There's a small confusion in hosting vocabulary that I run into constantly. When people say "Airbnb guest book," they mean one of two very different things. Sometimes they mean the practical document with the Wi-Fi password and the check-out time; that one is really a welcome book, and I've written a complete guide to it. And sometimes they mean the other one: the blank notebook on the shelf where guests leave a few words at the end of their stay. The visitors' book. The one full of handwriting in six languages.
This article is about that second one. It's the object nobody strictly needs and almost everybody loves, and after keeping one in my properties across Portugal, Qatar and Morocco, I can tell you it quietly earns its place on the shelf. I'll cover both sides of the pen: how to set one up and what to write in it as a host, and what to write in it when you're the guest wondering what to say.
What an Airbnb guest book is (and isn't)
A guest book is a simple notebook where guests write a short message before they leave: a thank you, a favourite memory, a tip for the next traveller. That's the whole idea. It holds no rules, no passwords, no instructions.
That distinction matters, because the two books do opposite jobs. The welcome book talks to the guest; the guest book lets the guest talk back. One answers questions at the start of the stay, the other collects feelings at the end of it. They sit happily on the same table, and neither replaces the other.
Why I keep a guest book in my rentals
I started keeping one almost by accident, in the twelve villas I managed in Azeitão, just outside Lisbon. One owner had left a lined notebook in a drawer, guests found it, and within a season it had become the warmest object in the house. Since then I've kept one deliberately, and here is what it does:
- It's social proof a review can never be. New arrivals flip through it within the first day, always. Thirty handwritten messages saying "we had a wonderful week" reassure a guest in a way no star rating does, because nobody writes three sentences by hand out of politeness alone.
- It gently seeds your reviews. A guest who has just written "we loved the sunset from the terrace" in your book has already drafted their review in their head. The book turns vague good feelings into words, and the words tend to reappear on your listing a few days later. It's one of the quiet habits behind earning five-star reviews.
- It hands your best recommendations to the next guest. Travellers trust other travellers. When a previous guest writes "ask for the corner table at the fish place, worth it," that carries more weight than the same line from me.
- It tells you what guests actually loved. I learned more about what to photograph and what to mention in my listings from guest book pages than from any analytics screen. If nine messages mention the bathtub, the bathtub goes in the listing photos.
During the World Cup in Qatar, my guests came from Argentina, Japan, England, Morocco, everywhere. The guest book from those months reads like a stamp album, and guests loved adding their country to it. It cost me the price of a notebook.
How to set one up as a host
There's not much to get wrong here, but a few details decide whether the book fills up or stays empty:
- Buy a real notebook. Hardcover, A5 or a bit larger, thick pages that survive a kitchen table. A beautiful book invites beautiful entries; a flimsy pad invites nothing.
- Tie a pen to it, literally or not. A book without a pen within reach does not get written in. I keep a decent pen with the book, always in the same spot.
- Give it a home guests can see. Coffee table, hallway console, bedside table in a B&B room. Next to the printed welcome book is ideal, because guests already pick that up. If the spot needs a nudge, a small framed note ("Leave us a few words before you go!") in the same style as your other printed house signs does the inviting for you, without you asking anyone anything.
- Write the first entry yourself. An empty first page intimidates people. Your entry sets the tone and shows the format.
- Add a one-line prompt inside the cover. Something like: "A word of welcome from us, and a page for you: tell us your favourite moment, or leave a tip for the next guest." Guests who know what to write, write.
What to write as the host: the first page
Your opening entry is a welcome note, not a speech. Three or four sentences, warm and human, signed with your first name. Here's the shape of the one I use:
> Welcome to the apartment! We're so glad you made it. This little book belongs to the guests: leave us a favourite memory, a doodle, or a tip for whoever sleeps here next. We read every page, and it's honestly our favourite thing in the house. Enjoy your stay. Reda
That's it. It tells guests the book is read (which matters, people don't write into a void), it suggests what to write, and it sounds like a person. If you host internationally, add one line in a second language; it signals that entries in any language are welcome. My guest books are full of messages I've had to translate with my phone, and those are often the best ones.
What to write as a guest: real examples
Now the other intent, because plenty of people land on this question the night before check-out with a pen in hand. The good news: two to four sentences is perfect. Be specific, be warm, and don't write an essay. The recipe is one specific memory, one thank you, and one optional tip for the next guest.
A couple on a weekend away:
> We came for two days and honestly didn't want to leave. Coffee on the balcony every morning, and the restaurant Reda recommended was the best meal of the trip. Thank you for such a calm, beautiful place. Ana & Miguel, Porto
A family with kids:
> The kids have officially renamed this "the house with the good pool." Thank you for the little touches, the beach toys saved our suitcase space. Next guests: the bakery around the corner opens at 7 and it smells like heaven. The Dubois family, Lyon
A solo traveller:
> First solo trip, and this felt like a home on day one. Thank you for the honest restaurant list, I ate my way through it. If you're reading this: take the evening walk along the water, trust me. Sarah, Dublin
A business traveller:
> Here for work, stayed for the quiet. Fast Wi-Fi, great desk, and the first landlord-level Wi-Fi instructions I've ever seen. I'll be back next quarter. Tomás
A returning guest:
> Second time here and it somehow got better. Same perfect welcome, new coffee machine, still our favourite spot in the city. See you next year. Emma & Jack
Notice what these have in common: none of them says "nice place, thanks." They each name one real thing. That's the entire trick. If the stay had a problem, the guest book is not the place for it; message the host privately instead, where it can actually be fixed. The book is the house's memory, and you don't write complaints into someone's memory.
What to leave out of a guest book
A few things I've learned to keep off those pages, from both sides:
- No practical details that can go stale. Door codes, prices, bus numbers. That's welcome book territory, and in the guest book it just ages badly.
- No full contact details. Guests sometimes leave phone numbers or home addresses in a book every future stranger will read. If someone does, I'd rather they didn't; a first name and a city is plenty.
- No pressure. As a host, never stand over the book or ask "did you write something?" An unprompted entry is worth ten requested ones, and the same goes for reviews.
A small object that outworks its price
Of all the things I've put into properties over the years, the guest book has the best ratio of cost to warmth. It welcomes the next guest with the voices of the last hundred, it quietly rehearses your reviews, and on the hard hosting days it's a shelf full of proof that people were happy in your home.
Set the table properly and the book fills itself: a clear welcome book so the stay runs smoothly enough to deserve kind words, a notebook and a pen where guests can see them, and a first page in your own voice. The guests write the rest, and they'll say it better than either of us would.
