A good welcome book answers the questions guests always ask: how to get there and get in, the Wi-Fi network, how the heating and appliances work, the house rules, what to do in an emergency, how check-out works and your tips about the area. Write it in short sections, in your guests’ languages, and update it whenever something changes.
Before arrival: getting there and getting in.
- The exact address, with street number, flat number and doorbell name.
- How to get there from the station, the airport or the motorway, and where to park.
- Check-in times and what to do if arriving late.
- How to get in: who hands over the keys, where the key box is or how the lock works.
In the house: Wi-Fi, appliances and rules.
- Wi-Fi: network name and password.
- Heating and air conditioning: where the controls are and how to use them.
- Kitchen and appliances: hob, oven, washing machine, dishwasher, coffee machine.
- Hot water, and what to do if the power trips: where the fuse box is.
- Recycling: your town’s rules, where the bins are and on which days.
- House rules: quiet hours, smoking, pets, extra guests.
- Linen and towels: what’s provided and how often it’s changed.
Safety and emergencies.
- 112: the European emergency number, free of charge in every EU country. In Liguria and Umbria the 112 single emergency number service is active.
- Where the fire extinguisher and the detectors for gas and carbon monoxide are. In Italy they are required by law in homes let for tourist purposes, and the extinguisher must be kept somewhere visible and easy to reach, near the entrances and the areas of greatest risk.
- Your phone number and the hours you answer.
- The nearest pharmacy and emergency department.
- What to do if guests get locked out or lose the keys.
Check-out, with no surprises.
- The time, and whether luggage can be left afterwards.
- Where to leave the keys.
- What to do before leaving: rubbish, dishes, windows, lights and heating.
The area: your tips.
This is the part that makes the welcome book truly yours: the restaurants and bars you’d recommend to a friend, how to get around by public transport, walks, nearby beaches or museums, shops open on Sundays.
If your town charges a tourist tax, explain how much it is and how to pay it: it avoids questions and misunderstandings at departure. In Genoa, for example, the city applies it to furnished holiday apartments too.
How to write it so guests read it.
- Short sections with clear headings: someone looking for the Wi-Fi password doesn’t want to read a whole page.
- Your guests’ languages, at least English, choosing others based on who you welcome most often.
- A photo where it helps: the fuse box, the key box, the right bin.
- Always up to date: if the password or the collection day changes, update it straight away.
- Never codes or passwords on pages anyone can open: they belong only where guests with a booking can see them.
If you use Airbnb.
Airbnb has two different spaces. The house manual, for everyday instructions such as how to turn on the water heater, can only be seen by guests with a confirmed booking. Guidebooks, with tips on places and neighbourhoods, are public: anyone can read them, so never put codes or passwords there. A digital welcome book with a QR code in the room brings everything together in one place, including for guests who book through other platforms or directly with you.
With Aleryc.
Aleryc’s digital welcome book is a page in your property’s style that guests open by scanning a QR code, with no app to download. You give us the information, since you know your property; we organise it, lay it out and keep it up to date, in the languages we choose together. For hospitality businesses there is also our page on websites for B&Bs and hotels, and for languages our guide to a multilingual website for tourists.
Sources.
- European Commission: 112, the European emergency number
- Prefecture of Brescia, Italian Ministry of the Interior: the 112 single emergency number centres in Italy (10 February 2026, in Italian)
- Normattiva: Decree-Law no. 145 of 18 October 2023, Article 13-ter (in Italian)
- Airbnb: add a house manual and add a guidebook
- City of Genoa: tourist tax (in Italian)
Sources checked on 27 October 2026. Rules for tourist rentals change between regions and over time: always check the ones that apply to your property.