Airbnb self check-in instructions template: the ten things to include and when to send them

A self check-in message needs ten things: address with floor and unit, building entry, where the lockbox is, the code and how it opens, check-in and checkout times, Wi-Fi, parking, house rules, a number that answers at any hour, and where the key goes. Airbnb reveals instructions only 48 hours before check-in; send the code yourself the day before.

Below: what Airbnb and Booking.com actually require, the ten-point list, a template you can paste, a send schedule with the reason for each timing, and the clicks to automate it on both platforms.

What Airbnb and Booking.com require for self check-in

Airbnb recognises four self check-in methods: a key lockbox, a smart lock, a keypad, and building staff such as a doorperson or front desk, who must be available 24/7. You set the method in the Listing editor under Arrival guide, then Check-in method, and you add the written instructions and photos there. Guests see the method as soon as they book, but the detailed instructions only 48 hours before check-in, local time, in the Trips tab under How to get inside. The ground rules for hosts add two expectations: guests must be able to get in at check-in (correct directions, an updated keycode), and close to check-in you answer within one hour during local daytime.

In the US and Canada, Airbnb can also connect directly to a Schlage, August or Yale lock with a keypad and Wi-Fi. Every booking then gets a unique four-digit code, sent when the booking is confirmed, repeated by e-mail 8 and 2 days before check-in and on the day, active from check-in time and expired after checkout. Outside those two countries you do the same thing by hand or through your lock's app.

Booking.com spreads it across three places in the Extranet. Under Property, Facilities & Services, the Self check-in section: toggle the options you offer. Booking's own advice: if guests can check in after reception closes, set times that match when they can actually get in, then show self check-in clearly in your services. Under Property, Property policies, Guest information: the check-in start and end times and the checkout time. Under Property, Policies, Other policies: the Key collection box, a drop-down for how and where keys are collected, with an optional backup. Guests find it under Getting into the property in the confirmation e-mail, on the booking page and in the app's Bookings tab. Anything longer goes into a message or a scheduled template, not the description.

Booking.com's room key access guidelines (16 July 2024) also say what to do with the code itself: change lockbox and entry codes after each check-out, and with an app-based lock generate a new code after every departure. Airbnb's hosting guidance (31 August 2026) puts it as "give each booking guest a unique access code".

The ten things every check-in message needs

Order matters: the guest reads this on a phone, standing at the gate.

1. Address with floor and unit number, and the name on the intercom if it is not yours.
2. How to enter the building. Gate code, intercom number, which entrance. This is where most "I can't get in" calls come from.
3. Where the lockbox or keypad is, described relative to the door ("left of the door, at handle height") and shown in a photo.
4. The code and the mechanism. Slide the cover, set the dials, pull the latch. Say how to close it and scramble the dials afterwards.
5. Check-in and checkout times, the same ones you set on the platform.
6. Wi-Fi name and password. Airbnb has dedicated placeholders for both.
7. Parking. Space number, remote, street parking rules and hours.
8. House rules. Quiet hours, guest count, smoking, pets. On Airbnb quiet hours are a standard house rule shown in the listing, in the booking terms and in the Arrival guide.
9. A number that answers at any hour, and the channel (phone, WhatsApp, SMS). Airbnb expects hosts to be available for unexpected issues before and during the stay.
10. Checkout. Where the key goes, what to close, what to switch off.

Template to copy

Replace the bracketed details. Put the code in this message only if every booking gets its own; with a fixed code, leave a gap and add it by hand the day before arrival.

Hi {first name},

Your apartment: 12 Example Street, Flat 5, 3rd floor, there is a lift. Check-in from 3 pm, checkout by 11 am.

1. Building entrance: the black gate on Example Street. On the intercom press 5 and #. Gate code: 2580#.
2. Keys: the lockbox hangs on the left of the flat door, at handle height (photo attached). Lockbox code: 4471. Slide the cover down, set the dials, pull the latch. After taking the keys, scramble the dials and close the box.
3. Wi-Fi: network Example12, password Welcome2026.
4. Parking: space no. 7 in the underground garage, the remote is in the lockbox with the keys. Street parking is paid Mon to Sat, 10 am to 8 pm.
5. Heating and hot water are on, nothing to switch. The panel is next to the bathroom door.
6. Quiet hours in the building: 10 pm to 6 am. Maximum 4 guests, no parties, no smoking.
7. Bins are in the courtyard, sorted according to the stickers.
8. Checkout by 11 am: keys and remote back in the lockbox, close the windows, switch off the lights.
9. Urgent matters at any hour: +44 7700 900000 (phone and WhatsApp). Emergency services: 999 (UK) / 911 (US) / 112 (EU).

Enjoy your stay,
Anna

The short arrival-day version, three lines the guest can read at a red light:

Hi {first name}, today is the day. 12 Example Street, Flat 5, 3rd floor. Gate 2580#, lockbox left of the door, code 4471. Check-in from 3 pm. Anything at all: +44 7700 900000.

One template can serve several languages on Booking.com: give the language versions the same name and Booking matches the guest's language preference, falling back to your default language (Booking recommends English as the default). Airbnb sends the template in the language you wrote it in.

When to send what, and why

Booking.com's template scheduler has six slots: when a guest makes a booking, one week before arrival, three days before, one day before, on the day of arrival, and one day before departure. Airbnb schedules quick replies relative to booking, check-in and checkout, for example five minutes after a guest books or one day before check-in at 10:00 am. This schedule fits both.

Two exceptions. Last-minute bookings: on Airbnb, messages scheduled before check-in are skipped by default unless you switch on Send for last minute bookings and short stays in the template, in which case they go out at the time of booking. One-night stays: a message scheduled "2 days before checkout" is also skipped, or sent at check-in time with the toggle on. Airbnb notifies you by e-mail when a message is skipped or sent off-schedule.

How to set it up on Booking.com and Airbnb

On Booking.com:

1. In the Extranet click Property, then Messaging Preferences.
2. In the Message templates tab click Create new template, write the text, add a language and attach the lockbox photo. Images are allowed, PDFs and QR codes are not. Any link you include must first be approved under Security Settings in Message Preferences.
3. Give it a name and a topic, save.
4. In the Template scheduler tab click Schedule a template, pick the slot and the template, click Add to schedule.
5. Sent templates show up in your inbox in the Extranet and in the Pulse app, so you can see what the guest received.

On Airbnb:

1. Open Messages, then Settings, then Quick replies.
2. Write the template and insert details from the list: guest first name, check-in date and time, address, directions, Wi-Fi name and password, house rules, confirmation code. With a connected lock there is also an entry code detail.
3. Choose the trigger and the timing, for example one day before check-in at 10:00 am.
4. Decide on the Send for last minute bookings and short stays toggle, save.
5. Separately, fill in the Arrival guide: check-in method, instructions, photos. That is the text guests see in the app 48 hours before arrival.

The mistakes that break self check-in most often

• The code in the listing description. Everyone browsing sees it.
• The same code for a year. Booking.com says change it after every check-out; on a lockbox that is one minute of the cleaner's time.
• No photo of the lockbox. "Left of the door" means something different to everyone.
• No plan B. A spare key with a neighbour or a second code. Airbnb's connected locks send guests a backup code when the lock is offline; with any other setup you arrange the backup yourself.
• Check-in hours that are not the real hours. Booking.com's own wording: set times that match when guests can access the property.
• Never asking for an arrival time. We could not find a current Partner Hub article on the arrival-time question, the old address now redirects to the general guide on contacting guests, so ask yourself, after booking and three days before.

Where Supalobby fits

Supalobby is an AI agent and one inbox for messages from Booking.com, Airbnb, WhatsApp, Instagram, e-mail, Slowhop and Aloha Camp. You write the check-in instructions once into the property's knowledge base and the agent answers "how do I get in", "where do I park", "what is the code" from it on every channel, in the guest's language. On Booking.com and WhatsApp it can reply on its own; on Airbnb it prepares the reply and you send it with one click. When the property is connected to Beddesk, the agent reads the door PIN stored with the reservation. Sending codes at a set hour before arrival is the job of Playbooks in the Operator plan, which is announced and not yet available. The agent does not install locks or change lockbox codes. The Autopilot plan is 49 zł net per unit per month, roughly 11 euro.

Write the message first. Ten points, one photo, the code the day before. Everything else is a schedule.