Guest Communication Templates for Short-Term Rentals

A short-term rental stay needs six planned messages: an inquiry reply, a booking confirmation, check-in instructions 2 days before arrival, a check-in on the first evening, a checkout reminder the night before departure, and a review request on checkout day. Keep short replies ready for common problems, such as a door code that fails. On Airbnb, answer inquiries and accept or decline booking requests within 24 hours, keep messages and payments on the platform, and offer nothing in return for a review.

When to send each message

Airbnb's scheduled quick replies are saved messages that send themselves before or after a new reservation, check-in, or checkout, in your listing's time zone. They fill in details such as the guest's first name, the check-in time, and the Wi-Fi password, and you can skip, edit, or send any of them early. Automating your short-term rental business covers messaging software, and starting an Airbnb business covers the rest of running a listing.

Templates before arrival

Inquiry reply. Answer the question in the first line, then give the guest what they need to book.

Hi [first name], thanks for your message. [Direct answer, for example: Yes, there is a crib and a high chair.] Your dates, [dates], are open. Check-in is after [check-in time], and the house rules are on the listing page, where you can book whenever you are ready.

Booking confirmation.

Hi [first name], your stay at [listing name] from [check-in date] to [checkout date] is confirmed. We will send check-in instructions 2 days before you arrive. Reply here if you will arrive after [time] or have a question.

Check-in instructions. Airbnb tells guests to expect check-in instructions 48 hours (local time) before the reservation starts, and for self check-in it emails and messages the door or lockbox code at that point. Send yours then too, as a list the guest can read at the door.

Hi [first name], here is what you need for [check-in date]:

• Address: [street address and unit]
• Parking: [where to park, and any permit]
• Check-in: after [check-in time]
• Entry: [lock type and code, or lockbox location]
• Wi-Fi: [network name], password [password]
• Trash and recycling: [where the bins are]

These details are also under your trip in the Airbnb app. Reply here if anything is unclear.

Leave requests for a phone number, email, or ID out of these messages; the rules section below explains Airbnb's limits.

Templates during and after the stay

First-night check-in. Send it a few hours after check-in, while a problem can still be fixed the same day.

Hi [first name], checking that you got in without trouble and that everything is working. If anything is missing or broken, tell us here and we will take care of it.

Checkout reminder. Repeat only checkout requests already in your listing. Under Airbnb's house rules policy for reservations booked on or after November 20, 2026, requests cannot take significant effort, such as stripping the bed, washing and putting away dishes, or taking trash off-site. The cleaning and turnover guide lists the light tasks you can ask for.

Hi [first name], a reminder that checkout is at [checkout time] tomorrow. Before you go, please [checkout requests from your listing]. Thanks for staying with us.

Review request. Airbnb prompts you and the guest to review each other on checkout day, and each of you has 14 days. Reviews stay hidden until both of you submit or the 14 days end. Review the guest first, then send:

Hi [first name], thank you for staying with us. We have left you a review. If you have a few minutes, an honest review of your stay helps future guests know what to expect.

Replies to common problems

The door code does not work.

Sorry about that. Please try [backup step, for example: enter the code slowly, then press the lock button]. If the door still does not open, reply here and we will [send a new code, or have someone there by a set time].

The Wi-Fi is down.

Thanks for letting us know. The router is [location]. Unplug it for 30 seconds, then plug it back in. If it does not come back, reply here and we will contact the provider.

Something is broken.

Thanks for telling us. [Repair person or company] can come [day and time window]. Does that work for you?

A neighbor reports noise.

Hi [first name], a neighbor has reported noise from the home tonight. Quiet hours under the house rules start at [time], so please keep the volume down for the rest of the night. Thank you.

The guest asks for early check-in or late checkout.

Early check-in: We can let you in at [time] if the cleaning is finished by then, and we will confirm by [time] on [day].

Late checkout: [No arrival that day] Checkout at [time] works for us. [Arrival that day] Another guest arrives that afternoon, so the latest checkout we can offer is [time].

The guest asks to pay or message outside Airbnb.

We keep messages and payments on Airbnb so your booking stays covered by Airbnb's protections. We are happy to answer anything here.

If noise continues after a reminder, a guest will not leave, or a guest asks for a refund in return for a better review, stop using templates and follow handling difficult guests.

Airbnb rules that shape your messages

These are Airbnb's rules; Vrbo and direct bookings have their own.

• Response rate. Airbnb's response rate is the share of new inquiries and reservation requests you answered within 24 hours over the past 30 days. An inquiry is answered by a reply, a pre-approval (an invitation to book), a special offer (a custom price), or a decline. A reservation request needs an accept or a decline within 24 hours; one you let expire counts as no response. Superhost status, Airbnb's badge for top-rated hosts, requires a 90% response rate, but measured over the past 12 months at each quarterly check, not 30 days.
• Contact and payments. Airbnb bars hosts from asking guests to book off the platform and blocks messages that may contain contact details. Put mandatory charges in the listing's price breakdown, and take payment for an optional add-on, such as breakfast, through the Resolution Center, Airbnb's tool for sending and requesting money. A guest who pays for the booking outside Airbnb loses AirCover, Airbnb's protection program.
• Personal details and entry. For reservations booked on or after November 20, 2026, you may not ask for a guest's phone number, email, home address, ID, or financial details unless a law or a documented community association rule (such as an HOA rule) requires it, or it is needed to sign a contract Airbnb allows, and your listing's requests section says what is needed and why. You may look at an ID in person at check-in if the listing says so, but not keep a copy. You also cannot require a third-party app or a sign-up on another website to get in, though a keyless entry app is allowed if you offer another way in on request.
• House rules. For those same reservations, every rule and request must be in the listing's House rules and requests section when the guest books, so a message can remind a guest of a listed rule but cannot add one.

What you may and may not say when asking for a review

You may ask every guest for an honest review and tell them you have already reviewed them. You may not:

• Trade anything for a review. Airbnb's reviews policy bans giving or withholding a review in exchange for something of value, such as a discount or a refund, and bans pressuring a guest to influence one.
• Send the guest to another site. Airbnb bars asking guests to review an Airbnb stay, or fill out a survey about it, on a separate website.
• Tie a reward to a positive review. The FTC's consumer review rule, in effect since October 21, 2024, bars any business from conditioning an incentive on a positive review, openly or by implication, and courts can impose civil penalties for knowing violations. It matters most for direct-booking guests, since Airbnb allows no incentives at all.

Send the same request to every guest: the FTC says asking only satisfied customers is not specifically banned by its rule but could violate the FTC Act. Getting five-star reviews covers how to answer a bad review and when Airbnb will remove one.