Overview
Follow everything in this guide, your tablets will be 100% guest-ready.
That said, if you have any questions then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the YourWelcome support team by email or book a support call.
Welcoming Your Guests
With its screensaver displaying a personalised greeting, the YourWelcome tablet is often the first thing your guests see. We’ve designed a number of features to help you welcome your guests and capture valuable contact information.
Welcome Message
This message is seen by all guests and sits on the 1st page of the check-in sequence. We’ve added some default text that explains what the tablet does, but I’d recommend overwriting this with your own message. Something like:
“Welcome to Brighton, weary traveller! We want you to get settled in to your new home as quickly as possible, so all of the important information that you need to know about the place you’re staying in can be found on this tablet.”
Welcome Video
This video is shown at the end of the check-in sequence, after they have successfully checked in. This can be different for each property, but I’d suggest filming one as a default that simply introduces who you are, a little about the local area and to let them know that all the info they need can be found on the device.
Watch this great example by Kelly at Airhost For You, in Brighton.
Property Guides
Based on more than 1 million views, we suggest that you start by adding the 4 following property guides:
Heating & Air Conditioning
This is, by far, the most popular guide category as viewed by guests on our system — nearly 13% of all property guides viewed are related to this subject. It makes sense, guests want to feel comfortable before they can enjoy their stay.
I would add a written guide for how to change the temperature / speed up the hot water (including some photos, if it’s complex) and a separate video for resetting the boiler (for emergency use only, will cut down on call -outs).
TV/Entertainment Systems
This one is simple — shoot a short video showing the remote, then basic instructions on how to access each service (if the need to log in etc). Guests are often familiar with modern services (Apple TV, Netflix etc.), but it’s still useful to leave a short list of the steps they’ll need to take before they can start watching or listening to their favourite shows.
Check-Out Instructions
This one may be surprising, but it’s one of the most popular guides that guests view on the first day of their stay — planning what will happen on their last day leaves your guests feeling safe in the knowledge that there will be no unexpected surprises.
Another simple list-style guide will work well for this one. Explain what the check-out process will be for the guest; the times, instructions for how to leave the property, where to leave your keys etc.
Resetting the Router
Anyone that remembers the channel 4 series The IT Crowd will be familiar with the line:
“Have you tried turning it off and on again?”
But, however cliché it sounds — you’d be surprised how often this works. Your wifi router is exactly like every other piece of technology in your home; sometimes the quickest way to solve the problem is to reset the darn thing.
Your wifi details are permanently on display in the bottom-left of the screen, so add a video on about how to reset the router if it needs to be reset. Your guests will be able to access this at all times, even without a connection, as your videos are stored locally on the device.
Recording Videos
You don’t have to be Spielberg. Recording videos to add to your tablet is simple. In most cases, the camera on your phone is more than adequate. Whatever you’re using to record, make sure you follow these simple steps:
- The content of your video should get straight to the point. There’s no need for lengthy intros, or flashy editing — keep it simple, and shoot from your point of view.
- Shoot everything individually. No one wants sit through a 9-minute guide to your kitchen just to find out how your coffee machine works — split your guides into appliances & features. That way, if you update something, you only have to re-do one video.
- Record the videos in landscape orientation (turn your phone on its side before tapping record)
- Ensure the main light source is behind you and try to use natural light, if possible.
- The sound is more important than the visuals — make sure you can be clearly heard at all times.
- You upload them directly via the dashboard — there is a limit to the file size, but a few of the YourWelcome team (including me!) have video production backgrounds. The optimal size for a video of 60 seconds is about 8–10mb. If your files are bigger, get in touch with the support team before uploading.
Check-In Preferences
You can customise the screens that are shown during the check-in process. You can capture all sorts of details; all of the entries are emailed to you as soon as they check-in, and are also stored in your online account (incase you want to download them in bulk).
To update this, go to the Check-In Preferences page of the dashboard I would suggest setting up every screen initially, including all of the fields — make them all optional, then go through it and see how they look.
House Rules & First Impressions Rating
If you’re hosting remotely, there are two screens I’d recommend adding:
- The Important Information screen allows you to add your house rules to each property (via the property info screen), which your guests have to confirm that they have read.
- The First Impressions Ratings allows your guest to rate the property upon arrival. Each rating comes to you as private feedback; if they rate 3 stars or less your guests will be asked to provide a comment and optional photo of the potential issue, 4 or more stars comes straight through to you.