Arrival and departure instructions

PrivateStay can automatically send arrival and departure instructions to your guests — no manual effort required. Once you configure the content, the emails go out on schedule for every approved booking.

How it works

Arrival instructions

Set the text guests will receive before they arrive. A good arrival instruction includes:

• How to get into the property (key collection, key safe code, smart lock instructions)
• Parking information
• What to do on arrival (where to leave luggage, who to call if there's an issue)
• Wi-Fi password
• Any quirks about the property they should know before arriving

You can also add an arrival URL — a link to a PDF, a video walkthrough, a Google Doc, or any web page with more detailed instructions. This link is included in the email alongside the text.

Timing

Arrival instruction emails are sent automatically on two occasions:

• 7 days before check-in — the first reminder
• 1 day before check-in — a final reminder

Both emails contain the same arrival instructions and URL.

Departure instructions

Set the text guests will receive on the day of check-out. A good departure instruction includes:

• Check-out time
• What to do with keys or access codes
• Rubbish and recycling instructions
• What to leave on / turn off (heating, hot tub, lights)
• Where to leave bedding and towels

Timing

The departure email is sent on the morning of the check-out date.

Configuring the content

Go to Dashboard → Settings → Arrival & Departure and fill in:

• Arrival instructions — the text content
• Arrival URL — optional link to extended instructions
• Departure instructions — the text content

Save each section. Changes take effect for all future bookings. Emails already scheduled for existing bookings are not retroactively updated.

Write your instructions in one language

Both sets of instructions are translated for guests automatically, so write them once, in whichever language you are comfortable with. Do not write everything twice in two languages in the same box — that gets translated as one block, and your guest ends up reading the same instructions twice over.

Your own wording is always shown underneath the translation, exactly as you typed it. That matters most for the parts a translation should not be trusted with: a key safe code, a street name, the exact wording on a sign. Guests can always see what you actually wrote.

How many languages your instructions are translated into follows your plan, in the same way as your listing. On the Free plan they are translated into the one extra language you have added to your listing, and every other guest reads your own wording. On Plus and above they are translated into all six. See listing languages and translation.