Digital guest guides for Alojamento Local — what to include (and why they pay for themselves)
What a digital in-room guest guide is, exactly what to put in it for a Madeira AL, and how a QR card on the table cuts midnight phone calls and lifts reviews.
Every AL host knows the two messages that arrive at 23:40: "What's the Wi-Fi password?" and "How does the hob work?" A digital guest guide answers both before they're asked — one link your guests open on their phone, with everything about the stay in it.
This guide covers what a digital guest guide is, what to include for a Madeira Alojamento Local, and how to put it in front of guests so they actually read it.
What is a digital guest guide?
A digital guest guide is a small, private web page for your property that guests open from a link or QR code — no app download, no account, no password. It replaces the printed folder on the coffee table, except it can't go missing, it's always up to date, and it works in the guest's language.
It is not the same as your guest registration form. The form collects the legal identity data you file to SIBA; the guide is everything else about the stay. Two links, two jobs — and keeping them separate means the legal chore doesn't get in the way of the warm welcome.
What to include
The best guides answer the questions guests actually ask, in the order they ask them:
- Welcome message — two or three warm sentences. This is usually read on the plane; write it like a message to a friend, not a hotel notice.
- Arrival and access — exact directions from the airport, where to park, and how to get in. If you use a door code, reveal it only around check-in time so it's never exposed weeks in advance.
- Check-in and check-out times, plus what you expect at departure (keys, rubbish, dishes).
- Wi-Fi — network name and password, right at the top. This single line prevents the most common guest message in the world.
- House notes — the temperamental hob, the shutter that sticks, where the bins go and which day they're collected.
- Waste and recycling — where the bins are and how separation works; guests genuinely want to get this right.
- Emergency numbers — 112 first, then your mobile and the nearest health centre.
- Transport — bus stops, taxi numbers, whether they need a car for your area.
- Nearby food — the bakery, the supermarket, the restaurant you'd send a friend to.
- Your Madeira tips — the levada walk you recommend to everyone, the poncha bar locals use. Personal recommendations are what turn a guide into a review mention.
The Madeira and AL angle
Madeira guests skew international and often arrive late on evening flights, so a guide that works on a phone, in English and Portuguese, at 23:00 without calling you is worth more here than almost anywhere else.
A good guide also supports your wider compliance posture. Displaying clear house and stay information is good practice for any AL — and it's a natural companion to the legal duties you already manage: the SIBA guest registration, the municipal tourist tax declaration, and the complaints book. The guest who understands the house rules and knows how things work is also the guest less likely to leave a complaint.
Getting guests to actually open it
Two moments matter:
1. Before they travel — send the link with your arrival message, after the registration form is done. Guests read it on the plane.
2. In the room — a small printed card with a QR code on the table or by the door. An A5 card takes a minute to print and means the guide is one scan away when the Wi-Fi question strikes.
The private-link rule
One thing a guest guide should never be is findable. Your Wi-Fi password and door arrangements belong to your guests, not to Google. Any guide system you use should mark guide pages as noindex and keep them behind unguessable links — only people you share the link or QR code with should ever see them.
Doing it with Chave AL Concierge
Chave AL Concierge builds this for you: a per-property guide with your welcome message, arrival details, Wi-Fi, house notes, emergency contacts and your local tips — in English and Portuguese, sent automatically before arrival, with a printable A5 QR card for the room. Guides are private by design, and Concierge is included in the Complete plan or available as an add-on for €39/year + VAT per property.
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