Writing Clear Guest Information Folders for Every Room

Why One Tidy Folder Beats Notes Stuck to the Wall

Every guest house owner knows the scene: a laminated Wi-Fi card taped to the wardrobe, a handwritten note about breakfast on the kettle, a scrawled "please don't use the back gate" by the door. Each one made sense when you wrote it. Together, they're a puzzle that guests have to solve at eleven o'clock at night after a long drive.

A single, well-organised information folder in every room solves that. Guests find answers without knocking on your door, you get your evenings back, and the whole place feels more professional without a single penny spent on refurbishment. The trick is to write it for a tired person with a suitcase, not for someone with time to browse.

Begin With the Three Questions Every Guest Asks

Whatever else goes in the folder, these three items should be on the first page, in large, unmissable print. If a guest only reads one sheet, make it this one.

• Wi-Fi. Write the network name and password exactly as they appear, and say plainly that the password is case-sensitive with no spaces. Add a line about where the signal is weakest — "the back bedroom can be patchy; the booster is on the landing" — and how to restart the router if it drops.
• Breakfast. Give the times for weekdays and weekends separately, note the last order time for a cooked breakfast, and explain whether guests help themselves to cereal, juice and toast or whether you take their order at the table.
• Departure. State the checkout time, where to leave the key, and whether they should strip the bed or simply leave everything as it is. Guests worry about this far more than you'd think.

Breakfast, Departure and the Small Print

Once the essentials are covered, add a page on the details that quietly shape a guest's day. What time is the dining room open for early risers catching a ferry or a flight? Can they fill a flask or take a piece of fruit for the road? Is there a fridge they can use, and is it shared?

Dietary requirements deserve a short, matter-of-fact paragraph. Explain that you can cater for vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free diets with a little notice, and give a clear name and number to contact. Avoid anything that reads like a rulebook — "we ask that guests..." is far warmer than "guests must not...".

This is also the place for the honest quirks of an older building: the hot tap in the en-suite that takes a moment to run warm, the sash window that needs lifting with both hands, the floorboard outside room three that creaks. Guests forgive almost anything they've been warned about.

Emergency Contacts and the Practical Bits

Keep this section calm and clearly laid out rather than alarming. Use bold labels so a panicking guest can scan it in seconds.

• 999 for fire, police or ambulance; 101 for non-urgent police matters; 111 for NHS advice.
• Your mobile number, plus a second number for when you're out or asleep.
• Details of the nearest A&E department, the nearest minor injuries unit and the nearest late-opening pharmacy, with postcodes suitable for a satnav.
• Two or three local taxi firms, with typical fares to the station or town centre.
• Fire procedure for the building, including the assembly point, and a reminder not to use the lift if there is one.
• Where to find the fuse box, the stopcock, spare bulbs and the first-aid kit.
• How to lock the front door at night, and the code for the key safe if you use one.

Review these numbers at least twice a year. Nothing undermines a folder faster than a taxi firm that closed down two summers ago.

Local Tips Guests Genuinely Thank You For

Skip the glossy tourist brochure. What guests want is the advice they'd get from a friend who lives nearby. Be specific and be honest.

• Which pub does the best Sunday roast, and which one gets rowdy on a Saturday night.
• The walk that takes forty minutes rather than the twenty stated on the signpost.
• The bakery that sells out by half past ten, and the one that opens early enough for a pre-ferry coffee.
• Where the car parks fill up by nine in summer, and where the free on-street parking actually is.
• Rainy-day options: the museum, the cinema, the garden centre with the good tearoom.
• Dog-friendly pubs, the nearest cashpoint, and the bus times into town with the last bus home.

If you're near the coast, tide times matter. Print the current week's table and note the safe swimming spots and the ones to avoid.

Format, Tone and Keeping It Current

An A4 ring binder with plastic wallets and tabbed dividers is hard to beat. Use one topic per page, print in at least 12-point type, and put the Wi-Fi and fire details on laminated cards that can't be smudged or lost. A short handwritten welcome note from you on the inside cover does more for the feel of the place than any printed page.

Then set a reminder to review the folder at the start of each season. Check phone numbers, prices, opening hours and menus, and print a small "last reviewed" date in the footer so you can tell at a glance which sheets are current. Keep a master copy on your computer so reprinting a single page takes minutes rather than an afternoon.

Do that, and your folder becomes something guests trust — a quiet, reliable voice answering their questions so you don't have to.