Self check-in instructions.
Day-of-arrival self check-in code + door instructions.
Last verified
Example input
Lockbox on porch column, code 4815
Example output
Hi {{guestFirstName}} — welcome day! Quick check-in walkthrough: the lockbox is on the porch column to the right of the front door. The code is {{doorCode}}. Pop the box open, the front door key is inside, and after you let yourself in, please put the key back in the lockbox so it's secure. Wi-Fi network is {{wifiSsid}}, password {{wifiPassword}}. There's a printed welcome book on the kitchen counter with everything else you'll need. Make yourself at home — message me here if anything's not as expected.
Mustache placeholders ({{guestFirstName}}, {{propertyName}}) mark the values you'll swap in for the actual stay.
How to write self check-in instructions
Self check-in is the single highest-leverage automation in short-term rental hosting. Done well, it eliminates 80% of arrival-day stress for both sides — guest finds the door, lets themselves in, settles. Done badly, it produces frantic 11pm messages, locked-out guests, and angry one-star reviews.
The template above optimizes for three things:
- Specificity over warmth. “The lockbox is on the porch column to the right of the front door” beats “the lockbox is by the door” every time. A guest at 9pm in the rain doesn’t want elegant language — they want exact instructions.
- Returning the key. Most guests forget unless told explicitly. One sentence saves you a lockbox-key-recovery problem next month.
- Wi-Fi credentials in the same message. First thing every guest does after walking in. Putting wifi in the check-in message means they see it before they’re bothered to dig through the welcome book.
When to send
Send the day-of-arrival, ideally 2–4 hours before the check-in window opens. Earlier than that and the guest will lose the message in their travel emails; later and you’ll get a “what’s the code?” follow-up.
Some platforms support scheduled messages — set this one to fire at 11am on the day of arrival and forget about it.
Code rotation policy
Strong hosts rotate door codes at minimum every 30 days, ideally per-stay. Per-stay rotation requires regenerating this template per booking, which is annoying. The middle-ground policy most hosts settle on:
- Rotate the door code monthly
- Re-issue the template once at the start of each month
- Use the same code for the whole month’s bookings
If you have smart-lock integration (August, Schlage Encode, etc.), per-stay rotation is automatic and the template can stay fixed.