How to write Airbnb check-in and checkout instructions

Write the check-in instructions so a guest can get in without guessing: the door, how to open it, where to park, the Wi-Fi password when you offer Wi-Fi, a way to reach you, and the house rules already on the listing. Set the checkout time in the arrival guide. Put a lock-up rule or a checkout task in house rules or a before-checkout request before the guest books, and do not assign the work a cleaner would do.

Guests see the check-in method when you save it. They see the detailed check-in instructions 48 hours before check-in. The address, your contact number, the checkout instructions, and the house manual are a separate set of arrival details that a confirmed guest can open sooner. The pages below were checked on 27 October 2026. This guide is not legal advice. What to put in an Airbnb welcome book is the house manual and the printed book. This page stays on arrival and departure.

What the guest needs

Prepare to host your home 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 same page says to consider self check-in if you will not be there.

Where guests find check-in instructions says the host provides detailed check-in instructions 48 hours, local time, before the reservation starts. The page says those 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

That list is what the guest page says the instructions typically include. It is not a separate form this site submits. The address is also shared earlier. What info is shared when a booking is confirmed says a confirmed guest can access your contact number, the full address including any apartment or unit number, and arrival guide details. The page lists those details as the check-in method, the checkout instructions, and the house manual. The confirmation email includes the contact number and the full address. Guests can open that information, along with the arrival guide, in the Trips tab as soon as the reservation is confirmed.

Ground rules for homes say the location on the listing, including the map pin and the address, should be accurate. Directions in the check-in instructions have to describe that same place. The page’s check-in examples are correct directions and an updated keycode, and access that works at check-in and throughout the stay.

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. The welcome line on the card holds at most 80 characters. Check-in steps do not fit on it. What to put on your Airbnb Wi-Fi sign and guest welcome info is the checklist for the card. Day-to-day facts after the guest is inside, such as the hot water and the spare blankets, belong in the house manual. What to put in an Airbnb welcome book covers that manual, the printed book, and why the door code stays out of both.

The welcome book generator prints that book in the browser. 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. Checkout is a separate section of up to 8 steps, each at most 120 characters. A code you change between stays does not belong in either section, and a checkout task the guest did not see before booking does not belong there either. 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 neighborhood note can be short. Getting started names a neighborhood guide as part of the check-in instructions. 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. Write local notes yourself. This site does not suggest businesses.

When guests see it

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

On desktop, the page says:

1. Click Listings and select the listing you want to change.
2. Under Listing editor, click Arrival guide.
3. Click Check-in method and make your selection.
4. Add your check-in instructions.
5. Click Save.

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.

Finding your check-in details says guests usually get the check-in details about 48 hours, local time, before check-in. On desktop, the page says to click Trips, select the reservation, click Checking in, and open How to get inside. It also says to check email and messages. If the reservation is less than 48 hours away and the information is not there, the page tells the guest to message the host. Invited guests on a home reservation also have access to check-in and checkout instructions, and to messages from the host.

The other 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, and that the details, including entry codes, are under the reservation on Trips. A guest can message earlier about an early check-in or about parking. That earlier message is a conversation. It is not a reason to leave the current code in a saved reply that goes to every future guest.

Those 48-hour pages are about the instructions you type. They are not the schedule for a smart lock you connect to Airbnb. That schedule is in the next section.

Reply speed is separate from when Airbnb shows the instructions. Ground rules for homes describe reply expectations when a guest’s question is material to the stay. If check-in is more than five days away, hosts are expected to respond within three days. Close to check-in, or when a time-sensitive issue comes up during the stay, hosts are expected to respond within 1 hour to messages received during local daytime hours. For other inquiries during the stay, or within five days of arrival, the expectation is 12 hours for messages received during local daytime hours. Those windows are Airbnb’s. Write the instructions on the listing so the door does not depend on you answering a message inside the last hour.

The times

Check-in and checkout times: you can give guests a check-in window of at least 2 hours, or offer flexible check-in. You can set a start time and leave the end flexible, or choose flexible for both. Whichever option you choose, the page says guests must be able to check in by 4pm. For checkout, the page says you choose a specific time that is 10am or later.

On desktop, the page says to click Listings, select the listing, and under Listing editor click Arrival guide. Then open Check-in and Checkout, set the times, and click Save.

Guest ground rules say guests should respect the check-in window and should not check in before or after it without your prior approval. Checkout, including key return, should be done by the checkout time on the reservation. Guests should not leave belongings past checkout for storage or later pickup without prior approval.

Getting started also says you can set days guests cannot check in or out, on the calendar, and that you should leave preparation time between reservations. That calendar control is not the clock time. The work between stays is the Airbnb turnover cleaning checklist. This page does not tell you how many hours that work takes.

The house rules generator can print the times you already saved. Each of those fields holds at most 40 characters, and a blank field is left off the sheet. The sheet is not the check-in instructions, and a printed time that disagrees with the arrival guide gives the guest two clocks. How to write Airbnb house rules covers the rest of that sheet.

Self check-in

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 rather than on a page that lives in the house.

The guest page tells guests what the methods look like. An in-person meeting means you, 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, the page tells guests to allow time for delays and to tell the host if they are running late. Your instructions should say where that meeting is, in the same words you will use when you are standing there.

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, including French tax and safety notes. It is not a lockbox rule for every country. The code-change line that applies generally is the one on the safety expectations page above. 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.

If you cannot get in, the guest page says to call or message the host, and to contact Airbnb when the check-in time has passed, the guest cannot access the listing, and the host has not responded within a reasonable time. Your contact in the instructions is the number you will actually answer. Put the same number on the emergency card. The card is for the local emergency number and the address, not for the door code. What emergency information to give Airbnb guests is that page. The New Airbnb host checklist has the wider safety list.

A smart lock connected to Airbnb

This section applies only 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. You can adjust the listing’s check-in or checkout times when you set up the lock. 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. Backup entry instructions, such as a lockbox with a key, are shared with a confirmed guest only if there is a problem with the smart lock.

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. It does not show a menu whose only name is Checkout instructions. 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 on that page, and the system keeps code generation. 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. It does not belong in the printed welcome book.

Checkout tasks

Where guests find checkout information: the reservation details include the checkout time, a house rule that requires the guest to lock up at checkout, and any checkout requests on the listing. On desktop, the page says to click Trips, select the reservation, and look under Checkout for the time. For the rules, it says to open House rules and requests, where Lock up at checkout appears if you require it, and where Requests lists checkout requests. A reminder notification the day before checkout, with the time and instructions, requires the Airbnb app and push notifications. The page does not say every guest has that notification turned on.

The same page says you may remind guests in messages or with signs, and that the checkout instructions that apply to the stay should match the reservation details. A late checkout is a request the guest can send. The page says you accommodate it if you can. It does not say you must.

The pages checked for this guide do not give a separate desktop path labeled only Checkout instructions. Set the time with Check-in and Checkout. Set Lock up at checkout, and any before-checkout request, with House rules and requests. On that page, a request is added from the same screen: Add requests, then During the stay or Before checkout, then the text, then Save. House rules are what guests are required to follow. Requests are the extra detail. What rules are allowed says guests must follow house rules and are encouraged to comply with requests.

For a reservation booked on or after November 20, 2026, that policy says hosts may not introduce a new rule or request after booking, including by message or by a sign. A checkout note in the welcome book, or a message the day before, can repeat the line that was on the listing when the guest booked. It cannot add the chore later.

The tasks that page generally does not allow are the ones a cleaner would usually do: stripping the bed, taking trash offsite, and washing and putting away dishes. The page says Airbnb may allow an exception. Its examples are a limit on shower time during a local drought restriction, and trash in an animal-proof container in bear country. Guest ground rules say a cleaning fee covers standard cleaning between reservations, such as laundry and vacuuming, and that hosts may not charge a guest fee for failing to do a specific cleaning or checkout task. The page says hosts may still leave a review about cleanliness. Guests should put trash in the receptacles you designate. That is a ground rule about litter. It is not permission to send the guest to a dump.

The quiet hours sign generator prints a start and an end. It does not print a checkout list. If quiet hours apply on the last morning, the hours on the sign have to be the hours already in the house rules. How to set quiet hours and a noise policy for your Airbnb covers that.

Help center pages checked on 27 October 2026

• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1926 for check-in methods, the desktop steps, and detailed instructions 48 hours before check-in.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/41 for what detailed instructions typically include, and for a self check-in code sent 48 hours before arrival.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/100 for where a guest finds check-in details, and for the 48-hour local-time note.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/4116 for the address, the contact number, the check-in method, checkout instructions, and the house manual at confirmation.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1296 for the check-in window, the 4pm rule, and a checkout time of 10am or later.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1189 for what to include in check-in instructions, self check-in, and days guests cannot check in or out.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2894 for the check-in window, checkout and key return, and fees for a missed checkout task.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2895 for directions, an updated keycode, and reply times.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2904 for secure lockboxes and codes, and for changing codes between reservations.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/472 for Lock up at checkout and before-checkout requests.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/4168 for the house-rules policy on reservations booked on or after November 20, 2026.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/3501 for where a guest finds the checkout time, the lock-up rule, and checkout requests.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/3483 for when a connected smart lock code is sent, and for the entry-code detail in messages.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/3481 for code expiry, backup entry, the US and Canada direct connection, and checkout instructions after connecting a lock.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/249 for a public guidebook, which is not the check-in instructions.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1383 for the France note on key boxes and street furniture.