How to Create a Local Area Guide for Your Vacation Rental

A guest arrives on Friday at seven and asks where they can still get dinner. On Saturday morning they want a short walk before the rain comes in. If you already know what you’d tell them, you have the start of a local area guide.

Put that advice on your website so people can use it while deciding where to stay. You can send the same page to guests who’ve booked. A small guide that answers real questions is easier to write and keep current than a long list of attractions.

Start with the questions guests already ask

Think back to your last few stays. What did people want to know before they left home? What did they ask when they got there? For a cottage in a village, I’d start with where to buy food, where to eat on the night of arrival, one short walk, and somewhere to go when it rains. For a city apartment, the first entries might cover the station, breakfast nearby, and whether it’s worth bringing a car.

Write for the people who actually stay with you. A family with young children needs different details from a couple walking all day. If a café has a big terrace but the route there involves a steep hill, include both. Airbnb’s guidebook advice also suggests telling guests why you recommend a place. That’s often the line that helps them choose. Read Airbnb’s advice on local guidebooks.

Give people enough detail to make a plan

For each place, explain why you go there, how to get there from your rental, and what you’d tell a friend before they set off. “Ten minutes by car from the cottage, with parking beside the entrance” is better than “nearby.” For a restaurant, the time the kitchen closes may matter more than the time the doors close. For a walk, start with the length, where the path begins, and the sort of ground underfoot.

Link to the business, park authority, or transport operator for details that change. Before publishing, check opening days, tickets, and any seasonal closures. If you’re guessing about a walking time, take the route yourself. Google’s guidance on helpful content points to experience with the places you write about. For a host, that can be as simple as explaining which way to walk from the rental. See Google’s guidance on writing helpful content.

Show guests what a weekend could look like

Here’s a short example for a fictional village cottage.

Friday evening. If you’re arriving after seven, eat in town or bring dinner with you. The village shop is handy for milk and bread in the morning.

Saturday morning. Take the riverside path from the old bridge. Allow about 45 minutes for the loop, a little longer with children. The field section gets muddy after rain, so bring shoes you don’t mind getting wet.

Saturday if it rains. Try the small museum in town. The car park behind it is a shorter walk than the one in the main square. Check the museum’s site for opening hours before you go.

Include a photo where it helps someone find their way, such as a picture of the bridge where the walk starts.

Give the guide a place on your site

Start with one Things to Do page in WordPress. Link to it from the homepage or the accommodation page, wherever you talk about what’s nearby. Put directions for getting to your rental on the contact page and keep private arrival details in the message you send to confirmed guests.

If one subject grows, give it an article of its own. A short entry about the local trails can link to a longer post with three walks that start at your door. When you set up a new LodgeWP site with AI, the Nearby & Blog step can draft posts from the activities and attractions you provide. Read the drafts against your own notes and verify the details before publishing. See how the LodgeWP setup wizard handles local posts.

Check your guide before the busy season and whenever a guest tells you something has changed. Start by revisiting the details that would spoil someone’s plan if they were wrong, such as a Sunday opening time or a path closed for repairs.