A digital guidebook your guests actually open
One link holds everything a printed welcome book would - wi-fi, the door code, check-in steps, your honest local picks - and then does what paper never could. It answers questions in plain language, updates itself the moment you save, and leads with what is useful right now. Built for Airbnb hosts, guesthouses and lodges, with no app for anyone to download.
What is a digital guidebook?
A digital guidebook is a single web page your guests open on their phone - no app to download and no account to create. It replaces the printed binder on the counter and the PDF buried in an email thread with one link that carries everything: wi-fi and the door code, check-in and checkout, how the tricky appliances work, your local recommendations and the house rules. Because it lives online, it updates for every guest the moment you change something, so the wi-fi password is never wrong and the checkout time is always current.
The name has a few spellings - some hosts call it a digital guest guidebook, others a digital welcome book or a smart app. They all describe the same thing: the information a guest needs for a smooth stay, in the one place they were always going to look, which is their phone.
Why the printed welcome book quietly costs you
It goes stale. Change the wi-fi, the checkout time or a dinner pick and the binder is wrong until you reprint it. A digital guidebook updates for every guest the moment you save, so there is nothing to reprint and nothing out of date.
Guests do not read it. A thick binder is a wall of text. When the answer is not instant, guests message you instead - the late-night “how does the heating work” that a good guidebook would have answered in one tap. Move those answers into a link the guest already has open and most of them answer themselves.
It cannot recommend for the moment. Paper lists a rooftop bar the same way at 9am in the rain as it does at sunset. A digital guidebook floats what fits now and quietly sinks what does not, drawing on real places you actually rate.
What guidely puts in your guidebook
guidely is a digital guidebook built for hosts who want fewer repeat questions and better reviews. Here is what does the work.
Set up from an AI draft
Start with a guidebook that is already filled in. AI drafts the structure and the common sections, so you edit the details that are yours instead of staring at a blank page.
Recommendations that read the moment
Your local picks reorder themselves by the time of day and the live weather, and they stay grounded in real places you actually rate - so a rooftop bar never tops the list at 9am in the rain.
An AI concierge that answers guests
Guests ask questions in plain language, any hour, and get answers drawn only from what you wrote and the documents you upload. The 11pm “how does the heating work” is handled without you.
No app to download
It is one link that opens in the browser. No app store, no install, no guest account - which is the whole reason guests open it instead of messaging you.
Multi-language on the spot
Write it once and guests switch it to their language, concierge answers included. International guests get the same smooth stay as everyone else.
Sell extras and experiences
Late checkout, transfers, food and experiences - guests order from inside the guide and requests land directly in your WhatsApp.
The same guidebook works whether you run a single Airbnb, a small guesthouse or a lodge with a dozen rooms. See the full list on the features page, and how larger properties use it as a hotel guest app alternative.
Digital guidebook vs. a paper welcome book
Digital guidebook FAQ
What is a digital guidebook?
A digital guidebook is a single web link your guests open on their phone that holds everything a printed welcome book would - wi-fi, the door code, check-in steps, how the appliances work, your local recommendations and the house rules. Unlike paper, it updates instantly, answers questions in plain language and can reorder recommendations by the time of day and the live weather.
Is guidely free?
You can build and share a full digital guidebook on a 14-day free trial with no card required. After that it is $7.50 a month per property, so a single link that answers guest questions and updates itself costs less than a printed binder you would reprint every season.
Do guests need to download an app?
No. A guidely digital guidebook is one link that opens straight in the phone browser - there is no app to download and no account for the guest to create. You share the link or a QR code and the guide is there instantly, which is exactly why guests actually open it.
How long does it take to set up?
Most hosts are live in well under an hour. You can start from an AI draft that fills in the structure and common sections, then edit the details that are specific to your place - the door code, your dinner picks, the checkout steps - and share the link.
Does it work for hotels and lodges too?
Yes. The same digital guidebook works for Airbnb hosts, guesthouses, boutique hotels and lodges. Larger properties use it as a lightweight guest app alternative - one link per room or unit for check-in, the local guide, in-house ordering and instant answers, with no native app to build or maintain.
Can guests read it in their own language?
Yes. You write the guide once and guests switch it to their language on the spot, and the AI concierge answers their questions in that language too. It is one of the reasons a digital welcome book handles international guests far better than a printed one.
Build a digital guidebook that answers your guests, recommends for the moment and updates itself - all from one link, with nothing to download. Free for 14 days.