Airbnb Welcome Message Templates: 10 Free Examples

By StayScan Editorial Team · Published · Last updated

10 proven Airbnb welcome message templates for before, during and after the stay. Copy-paste or generate one free with our AI welcome message tool.

Why Most Welcome Messages Don't Work

The average Airbnb welcome message reads like an out-of-office reply. "Thank you for choosing [Property Name]. We look forward to hosting you. Please read the house rules carefully."

Nobody feels welcomed by this. Nobody reads the house rules as a result. And nobody mentions the host's communication warmly in their review.

Welcome messages are a chance to establish that there's an actual human host who cares about this stay going well. Here's how to write them.

The Three Welcome Messages Every Host Needs

Message 1: Booking Confirmation (Same Day)

Goal: Confirm the booking, establish a warm tone, and set expectations for when more detail will follow. Keep it short, guests don't need all the information right now.

Template:

Hi [Name],

So great to have you booked, [Property Name] is a really nice spot and I think you'll enjoy it. You're there for [duration], which is a lovely amount of time.

I'll send full check-in details about 48 hours before you arrive. In the meantime, don't hesitate to message if anything comes up.

[Your name]

That's it. Don't dump arrival instructions, house rules, or local recommendations into the first message. It will be ignored and you'll send it all again anyway.

Message 2: Pre-Arrival (48 Hours Before Check-In)

Goal: Give guests everything they need to arrive without friction. This is your most important functional message.

Template:

Hi [Name],

You're just two days away, here's everything you need:

Address: [Full address with postcode, copy-paste ready for Maps]

Parking: [Exact instructions]

Entry: [Exact lockbox location and code, or key instructions]

Check-in from: 3pm

Everything else, Wi-Fi, appliances, local recommendations, is in the guest guide: [link]

I'm at [phone number] if anything doesn't work when you arrive.

Have a great journey, see you [day].

[Your name]

Message 3: Day of Arrival (Morning)

Goal: A brief, warm reminder that you're present and everything is ready. Prompts guests to re-read the pre-arrival details without you having to repeat them.

Template:

Morning [Name],

All ready for your arrival today, check-in from 3pm. Full details are in my message from [two days ago] if you need a refresh.

Let me know if you have any questions. Looking forward to having you.

[Your name]

Message 4: Post-Stay Thank You (Within 24 Hours of Checkout)

The message most hosts skip is the one that has the biggest impact on reviews. After checkout, within 24 hours, send a genuine thank-you message. This does three things: it prompts the guest to leave a review, it frames the stay positively at the exact moment they're writing one, and it leaves the door open for direct rebookings.

Template:

Hi [Name],

Thanks so much for staying at [Property Name] — I hope you had a great time. I've just left you a review and I'd genuinely love to hear how everything was for you.

If anything didn't work as expected, I'd really appreciate knowing so I can fix it for future guests. And if you'd like to come back, you can book directly with me here: [direct booking link] — it's a bit cheaper than the platform and you skip the service fee.

Safe travels and hope to see you again.

[Your name]

Keep it warm, not transactional. The direct booking mention is optional — if you don't take direct bookings, leave it out. The review prompt is the key element. Guests who receive a post-stay thank-you within 24 hours are roughly twice as likely to leave a review as those who don't.

The Personalisation That Makes the Difference

These templates are starting points. The detail that transforms a template message into a genuinely welcoming one is a single line of personalisation based on something the guest has told you or that's in their profile.

Examples:

  • "Looks like you're visiting for a wedding, hope it's a wonderful one."
  • "Happy belated birthday, I hope you get a chance to relax properly."
  • "I noticed you're coming with a baby, I've left the travel cot made up in the bedroom."
  • "Since you're here for work, worth knowing the desk in the living room gets good natural light and the Wi-Fi is solid for calls."

This takes 20–30 seconds per booking and guests mention it in reviews more often than almost anything else.

Welcome Messages for Different Platforms

The three-message structure works across every booking platform, but the details change. Here's how to adapt for the three major platforms.

Airbnb

Airbnb's messaging system is the most full-featured. You can save templates, schedule messages to send automatically at set intervals before check-in, and send photos. The platform encourages communication within its system — don't redirect guests to email or SMS until after they've arrived. Airbnb's automated scheduling handles the timing well; just make sure you review each scheduled message and add the personalisation detail before it sends.

Airbnb-specific tip: Use Airbnb's saved messages feature for your three templates. It takes 10 minutes to set up and saves hours over a year of bookings. But never use fully automated messages with no review step — guests can tell, and it shows up in reviews as "felt like a hotel, not a home."

VRBO

VRBO guests tend to book further in advance — often 2-3 months ahead compared to Airbnb's typical 2-4 weeks. This means your Message 1 (booking confirmation) may land months before the stay, and guests will forget it. Add a note to Message 1: "I'll reach out again a week before your stay with all the details you need." Then send an interim message 7 days before arrival as a gentle re-introduction.

VRBO also allows direct email and phone communication more freely than Airbnb. If a guest provides their phone number, a quick text on arrival day ("All ready for you, check-in from 3pm, any issues just call") is well received. VRBO guests are often families who appreciate the directness.

Booking.com

Booking.com's messaging system is the most limited of the three. Messages can get lost in the platform's notification system, and many guests expect communication via email or WhatsApp. If you have the guest's email (available after booking on Booking.com), send your pre-arrival details via email as well as the platform message. Include a clear subject line: "Your stay at [Property Name] — check-in details inside."

Booking.com guests are also more likely to be international and last-minute. Your Message 2 (pre-arrival) may need to be sent 24 hours before rather than 48, since many bookings come in with shorter notice. Adapt the timing to the booking, not the template.

Using AI to Personalise at Scale

Personalisation is the difference between a 4.6-star communication rating and a 4.9. But if you manage 5, 10, or 20 properties, writing a unique personalisation line for every booking becomes unsustainable. This is where AI helps — not to write generic messages, but to surface the personalisation detail for you.

Here's a workflow that works at scale:

  1. Feed the guest's booking notes into an AI tool (StayScan's AI guidebook generator includes this). The AI extracts relevant details: purpose of trip, number of guests, special occasions, accessibility needs, dietary requirements.
  2. The AI suggests a personalisation line based on those details. Example: guest notes say "travelling with 2 kids, ages 4 and 7" → AI suggests "I've put some kids' books and board games in the living room — hope the little ones enjoy them."
  3. You review and approve. Never send AI-suggested personalisation without reading it. The AI doesn't know if you actually put board games in the living room. But it does the cognitive work of reading the booking notes and surfacing the detail, which is the part that takes time.
  4. The template stays consistent. The AI only touches the personalisation line, not the functional details (address, entry code, parking). Those should always be human-written or human-verified.

This workflow takes 30 seconds per booking instead of 5 minutes, and the output is indistinguishable from a fully hand-written message. At 20 bookings per month, that's 80 minutes saved — and the personalisation quality is actually higher because the AI catches details you might skim over.

Common Welcome Message Mistakes (With Examples)

Here are the five most common mistakes I see in welcome messages, with before-and-after examples:

Mistake 1: Information Dumping in Message 1

Bad: "Hi Sarah, thanks for booking! Here are the house rules: no parties, no smoking, quiet hours 10pm-8am. Check-in is 3pm, checkout 11am. The Wi-Fi is SunsetGuest, password 12345. Parking is on the street. Here are my top 5 restaurant recommendations..." (350 words, sent 3 months before arrival)

Good: "Hi Sarah, so great to have you booked at Elm Street Cottage. I'll send all the details — check-in, Wi-Fi, local tips — about 48 hours before you arrive. Any questions before then, just message me. — [Your name]" (40 words)

Mistake 2: Leading With Rules

Bad: "Dear Guest, please review the following house rules before your arrival: 1. No parties or events 2. No smoking 3. No pets 4. Quiet hours 10pm-8am 5. Maximum 4 guests..."

Good: "Hi Sarah, really glad you chose Elm Street Cottage for your trip. The house is in a quiet residential area, which is what makes it peaceful — I'll send the full details closer to your arrival. Looking forward to having you."

Mistake 3: Excessive Pleasantries

Bad: "We are absolutely delighted and thrilled beyond measure to welcome you to our humble property. It is our greatest honour to host you and we sincerely hope your stay will be nothing short of extraordinary."

Good: "Hi Sarah, great to have you booked. I think you'll really like the place — I'll send everything you need a couple of days before you arrive."

Mistake 4: All Caps for Important Info

Bad: "CHECK-IN IS AT 3PM. PLEASE DO NOT ARRIVE EARLY. PARKING IS IN BAY 4 ONLY. THE CODE IS 4827."

Good: "Check-in from 3pm. Parking is in Bay 4 — it's on your left as you enter the drive. Entry code: 4827."

Mistake 5: Ambiguous Instructions

Bad: "Parking is available nearby. The key is in a safe place. The entrance is around the back."

Good: "Park in Bay 4 of the car park on Mill Street (2-minute walk, free after 6pm). The key is in the lockbox mounted on the railing to the left of the red front door. The entrance is through the gate on the right side of the building — see photo."

Measuring Message Response Rates

Your welcome messages are only as good as whether guests read and respond to them. Track these metrics monthly:

  • Response rate to Message 1: What percentage of guests reply to your booking confirmation? A good rate is 60%+. If it's below 40%, your message may feel too generic to warrant a reply, or it's getting lost in the platform's notification system.
  • Response rate to Message 2 (pre-arrival): This should be 70%+. The message contains information guests need, so most will acknowledge it. If they don't respond, don't panic — send Message 3 (arrival morning) anyway. It contains the same link to the pre-arrival details.
  • Messages from guests after arrival: This is the inverse metric. If you're getting 5+ messages per booking after check-in ("where's the Wi-Fi?", "how does the TV work?", "where should we park?"), your pre-arrival message or guest guide isn't doing its job. A well-structured message + guide combination should reduce post-arrival messages to 1-2 per booking.
  • Review rate after Message 4: Track what percentage of guests leave a review after receiving your post-stay thank-you. If you're below 50%, try adjusting the timing (send within 12 hours of checkout, not 24) or the wording.

Log these numbers in a simple spreadsheet. After three months, you'll see patterns that tell you exactly which messages to adjust.

What to Avoid

  • Starting with house rules, lead with hospitality, not restrictions
  • Excessive pleasantries, "We are absolutely delighted and thrilled beyond measure to welcome you" is worse than "Great to have you booked"
  • All caps for important information, it reads as shouting
  • Ambiguous instructions, "parking is nearby" vs "park in Bay 12 of the car park on Mill Street (2 min walk, free after 6pm)"
  • Sending everything in one message, space out the information across the booking timeline

Automating Without Losing the Human Touch

Airbnb lets you save templates and schedule messages. Use this for the structure and timing. But review each message before it sends, add the personalisation detail, confirm the specific entry code is correct, and check that nothing in the guest's notes requires a different response.

Fully automated messages without any personalisation have a detectable flatness that guests notice. Ten seconds of review per message is the difference.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I use first names in Airbnb messages?

Yes. "Hi Sarah" beats "Dear Guest" every time. Airbnb shows you the guest's first name, use it from the first message.

What if a guest doesn't respond to my messages?

Send the pre-arrival message anyway, it contains information they need regardless of whether they reply. If you haven't had any response by 12 hours before check-in, a brief follow-up via Airbnb and (if you have it) their registered phone number is appropriate.

Is there a difference between Airbnb, VRBO, and Booking.com guest messaging?

The platforms have different messaging interfaces and automation capabilities, but the content principles are the same. VRBO and Booking.com guests often book further in advance, so the timing sequence may stretch slightly. The three-message structure (booking confirmation, pre-arrival, arrival day) works across all platforms.

StayScan is a digital guidebook for Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com and Agoda hosts: one QR code gives guests Wi-Fi, check-in steps, house rules and local tips in 30+ languages. Create your guidebook with a 30-day free trial, no credit card required.