Setting up Airbnb self check-in

Self check-in is how a guest gets in when you are not at the door. On Airbnb, save the method that matches that door: smart lock, keypad, lockbox, building staff, in-person greeting, or other. Guests see the method when you save it. They see the detailed instructions 48 hours before check-in. A code you program yourself should change between stays. A smart lock you connect to Airbnb issues its own code for each guest. Write a second way in before a dead battery, a stuck box, or a missed meeting leaves the guest outside.

How to write Airbnb check-in and checkout instructions is the full arrival and checkout page, including the times, the checkout tasks, and the same help-center lines. This page stays on the method, the code, and the backup. The pages below were checked on 28 October 2026. This guide is not legal advice. It does not name a lock to buy.

The method on the listing

Add check-in instructions says guests will see the check-in method, such as smart lock, keypad, or lockbox, and they will not see the detailed instructions until 48 hours before check-in. Self check-in may not be available in all countries.

The methods on that page are:

• Smart lock: a code or app opens a Wi-Fi-connected lock.
• Keypad: tap in a code to open an electronic lock.
• Lockbox: a code opens a small safe with the key inside.
• Building staff: someone is available 24 hours a day to let guests in.
• In-person greeting: guests meet you or a co-host to pick up keys.
• Other: a method specific to your place.

On desktop, the page says to click Listings, select the listing, and under Listing editor click Arrival guide. Then click Check-in method, make the selection, add the check-in instructions, and click Save.

The guest page describes the same doors from the guest’s side. An in-person meeting means the host, a co-host, a concierge, or a neighbor meets them with keys or a code. A lockbox is a metal box with a key inside, opened with a combination. A keypad or smart lock means the code is entered on the door. If you meet in person, that page tells guests to allow time for delays and to tell the host if they are running late. The instructions should name the meeting place in the words you will use when you are standing there.

Building staff and an in-person greeting are check-in methods on the same list. They are a person at the door, which is a different plan from a code. Getting started says to consider self check-in if you will not be there. If you will be there, the in-person method is the one that matches.

A keypad you program yourself is not the connected-lock feature below. The 48-hour instructions are the schedule for the code you type. The connected lock has its own schedule.

A code you set yourself

Safety expectations say keys or access codes should be provided for the main entrance, that lockboxes and entry codes must remain secure, and that hosts should change codes between reservations. A code that stays the same for every guest does not meet that line. Change it, and put the new code in the check-in instructions for the next stay.

The guest page says that if there is self check-in, the door or lockbox code is emailed and sent as a message 48 hours before arrival. The detailed instructions, including entry codes, are under the reservation on Trips. The host provides those detailed instructions 48 hours, local time, before the reservation starts. The page says they typically include the exact address and directions, how to get in, parking, the Wi-Fi password, house rules and requests, and the host’s contact information.

That 48-hour message is for this stay. A saved reply that still contains the last guest’s code will send the wrong one. Airbnb guest message templates for before arrival, check-in, the stay, and checkout is the thread around the instructions. The code stays out of a reply you reuse for every guest.

If you offer Wi-Fi, the password in the instructions and the password on the card have to be the same network. The Wi-Fi card generator prints that card in the browser. What to put on your Airbnb Wi-Fi sign and guest welcome info is the checklist for the card. Check-in steps do not fit on it.

On Airbnb’s page for hosts in France, key boxes may not be installed on street furniture such as pavement barriers, bicycle stands, or lighting columns. The page says a key box may be possible at the home, on the door, or on a wall, with the agreement of neighbors and co-owners, and it recommends changing the code between stays (https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1383). That page is about hosting in France. It is not a lockbox rule for every country. The code-change line that applies generally is the one on the safety expectations page. If you host in France, read the France page before you mount a box. If you host somewhere else, check the rule for that place. This guide does not state it.

A smart lock connected to Airbnb

This section applies when you connect a smart lock to Airbnb. A keypad you program yourself still follows the 48-hour instructions above.

How smart lock codes are shared says every new guest receives a unique, automatically generated 4-digit code, sent as soon as the booking is confirmed. Guests who booked before you connected the lock receive a code, and a message about the updated method, when you add the lock. Codes are shared before arrival, become active at check-in, and expire after checkout. A backup code is shared if the lock is offline. Guests also get the code in the confirmation email, in reminder emails 8 days and 2 days before check-in, and in an SMS or app notification on the day of check-in if they have those notifications on. The code stays visible in Trips, with the address and the check-in and checkout times. The trip guide includes a visual of the keypad. Other travelers the guest adds to the reservation receive the same code. If a traveler is removed, the remaining travelers may receive a new code.

The same page says you can share a code in the message thread, and that scheduled messages or quick replies can use the “entry code” detail so the message fills in that guest’s code. Use that detail if you send a message. Do not paste one code into a reply you then reuse.

Managing a connected smart lock says guest codes are active during the stay. If a guest needs an early check-in or a late checkout, the page says you can adjust the reservation and the code updates to the new times. By default, codes expire 30 minutes after checkout. You can set that window from 15 minutes to 2 hours after checkout. The page says the extra time is not shown to guests.

The same page still says guests receive the written check-in instructions 48 hours before check-in. If you already used a smart lock, it tells you to remove old codes from the lock’s app and to update your checkout instructions so they match the new way codes are generated and shared. Direct connection, for a host who is not using a property management system, is described as available for listings in the US and Canada. A property management system that supports lock codes is the other path, and that system keeps code generation. The page says Airbnb does not see the lock’s battery or connection status on the property-management path. Read the page for the path you use. This guide does not list lock brands and does not say a particular lock will connect.

The code for a connected lock is in the guest’s email at confirmation. That is earlier than the 48-hour instructions. It is still a per-guest code.

Backup access

Two different backups show up once a lock is connected. They fail in different ways.

Backup codes are codes added to the lock at setup. A guest is shown one only when the lock is offline and Airbnb cannot sync a code. The page’s cases are a last-minute booking where a new code cannot be generated before check-in, a trip change such as an extra night where the existing code will not cover the stay, and an early check-in or late checkout whose code cannot be updated. The code is shared in email, messages, and the trip guide. The guest is not told that it is a backup code. The code has no expiration on the lock. Airbnb removes it after checkout if the lock is online then, or as soon as it is online again. If you cannot get the lock online, you remove the code yourself after checkout. After a backup code is shared, the page says a new one is added to the lock. A property management system may handle this differently. The page says to check with that system.

A lock that was online when the booking was confirmed can be offline at check-in and the original code can still work. The page says the code and its start and end are stored on the lock. A backup code is for when a code could not be synced.

Backup entry is the other path. It is an instruction for a way in when the lock itself cannot be used, and the page’s examples of that failure are dead batteries and a broken keypad. You add it when you set up the connected lock, and you can change it. On desktop, the page says to click Listings, select the listing, and under Listing editor click Arrival guide. Then click Check-in method, Backup entry method, edit the instructions, and Save. The instruction is shared only with a confirmed guest who has told Airbnb, during the stay, that they cannot get in with the connected lock. It is shared at or after check-in time, in the app or on the site, or by phone with Community Support, depending on how the guest reported it. You are notified when it is shared. The page’s example sentence is a lockbox on the back door with a key inside. The sample code in that sentence is an illustration on Airbnb’s page. Do not copy it onto your listing. A backup code still needs a lock that powers on. A backup entry method is what you need when the lock does not.

For a keypad or a lockbox you manage yourself, Airbnb’s backup-code pages are not the feature you connected. The second way in is one you control: a person who can open the door, or a second lock with its own code. Safety expectations say lockboxes and entry codes must remain secure. A backup that uses the same code as the front door is the same secret. Change both when you change codes between stays. The number in the instructions is the number you will answer. The guest page says that if the guest cannot get in, they call or message the host, and they contact Airbnb when the check-in time has passed, they cannot access the listing, and the host has not responded within a reasonable time.

What the check-in instructions say

Write the instructions so this guest can get in without guessing. The guest page says the detailed instructions typically include:

• Exact address and directions
• How to access the property, meaning codes, keys, or meeting details
• Parking information
• The Wi-Fi password
• House rules, requests, and important details
• The host’s contact information

Getting started says to write check-in instructions and include contact information, Wi-Fi passwords, your neighborhood guide, the house rules and requests that are on the listing, and any other information guests need to get situated. The address and the directions have to describe the place on the listing. How to write Airbnb check-in and checkout instructions is where the 48-hour schedule, the check-in window, and the checkout tasks are written out, including what a checkout list can ask a guest to do.

The method line and the instruction text have to describe the same door. A listing saved as a lockbox, with instructions that tell the guest to meet you in the lobby, is two plans. Pick the method that matches the words.

A neighborhood note can be short. Add a guidebook is a different page, and Airbnb says host guidebooks are public. Do not put the code, the password, the address, or your phone number in a guidebook.

The printed book and the emergency card

The welcome book generator prints a book in the browser from sections you type. Arrival can include the address, the check-in time, the check-out time, and up to 8 check-in steps, each at most 120 characters. The times hold at most 40 characters each. The property name is the only required line, at most 64 characters. A section you turn off, or leave blank, is left out. The page does not update the arrival guide, and it does not store what you type.

A code you change between stays does not belong in that book. The book stays in the house after checkout. What to put in an Airbnb welcome book separates the house manual, the public guidebook, and this printed copy. The connected-lock code is in the guest’s email. It does not belong in the book either.

The emergency card generator prints the address and the local emergency number you type, plus the host contact and the locations you fill in. The number field starts empty. The page does not look up a number. The door code does not belong on the card. Put the same phone number on the card and in the check-in instructions. What emergency information to give Airbnb guests is that card. The New Airbnb host checklist is the wider safety list, including alarms.

If the guest cannot get in, the contact in the instructions is the number you will actually answer. The emergency card is for the local emergency number and the address. A lock problem is a call to you. An injury is the local emergency number on the card.

Help center pages checked on 28 October 2026

• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1926 for the check-in methods, the desktop steps, the 48-hour instructions, and self check-in availability by country.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/41 for what a self check-in code and the detailed instructions look like to a guest, and for the 48-hour send.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1189 for considering self check-in, and for what the check-in instructions include.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2904 for a secure lockbox and code, and for changing codes between reservations.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/3483 for a connected lock’s 4-digit code, when it is sent, and the entry-code detail in messages.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/3481 for code expiry, the US and Canada direct connection, and the property-management path.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/3486 for backup codes when a connected lock is offline and still usable.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/3525 for backup entry instructions when a connected lock cannot be used.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1383 for the France note on key boxes and street furniture.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/249 for a public guidebook, which is not the check-in instructions.