Hosting standards

A check-in that runs itself

The booking is confirmed. From here, every message, key and towel either builds a five-star stay or quietly costs you one. This guide sets up a stay that runs itself: guests always know what happens next, they can get in without waiting for you, and every turnover leaves the place ready for the next arrival.

The short answer

Write your messages once and send them at the same moments every time. Give guests a way in that doesn't need you there, with clear directions to your actual door. Put everything they'll ask about in one welcome guide. Then turn the place around with a checklist, so the next guest walks into the same standard.

The messages, and when to send them

Many guest questions come up because nobody answered them earlier. Send the answer before the question.

1. When they book: thank them, confirm the dates and the number of guests, and say when they'll get the check-in details.
2. 3 days before arrival: the address, how to get there, check-in time, and an offer to help with a taxi or a late arrival.
3. The day before: how to get in, step by step, and the Wi-Fi name and password.
4. Arrival day, an hour after check-in time: a short "Did you get in all right?" Small problems are fixed in minutes now, not in the review.
5. The morning after: ask if they have everything they need.
6. The evening before departure: check-out time and what to do with the keys and rubbish.

Keep every message on the booking platform until the booking is confirmed. If you host on Revamp, Customer Journey can send these messages automatically at the right moments, and the Revamp Telegram bot sends you a morning summary of who arrives and leaves today.

A way in that doesn't need you

Waiting outside for a host is the worst first five minutes a guest can have. Self check-in removes it.

Key box

• Cheap and simple
• Change the code between guests
• Put it somewhere guests can find and you can describe

Smart lock

• A new code for every stay, sent automatically
• Works when guests are late or early
• Needs a working battery and a backup key nearby

Someone meets them

• Personal, and good for guests who expect it
• Needs a reliable person at every arrival time
• Have a self check-in fallback for late flights

Whichever you choose, never put door codes or key locations in your listing photos or public description. Send them only after the booking is confirmed.

Directions to your actual door

Getting to the street is easy. Getting into the right building, entrance and flat is where guests get lost.

1. Write the address in Armenian and in Latin letters. Drivers and guests can each read one of them.
2. Add a map pin. Pin the entrance, not just the building.
3. Photograph the way in. The building, the entrance door, the stairs or lift, and your door, in order. Four photos save twenty minutes of phone calls.
4. Explain the entrance. Many apartment buildings have a shared entrance with a code or intercom. Say exactly which one and how it works.
5. Say where to park, if guests come by car, and where not to.

One welcome guide for everything

Put the answers guests need in one place, in the flat and in a message.

The essentials

• Wi-Fi name and password
• How the heating, air conditioning and hot water work
• How to use the washing machine, cooker and TV
• Where the rubbish goes, and on which days

Your house rules

• Quiet hours, smoking, parties, pets
• How many guests may stay
• Check-out time and what to do with the keys

Your neighbourhood

• A bakery, supermarket and pharmacy nearby
• Two or three places to eat you'd send a friend to
• How to get to the centre and the airport

When something goes wrong

• Your phone number for urgent problems
• Where the fuse box, water tap and first-aid kit are
• Emergency numbers in Armenia

Turnovers that keep the standard

Every guest should walk into the place you photographed. That only happens with the same checklist every time.

1. Strip and remake every bed with fresh linen.
2. Clean the bathroom and kitchen first, because guests notice them most.
3. Restock the basics: toilet paper, soap, shampoo, coffee, tea, salt and oil.
4. Check that everything works: lights, hot water, heating or cooling, Wi-Fi, the lock.
5. Look for damage and lost items, and photograph anything you find.
6. Walk in as a guest. Open the door and look at the room the way a guest would.

Same-day turnovers leave only the hours between check-out and check-in, so a reliable cleaner matters most here. If you host on Revamp with a live listing, the trusted services list in your dashboard includes cleaning services other hosts use.

Check-in mistakes to avoid

• Sending the address on the day of arrival
• Door codes in photos or in the public listing
• Directions to the building but not to the door
• The same key box code for every guest
• No plan for a flight that lands at 2 a.m.
• Swapping contact details with a guest before the booking is confirmed

Your checklist

Messages

• Six messages written and timed
• Check-in details sent the day before, not earlier
• A check-in message an hour after arrival time

Getting in

• Self check-in set up, with a backup key
• Codes changed between guests
• Photos of the way in, from street to door

The welcome guide

• Wi-Fi, appliances, rubbish and house rules covered
• Neighbourhood tips and emergency numbers added
• A copy in the flat and in a message

Turnovers

• One written checklist your cleaner follows
• Supplies restocked every time
• Everything tested before the next guest arrives

Questions hosts ask

What's the best check-in time?
Whatever your turnover allows. Give your cleaner enough time, then hold to it. Offer early check-in only when the place is ready.

Self check-in feels impersonal. Do guests mind?
Many guests prefer getting in easily to being met. You can still be personal: a short note in the flat and a message after they arrive.

How do I handle a guest arriving very late?
Self check-in solves most of it. Send the instructions the day before, and make sure the entrance is lit and the code works at night.

What if something breaks during a stay?
Answer quickly, say when it will be fixed, and keep your promise. A problem solved fast often turns into a good review instead of a bad one.