Hospitality
Local Guide Template for Airbnb Guests: What to Include and How to Write It
By MAXORI Studio · Updated 14 October 2026 · 5 min read
A good local guide answers the questions guests ask in the first hour: where to eat, where to buy groceries, how to get around and what to do when it rains. This guide lists the ten topics worth covering, shows how to write one useful tip, and explains how to keep the guide accurate and honest so guests can trust it.
Why a local guide helps you and your guests
Guests arrive in a place they do not know. They want a good dinner, a shop for breakfast and a simple way to get around, and they would rather ask someone who lives there than scroll through endless search results.
If the answers live only in your head, you repeat them in every message. A written guide saves that time and makes your own knowledge a visible part of the stay.
The ten topics most guests look for
You do not need to cover everything. Start with the pages you can fill with confidence and add more later.
- Eat and drink: breakfast, lunch, dinner and a good coffee
- Groceries and shops: supermarket, bakery, market, opening days
- Getting around: walking, public transport, taxis, bikes, parking
- Nature and walks: easy routes, viewpoints, beaches or parks
- With children and families: playgrounds, relaxed places to eat
- Rainy-day ideas: museums, covered places, quiet indoor options
- Evenings and nightlife: where it is lively and where it is calm
- Practical services: pharmacy, cash machine, laundry, parking
- Your personal top 5: the places you would send a friend
- A map and notes page for anything else
How to write one useful tip
A tip works when it answers three questions: why do you like the place, how do guests get there from the property and what is good to know before going. Avoid a bare list of names, because a name alone does not help a guest choose.
Example: Bakery on the corner of {street}. Fresh bread from early morning, about a five-minute walk from the front door, closed on {day}. Keep each entry to two or three lines and write the way you would speak to a guest on arrival.
Mix categories and budgets so every guest finds something, and say honestly if a place is simple rather than special.
Format: printed pages, shared file or messages
Different hosts like different formats. A printed folder in the home is easy to find without any signal or password. A text version can be pasted into your welcome message or digital guide so guests have it before they arrive.
Whatever you choose, keep one master copy you can edit. When a restaurant closes or a bus line changes, you update one place instead of many.
| Format | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Printed pages in a folder | Guests who like paper and work offline | Needs a reprint when details change |
| Text pasted into messages | Sending tips before arrival | Can get long, so send the most useful part |
| Digital guide | Links and maps in one place | Needs a signal or a saved copy |
Check details and be open about relationships
Addresses, opening hours and prices change. Check each place before you print, add a line telling guests that details can change and note the date you last reviewed the guide.
If you have a business relationship with a place, or receive a commission from it, say so as your local rules require. Guests trust a guide more when they know the tips are your honest favourites. A guide like this is general information, not safety or legal advice.
Keep it fresh without extra work
Set a reminder to review the guide once or twice a year, and again before the busy season. Ask guests which tips they used and which place they would add, then fold the good ideas into the next version.
Remove anything you have not visited in a long time. A shorter guide with tips you stand behind is better than a long one with doubtful entries.
Questions
How many recommendations should a local guide have?
Quality matters more than quantity. Three to five tips per topic is plenty, and it is fine to leave a topic out if you do not know the area well enough.
Should I include links and maps?
Yes, if the guide is digital. In a printed guide, write the street name and a short walking description, and add a hand-drawn or pasted map page.
Can I recommend places I have not visited?
It is better to recommend only places you know. If you pass on a tip from someone else, say so, so guests know how much weight to give it.
How often should I update the guide?
Review it at least once a year and before the busy season. Opening hours, prices and transport details change more often than most hosts expect.
Ready-made tools for this
The Local Area Recommendations Template is a one-time digital download with ten fill-in guide pages plus a top 5 page and a map and notes page. Each page has three prompts, a fictional example row and empty rows. It comes as printable PDF (A4 and US Letter) and editable TXT in English, Italian, Spanish, French and German, and contains no real recommendations: you write your own.
