Good Airbnb checkout instructions give guests a clear departure time, a secure way to return keys and a short explanation of anything specific to the home. For a London flat, the most useful test is practical: can someone leave with their luggage, return every key and close the communal entrance without getting stuck?
This guide includes a template you can adapt and a separate handover checklist for the host and cleaner. The example is illustrative; replace every bracketed detail and check the actual property before sending it.
What should Airbnb checkout instructions include?
Start with the departure deadline, key or fob return, how to secure the home and a contact route if something goes wrong. Add other requests only when they are necessary and straightforward. A guest should be able to understand the departure process in one reading.
Airbnb lets hosts add checkout instructions through the Listing editor's Arrival guide, and says guests can see them before booking. Its instructions setup guide explains where to enter the details. Keep those settings consistent with the information in your welcome pack and booking messages.
Decide which jobs belong to the cleaning team. Laundry, bed preparation, bathroom cleaning and the final presentation check should be planned as part of the turnover. Airbnb's checkout guidance stresses simple departures and warns against excessive tasks. Avoid turning the final morning into a lengthy list of chores.
An Airbnb checkout instructions template
Adapt this example to the property's confirmed arrangements. Remove any line that does not apply, and replace every bracketed detail before use.
Thank you for staying with us. Please check out by [time] on [date], London local time.
Before you leave, please check that you have your belongings and close the windows. Switch off [the specific lights or appliances that can safely be turned off], following the house guide.
Return [number and description of keys or fobs] using [the tested return procedure]. Complete this step [before or after passing the final door, as the property requires], then check that [the relevant door] is secure.
Once everyone has left, please message us here to confirm departure. If you cannot return a key or secure the door, contact us through [the monitored contact route] before leaving.
If you need a later departure or somewhere for luggage, please ask in advance. The booked checkout time applies unless we have confirmed another arrangement.
Thank you, and have a good onward journey.
You can add a brief, accurate note about a bin or towel location if needed. Do not include an instruction that depends on an inaccessible cupboard, an unlabelled switch or a key the guest has already returned. Keep sensitive access codes in the appropriate reservation information.
Test the route from flat to street
A key return can look sensible on paper and fail at the last door. In a building with a flat key, communal fob and exit gate, work through the sequence with someone unfamiliar with it. Establish which item opens each door and the last point at which the guest needs it.
- Can every guest leave the building after the keys are returned?
- Does the guest need a fob to reach the return point or open a final gate?
- Can the cleaner enter independently once the guest has left?
- Does the door close securely using the stated procedure?
- Has any concierge or other third party actually agreed to handle keys?
Write the instructions around the tested route. Do not assume that leaving keys inside and pulling the door closed works for every lock. If the arrangement fails, change the process before the next stay. Our key exchange and self check-in guide covers the wider access setup.
Send one consistent departure reminder
Give guests time to plan their final morning. A short reminder the day before departure is a useful operating choice, especially when it links to the current instructions. Check any scheduled messages against the booking's actual dates and confirmed exceptions.
Airbnb's guest checkout help explains where guests can find the instructions and notes that its reminder notification depends on the app and notification settings. Do not assume everyone has received or read a push notification. Make the information easy to find and provide a clear route for questions.
If you use scheduled replies, check for duplicate reminders and contradictory times. The automated messages checklist explains how to review that workflow.
Handle late checkout and luggage as separate decisions
Before agreeing to a later departure, check the next arrival, the cleaner's availability and any maintenance visit. Record the agreed time in the booking conversation and tell the people whose work it changes. A friendly acknowledgement of a request should not leave the guest unsure whether it has been approved.
Keeping bags after checkout needs its own plan: where they will be held, who will receive them and how collection will work. It does not automatically include continued access to the flat. Use the luggage handover guide to assess that request.
Keep the host-to-cleaner handover separate
The departure message is for the guest. Maintain an internal record for the turnover team with the booked departure time, any approved change, key access arrangements and reported faults. When a departure confirmation arrives, pass it on; if none arrives, follow your agreed contact and access process rather than assuming the home is empty.
After access, the team should confirm the keys are accounted for, report issues and complete the reset. A guest saying they have left does not establish that the property is ready for the next arrival. See our cleaning and turnover guide for the wider operation.
Review the instructions after a confusing departure
Look for the point where the process broke down: an unclear time, an inaccessible return point, an outdated message or an uncommunicated exception. Fix the source wording and update every copy. Ask a fresh reader to explain the exit sequence back to you before using it again.
StayinLondon's Airbnb management service in London includes guest communication, cleaning and day-to-day property operations. Request a property assessment to discuss how your home's guest departures and turnovers could be managed.
Airbnb guidance checked on 17 October 2026. Template wording should be adapted to the property and current platform settings.
