, for free.
• A personal selection you want to keep accurate for years, for guests from everywhere: a web guide opened by link and QR code is the sturdiest option.

That last case is where HerePicks makes sense: when the main need is to maintain a personal selection of local recommendations that stays accessible and easy to edit. If you also want to handle check-in, wifi or house rules, a full welcome book will suit you better; our guide to creating a digital welcome book explains what goes in one.

To prepare your list before choosing a tool, start from our free local recommendations template. And if you let a property on several platforms, the page on the holiday rental welcome book shows how one link covers them all.

Yes, and it's often the most effective approach, as long as a single source is the reference. The trap is having the same list in three places and only correcting one of them.

• The welcome message contains the guide's link, not the full list.
• The paper sheet keeps the essentials and points to the guide with a QR code.
• The online guide is the only version you correct.

With HerePicks, the Discovery plan is free for one property and up to 10 recommendations: enough to try this setup before deciding. The other plans are on the pricing page, and you can create your guide for free.