Getting Started
PDF vs Message vs Web Guide: Which Is Best for Guest Information?
Direct answer
Messages, PDFs, and web guides work best when each has a separate role. Use messages for timely reminders, a PDF for a fixed public-safe print or offline summary, and a web guide for structured information that changes. Regardless of format, exact addresses, Wi-Fi credentials, and entry codes still require real access control.
View a Sample GuideKey takeaways
- Use messages for alerts, PDFs for fixed summaries, and the web as the current reference.
- Link one current guide from messages and support it with a public-safe offline summary.
- Protect exact location, Wi-Fi, and entry values regardless of file format.
How do the three formats differ?
Compare when information is delivered, how a guest finds it again, and how often it changes. Copying the same instructions into all three formats creates stale versions, so choose one current source.
- Message: high visibility, but long details are buried and old copies remain
- PDF: useful for print and saving, but every revision needs a new file
- Web guide: easy to navigate and update, but connectivity and access policy matter
What is a practical hybrid workflow?
Use the web guide as the current public reference, and send only the immediate action and link in booking messages. Keep a public-safe printed summary for emergencies, basic facilities, and checkout where it helps the property.
How should protected information be handled in each format?
A message recipient, PDF-link visitor, or web visitor is not automatically a verified booked guest. Return exact addresses and credentials only after server-side booking, release-time, and validity checks, and avoid leaving them in a downloadable file.
How should a host choose the central format?
A short, stable guide may begin as messages and a one-page summary. A web guide becomes more useful as facility detail grows or several languages and properties need the same structure. Test the smallest workflow the host and guests can maintain.
How to apply this in stayV Host
Use the stayV public guide as the current reference, and link it from a short draft created with the free check-in message tool.
Inspect the Sample Guide, then separate a public-safe print summary from any booked-guest value.
Frequently asked questions
Does a web guide eliminate booking messages?
No. A timely arrival reminder or urgent change belongs in a message. Keep that message short and point to the current web guide for reusable detail.
Can a PDF contain the Wi-Fi password?
A downloaded PDF can remain and be forwarded. Keep it to public-safe guidance and reveal credentials through a separate booked-guest boundary.
What happens when the guest has no internet connection?
Ask guests to open a public-safe address, contact, and emergency summary before arrival or provide a printed copy. Test any claimed offline feature on a real device.