Airbnb Guest Questions: Answer Before They Ask

It’s 10pm on a Friday. Your guest checked in two hours ago and your phone lights up: “How do I turn on the hot water?” You type out the answer, hit send, and settle back down. Five minutes later: “Also, what’s the WiFi password?” It’s on the fridge. You tell them. Twenty minutes later: “Sorry — how does the heating work?”

You’ve answered these questions before. Many times. And you’ll answer them again next week, for the next guest, word for word.

📖 7 min read

What you’ll learn:

•       The most common questions Airbnb guests ask (and why they keep asking)

•       How to answer them before guests even message you

•       A practical system for cutting repetitive messages for good

Why Guests Keep Asking the Same Things

It’s not that your guests can’t read. It’s that the information they need is scattered across your listing description, house rules, a welcome message, a follow-up message, and whatever’s written on that laminated sheet by the kettle. When someone arrives after a long journey, they’re not going to dig through old Airbnb messages to find the WiFi code you sent three days ago.

This matters more than you might think. Airbnb requires hosts to maintain at least a 90% response rate to keep Superhost status, and your response time affects where your listing appears in search results. Every unanswered question is a small risk — to your ranking, your reviews, and your evening.

For hosts managing one or two properties alongside a day job, repetitive guest messaging is one of the biggest hidden time costs. The good news? Almost every question guests ask is predictable. And predictable means preventable.

The Questions You’ll Get on Repeat

After hosting for any length of time, you’ll notice the same handful of questions coming up over and over. They fall into three rough categories: things guests need before they arrive, things they need during their stay, and things that come up after check-out.

Here’s what the list typically looks like for UK holiday lets and Airbnb properties:

• Before arrival: What time can I check in? Where exactly is the property? Where do I park? How do I get the keys? Is there anything I need to bring?

• During the stay: What’s the WiFi password? How does the heating work? How do I use the hob/oven/shower/washing machine? Where are the extra towels and bedding? What’s the best local pub or restaurant? Where’s the nearest supermarket? How do the bins work — and when’s collection day? Is there a hair dryer? How does the TV or streaming work?

• At check-out: What time do I need to leave by? What do I do with the keys? Do I need to strip the beds? Where do I put the bins?

• Sound familiar? You’re not alone. These are near-universal across properties, whether you’re hosting a seaside cottage in Cornwall or a city flat in Manchester.

ℹ️ Did you know? Research suggests that around 75% of guest messages arrive outside traditional business hours — evenings, weekends, and holidays. Answering proactively means you’re not glued to your phone at midnight.

Before They Arrive: Pre-Arrival Info

The questions that come before check-in are the easiest to prevent because you know exactly when to send the answers. A well-timed pre-arrival message — sent a day or two before the guest arrives — should cover the essentials without overwhelming them.

Your pre-arrival message should include the property address (with a map link or what3words if it’s tricky to find), clear parking instructions, the exact check-in process (key safe code, smart lock details, or handover arrangement), and any arrival specifics like gate codes or which door to use.

Keep this message short and scannable. Guests arriving after a long drive or flight aren’t going to read three paragraphs. Bullet points work well here. If your check-in process has more than two or three steps, consider including photos — a picture of the key safe location or the front door is worth more than a written description.

💡 Pro Tip: Send your pre-arrival message at a consistent time — say, 2pm the day before check-in. This gives guests enough time to read it without it getting buried in older messages by the time they arrive.

During the Stay: In-Property Answers

This is where most of the repeat messaging happens. Guests are in your property, they want to use something, and they can’t figure it out. The heating is the classic one — especially in older UK properties where the boiler controls look like they were designed by an engineer who actively disliked clear labelling.

The appliance questions

Every property has at least one appliance that trips guests up. Maybe it’s the induction hob that needs a specific type of pan, the shower with the temperature dial that turns the wrong way, or the washing machine with twelve programme options and no obvious “just wash my clothes” setting. These questions will come in at inconvenient times unless the answers are already waiting in the property.

A simple, visible guide covering your most-used appliances can eliminate these messages entirely. Focus on the things that actually cause confusion — you don’t need to explain how to use a toaster, but you probably do need to explain the combi boiler.

The local knowledge questions

Guests want restaurant recommendations, directions to the nearest shop, and to know whether they need to pay for parking at the beach. A short local recommendations list — your top three or four restaurants, the nearest supermarket, a good walk — saves you time and makes guests feel looked after. Keep it personal. “The chippy on the high street is excellent, especially on Fridays” is more useful than a generic list of every restaurant within five miles.

The household logistics questions

Bin days, recycling rules, where to find spare loo roll, how the thermostat schedule works — these are the questions that feel trivial but cause real friction when guests can’t find the answers. A brief note covering household basics prevents a surprising number of messages.

After Check-out: What Guests Still Need

Check-out questions are easier to handle because you can set expectations upfront. Include your check-out instructions in two places: your house rules (so they’re visible before booking) and a message sent the evening before departure.

Keep check-out simple. The fewer tasks you ask of guests, the more likely they are to actually do them. “Please leave the keys on the kitchen table and close the door behind you” is more effective than a ten-point departure checklist. If you want guests to strip beds or load the dishwasher, make that clear — but keep expectations realistic.

Let guests know in your check-out message who to contact if they’ve left something behind. Having a clear process for lost property saves awkward back-and-forth after the stay.

How to Stop Repeating Yourself

You have a few options for getting all this information in front of guests without manually sending it every time.

• Saved replies and templates: Airbnb lets you create quick replies for common messages. This doesn’t prevent questions, but it does speed up your responses. Useful as a stopgap, but you’re still reactive.

• Scheduled messages: You can set up automated messages to send at specific points — booking confirmation, pre-arrival, check-out morning. This handles the timing, but long text-based messages are often skimmed or ignored.

• A digital property guide: This is the most effective long-term solution. A single link that contains everything — check-in instructions, WiFi, appliance guides, local recommendations, check-out process — that you send once and update as needed. No more copy-pasting. No more answering the heating question at 11pm.

• The key difference with a digital guide is that it’s always accessible. Guests can pull it up on their phone mid-stay without scrolling back through old messages. And if you include photos or short videos alongside your instructions, comprehension goes up dramatically — especially for things like heating controls or tricky door locks.

💡 Pro Tip: You can create a digital guide in a Google Doc or simple webpage, or use a purpose-built tool like Picsful that lets you build visual property guides with photos and step-by-step instructions. The visual approach works particularly well for appliances and check-in procedures.

What to include in your guide

Based on the common questions above, a solid guide covers: check-in instructions with photos, WiFi details, heating and hot water controls, any tricky appliances (with photos), local recommendations, bin days and recycling, check-out instructions, and emergency contact details.

You don’t need to cover everything — just the things that actually generate messages. Review your Airbnb inbox and you’ll quickly spot the patterns.

“The best guest communication isn’t fast replies — it’s making the question unnecessary in the first place.”

Answering guest questions proactively isn’t just about saving yourself time — though it absolutely does that. It shows your guests you’ve thought about their experience, which is exactly what earns those five-star communication reviews. Build your guide once, refine it as new questions come in, and watch your inbox get noticeably quieter.

Create your free visual guest guide with Picsful →