An Airbnb guest book can give visitors a place to leave a memory, a favourite discovery or a suggestion for the next stay. For a London host, it works best as a small, optional extra with a clear purpose. Start with a short invitation, leave plenty of writing space and decide who will read new entries between bookings.
This guide covers a visitor comments book kept in the flat. For Wi-Fi details, appliance instructions and arrival information, use a separate Airbnb welcome pack or house manual. Keeping those instructions together makes them easier to find when a guest needs help.
What should an Airbnb guest book do?
Choose one main purpose before buying or printing anything. You might want a shared record of guests’ favourite moments, ideas for improving the flat or recommendations other visitors can enjoy. A few clear prompts usually serve that purpose better than several pages of questions.
There are three useful distinctions:
- Visitor comments book: guests write in it, and later visitors may read what they leave.
- House manual: the host supplies practical instructions about the property.
- Local guidebook: the host shares checked recommendations for the surrounding area.
Airbnb’s local guidebook guidance describes its digital guidebook as a way to share neighbourhood tips. A paper comments book serves a different purpose: it lets visitors add their own impressions. Label each clearly so guests know which one to open.
A welcome note you can adapt
The following is suggested wording for your own book, not a real guest entry or a statement about a particular property:
Welcome, and thank you for staying. If you would like to, leave a few words about your visit or a favourite London discovery for future guests. This book stays in the flat and other visitors can read it, so please leave out contact details and anything private. If something needs attention during your stay, please message us through your booking conversation so we can respond.
Put this note inside the front cover. Keep participation optional: guests may be busy, prefer to share feedback privately or simply have nothing to add. Avoid making a signature part of the checkout checklist.
Adapt the contact sentence to the verified route you actually monitor. A book checked only after departure cannot give a guest timely help with heating, access or another problem during their stay.
Five simple prompts for the writing pages
Use one or two prompts per page, with enough blank space for a short reply. You can copy these into a notebook or a page layout:
- What was a highlight of your London visit?
- Did you discover a walk, café or local place you would recommend?
- What helped you feel settled in the flat?
- Is there one practical thing that would make a future stay easier?
- What would you tell someone visiting this neighbourhood for the first time?
Do not prefill the book with invented praise to make it look used. Leave the first page blank if no guest has written yet. If you add an example to explain the format, label it clearly as an example and avoid presenting it as a customer testimonial.
For a mixed international audience, use short sentences and generous spacing. Guests can write in whichever language they prefer. Pictures or star-rating grids are unnecessary if your aim is a relaxed record of the visit.
Choose a format the team can maintain
A bound notebook keeps entries together and needs little setup. Look for paper that is easy to write on, pages that lie reasonably flat and a cover that can withstand regular handling. Put a working pen beside it and keep a spare with the host supplies.
A refillable binder makes it easier to replace damaged pages or change the prompts. Give it a clear title so it does not get confused with the appliance folder. Loose cards offer another option, but decide where guests should leave them and whether later visitors will see them.
A digital feedback form may be useful if someone checks submissions regularly. Before displaying a QR code, test it on a guest phone without your own account signed in. Explain what opens and offer a simple alternative for anyone who prefers to message. Avoid adding a form that creates an unattended inbox or asks for unnecessary personal information.
Keep shared entries comfortable for future visitors
Treat a book left in a shared holiday flat as something future guests may read. Do not ask people to record full names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, travel plans or booking references. A name is not needed for a useful suggestion.
Keep door codes, Wi-Fi credentials, incident reports and private guest correspondence out of the comments pages. Those belong in the appropriate property instructions or internal records. If an entry includes sensitive information, take the book out of guest use while the responsible manager deals with it.
As a practical house standard, do not photograph pages for social media or reuse entries as marketing quotes without arranging clear permission for that separate use. Guests writing a message for the next visitor may not expect it to appear in an advertisement.
Turn suggestions into a useful handover
Agree who checks the book after checkout and how issues reach the person who can act. A simple handover can record the date checked, a brief summary of any property issue, the assigned person and the next action. Keep that internal record separate from the guest-facing book.
Illustrative example: a visitor writes that the bedside reading light was difficult to use. The turnover team tests it, identifies whether the problem is the switch, bulb or position, and reports the result. The manager then assigns a fix and confirms completion. This is a fictional example of following through on feedback, not a reported StayinLondon guest experience.
For faults that need a contractor or replacement, use a maintenance handover process. Check recurring comments together: repeated confusion about the same control may call for clearer instructions, while repeated reports of a faulty fitting need investigation.
Guest recommendations also need judgement. Treat a café or walking-route suggestion as a lead to check before adding it to your own guidebook. Opening hours, access arrangements and businesses can change. Airbnb likewise advises hosts to keep their local recommendations current.
Does a guest book replace an Airbnb review?
No. A note in the flat does not become a review on your Airbnb listing. Airbnb’s home review guidance gives hosts and guests 14 days after checkout to submit reviews; publication follows its own process.
Keep any invitation to review the stay neutral. Airbnb’s Reviews Policy prohibits manipulating or pressuring people to influence reviews, including exchanges involving something of value. Do not use the book to steer guests towards a particular star rating or offer a reward for favourable feedback.
A thoughtful comments book can be enjoyable, but it should earn its place in the flat. If nobody reads it or useful suggestions never reach the team, simplify the setup and focus on a contact route guests can rely on.
StayinLondon’s London Airbnb management service includes guest communication and day-to-day property operations. Request a property assessment to discuss how those arrangements could work for your flat.
Platform guidance checked on 23 October 2026. The welcome note, prompts and handover examples are practical suggestions to adapt to your property.
