How can holiday-home operators create house rules and check-in guides with AI?
Write one approved master guide with your standard house rules, check-in steps and guest information. Then give a ChatGPT Skill the facts for each property: building access, parking, Wi-Fi, appliances, bins and any building rules. It drafts a guide for that property in your format, and a version in the guest’s language when needed. It also lists every fact it could not find, so nothing is guessed. A staff member checks each guide against the property before it is used. Access codes and safety details are confirmed by a person every time.
Why guides go out of date
An operator with a few dozen apartments across Dubai Marina, Downtown and JVC often has one guide per property, written at different times by different people. One says check-out is 11:00, another 12:00. A building changes its visitor parking rules and only some guides are updated. Guests then message the same questions at midnight: how to get into the building, where to park, how the hob works. A guide Skill starts from one approved master, so the shared rules are the same everywhere, and only the property facts change.
What goes into each guide
Swipe to read every column, or focus the table and use the arrow keys.
| Section | Drafted from | Who checks |
|---|---|---|
| House rules: quiet hours, guests, smoking, parties, check-out time | Your approved master rules | Operations manager approves the master |
| Arrival: building entry, lobby or security desk, lift, key or lock steps | The property fact sheet | Staff member who knows the property |
| Building rules: pool hours, gym, visitor parking, move-in rules | Rules the building management has given you | Staff, against the latest building notice |
| In the apartment: Wi-Fi, air conditioning, appliances, bins | The property fact sheet and appliance list | Staff member who knows the property |
| Help and emergencies: who to call, and when | Your contact list and escalation rules | Operations manager |
| Missing facts | Anything the Skill could not find in your material | Staff fill the gap before the guide is used |
A worked example
Property fact sheet (sample)
Property: sample 1-bedroom, Dubai Marina, 14th floor Entry: main lobby, show booking name to security Parking: 1 basement bay, number on key tag Wi-Fi: network and password on the router label AC: thermostat in the hall, cooling only Bins: refuse room by the lift on each floor Pool: 06:00 to 22:00, building access card neededCheck-in guide drafted by AI for staff review (extract)
Welcome to your apartment Arriving 1. Go to the main lobby and give your booking name to security. 2. Take the lift to the 14th floor. 3. Your key and access card are in the lockbox by the door. We will send the lockbox code on the morning of arrival. Parking You have one basement parking bay. The bay number is on your key tag. House rules Quiet hours are 22:00 to 08:00. No parties or events. Check-out is by 11:00. Pool Open 06:00 to 22:00. Use your access card at the gate. For staff to check before sending: - Lockbox location is not in the fact sheet. Confirm it. - Gym is mentioned in the master guide but not for this building. Remove it or add the gym details. - Emergency contact number not given for this property.
Sample property, rules and times for illustration only.
How it fits your operation
- One master, many properties. The master guide and house rules carry a version and date. When the operations manager approves a new version, guides are redrafted from it and the old version is withdrawn, so a rule change reaches every property.
- Guest languages. The same guide can be drafted in the guest’s language, with the English version kept beside it for staff to check. See messaging guests in their own language.
- Answers between guides. When a guest asks something the guide already covers, staff can use the guide to draft the reply. The pattern is the same one used for turning hotel SOPs into staff training: approved material in, a draft out.
Guardrails
- A staff member checks every guide against the property before it is shared. AI drafts can leave out a step, mix up details from another property or add a rule that is not in your material. Instructions reduce this risk but do not guarantee a complete or correct guide.
- Access codes, lockbox codes and door PINs are not put into the Skill. Staff add them to the guest’s message when it is sent, following your own security process.
- Fire exits, gas, electrics and anything about safety come only from information your team has confirmed for that property. Emergency instructions are checked by the operations manager.
- Your licensing, guest registration and building duties stay with your team. The Skill does not check whether a property, guest or rule meets them.
- Manual input is the default. Staff paste the fact sheet and booking details. Reading from your property management system, channel manager or smart locks needs a separately agreed, configured and tested integration.
A guide Skill can start as a single Skill for AED 97, built on your own master guide. Holiday-home guides are part of RUN at AED 15,000, for operators with several properties that also want the GM’s daily brief and approval rules. See the pricing page and what AI costs for a hotel or restaurant.
Common questions
Can AI write house rules for a holiday home?
It drafts them from the master rules your operations manager has approved, so every property uses the same wording. Staff check each guide against the property before it is shared.
Can it make a check-in guide for each apartment?
Yes, as a draft. From a fact sheet for each property it drafts arrival steps, parking, Wi-Fi, appliances and building rules, and lists any facts it could not find.
Are door codes and lockbox codes included?
No. Codes are not put into the Skill. Staff add them to the guest message when it is sent, following your own security process.
Does it connect to our booking or property system?
Not by default. Staff paste the fact sheet and booking details. Reading from a property management system, channel manager or smart locks needs a separately agreed, configured and tested integration.