STR hosts: the guest questions you answer every stay

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STR hosts: the guest questions you answer every stay

Lee Futcher
Technology · Vancouver, BC · Member since 2026 · 164 posts · 33 votes

Guest messaging isn't really a hospitality problem. For most hosts, it's a repetition problem.

Pull up your last 20 stays and count the questions. Check-in time. Parking. Wi-Fi. Late checkout. Trash day. You'll likely find the same handful, over and over.

Here's how I'd take them off your plate:

1. Write each answer once, in plain words, and keep them as saved replies.

2. Send one message the day before arrival with all of it: door code, parking, Wi-Fi, checkout.

3. Check in the first evening to ask if everything's working. Small problems surface while they're still small.

4. Keep a list of anything that still lands on your phone. That list becomes next month's saved replies.

What's the one guest question you're tired of answering?

Lee

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Andrew SteffensBusiness Member
Tampa, FL · Member since 2022 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
3d

HostBuddy does a good job at finding answers to already asked questions.

[email protected]813-563-0877
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  • Andrew SteffensBusiness Member
    Tampa, FL · Member since 2022 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    3d

    HostBuddy does a good job at finding answers to already asked questions.

    [email protected]813-563-0877
    Vacation Rentals of Florida53 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    1Reply
  • Clifton HarrisBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Pigeon Forge, TN · Member since 2026 · 9 posts · 1 vote
    2d

    I think automation makes a big difference.

    Rather than waiting for guests to ask the same questions every stay, we automate much of the repetitive communication. Things like booking confirmations, pre-arrival instructions, check-in details, parking information, checkout reminders, and post-arrival check-ins can all be scheduled to go out at the appropriate time.

    For me, the ideal setup is to automate the predictable tasks so the management team has more time to focus on the things that actually require human attention.

    Kindful.co52 Reviews
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  • Matthew Tregoning
    Property Manager · Melbourne, FL · Member since 2019 · 561 posts · 189 votes
    2d

    For apartment rentals, I’d look at where the guest is when they ask. “Where do I park?” while standing at the garage is different from planning tomorrow’s arrival. A photo of the actual entrance and the next turn can be easier to use than a long paragraph. If the same question keeps coming back, that’s a cue to fix the original instructions as well as the saved reply.

    1Reply
  • Lee Futcher
    OP
    Technology · Vancouver, BC · Member since 2026 · 164 posts · 33 votes
    2d

    Hi Andrew, Clifton and Matthew,

    Thank you all for adding to this. It sounds like you've each landed in the same place: let the predictable messages answer themselves, so the time goes to the things that really need a person.

    Matthew, I really like your point about where the guest is when they ask. "Where do I park?" while standing at the garage needs a photo of the entrance and the next turn, not a paragraph. And if the same question keeps coming back, it's a sign the original instructions need fixing too, not just the saved reply.

    The other piece I'd give real weight to is timing. A check-in on the first evening catches a small problem while the guest is still there to tell you about it, which is a lot easier to fix than the same problem showing up later in a review.

    Cheers,
    Lee

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  • Kent Morgan
    Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2018 · 11 posts · 3 votes
    1d

    The one that still sneaks through for us is Wi-Fi, even with the network name and password in the pre-arrival message and on a card by the router. Guests skim past it, then message from the driveway.

    What helped: put the Wi-Fi line in its own short message right after check-in (not buried in the long welcome), and keep a photo of the router sticker in your phone so you can send it in one tap. Same idea as Matthew's parking photo — meet them where they are when they ask.

    Agree that the real win is writing each answer once. We keep those as saved replies and also use a small AI helper (I own BnBGenius, an AI tool for short-term rental hosts) to draft from that same library so the wording stays consistent when the inbox piles up. The list of "still lands on your phone" questions is the product backlog.

    (Drafted with AI help.)

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  • Lee Futcher
    OP
    Technology · Vancouver, BC · Member since 2026 · 164 posts · 33 votes
    1d

    Hello @Kent Morgan,

    Wi-Fi is such a good example. Even when the details are in the pre-arrival message and on a card by the router, guests are usually tired from traveling and skim right past it. Sending that one line in its own message right after check-in makes a lot of sense, and keeping a photo of the router sticker ready to send in one tap is a really practical touch.

    I also like your point that the questions still landing on your phone become the backlog. It's a simple way to see which answers still need work each month.

    I'm curious, after you moved Wi-Fi into its own message, how much did those driveway messages actually drop?

    Enjoy the weekend,
    Lee

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