The sample manual: Juniper House.

Okay so the cottage is Juniper House, it's a 2-bed in Pinewood, Oregon, sleeps 5 (the sofa in the den pulls out). We've hosted about two years and I have rewritten the welcome binder three times and guests still text me the wifi password while they are standing next to the router. I want one manual that actually gets read, for the binder on the kitchen counter and a PDF I can paste into the listing app. Getting in: keypad on the front door, I send the code the morning they arrive, please don't print a code in the book, last host guide I saw online had the code right on page one which is insane. Parking is the driveway, two cars max. No street parking November through March because it's a snow route and they will get towed, this has happened, I'm still mad about it. Wifi is JuniperGuest, password is on the card by the router AND I text it, but see above. TV is a Roku, the input thing confuses people, it has to be on HDMI2, the soundbar remote is the little black one. Kitchen: the left burner clicks a few times before it lights, it's fine, it's not a gas leak, I get a text about it every month. Dishwasher tablets under the sink. Laundry is in the garage, free, detergent's there. The back slider sticks — you have to lift the handle UP while you slide it. I apologize about this in three different places in the current binder, my husband says stop apologizing. Hot tub: shower first, no glass in or near it, kids only with an adult, cover back on after, and it's closed at 10 because quiet hours. Quiet hours 10pm, it's a real neighborhood, the neighbors are lovely and I want to keep it that way. Dog is fine, we don't charge, just not on the beds and please don't leave it alone in the house. No smoking anywhere, including the deck. Thermostat is a Nest, please don't crank it past 72, it's a small house, 68 is cozy, and set it to 62 when you leave. I don't want a whole lecture about it in the book, one line. Places: coffee and breakfast is Cedar & Spoon, 5 minutes, get the marionberry scone. Dinner, The Millpond Taphouse, kids are fine there. Ray's Market for groceries, 6 minutes. Pinewood Immediate Care is the urgent care, about 15 minutes. The river trail from the end of our street to the falls is the walk everyone asks for after the fact. If stuff breaks: breaker panel in the garage behind the door, wifi router in the hall closet, unplug 30 seconds, that fixes it 90% of the time. Water shutoff under the kitchen sink. Text me for anything, number's in the booking thread. Checkout 10am: start the dishwasher, towels in the laundry basket in the garage, don't strip beds, thermostat 62, check the slider's locked, trash in the driveway bins. Bins go to the curb Monday night, trash day Tuesday, only matters for longer stays.

GETTING IN Welcome to Juniper House. The front door has a keypad; your code is in the message we send the morning you arrive. Punch it in and turn the handle — no keys to carry or lose. Park in the driveway, up to two cars. From November through March, please don't park on the street: it's a snow route and the town does tow. The thermostat is on the hall wall. 68 is cozy for the whole house; please keep it at 72 or below. THE WIFI AND THE TV Wifi: JuniperGuest. The password is on the card beside the router (hall closet) and in your arrival message. The TV is a Roku and lives on HDMI2 — if you see a blank screen, that's the fix. The small black remote runs the soundbar. THE HOUSE, AND ITS TWO QUIRKS The left stove burner clicks a few times before it lights. That's normal — it's the igniter, not a leak. The back slider sticks: lift the handle up while you slide, and it moves easily. It locks the same way — lift, then latch. Dishwasher tablets are under the sink. The washer and dryer are in the garage, free to use; detergent is on the shelf. THE HOT TUB Please shower first, and keep glass away from the water — cans and plastic are fine. Kids use the tub with an adult in it, not just nearby. It closes at 10 PM with quiet hours, and the cover goes back on after each soak — it keeps the heat in and the pine needles out. HOUSE RULES Quiet hours are 10 PM to 8 AM. It's a real neighborhood with lovely neighbors, and we'd like to keep them that way. Your dog is welcome, no charge. Two asks: off the beds, and not alone in the house. No smoking anywhere on the property, the deck included. MARA AND DAN'S PICKS Coffee and breakfast: Cedar & Spoon, 5 minutes. Get the marionberry scone. Dinner: The Millpond Taphouse — kids are fine there. Groceries: Ray's Market, 6 minutes. Urgent care: Pinewood Immediate Care, about 15 minutes. The walk: the river trail starts at the end of our street and runs to the falls. It's the thing guests tell us they wish they'd done on day one. IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG Wifi down. Unplug the router in the hall closet, count to 30, plug it back in. That fixes it nine times out of ten. No power in part of the house. The breaker panel is in the garage, behind the door; flip the switched-off breaker fully off, then on. Water. The shutoff is under the kitchen sink. Anything else, text us in the booking app thread — that reaches us fastest, day or stay. CHECKOUT, BY 10 AM Start the dishwasher with whatever's in it. Towels go in the laundry basket in the garage. Leave the beds made-ish — please don't strip them. Set the thermostat to 62, check the back slider is latched, and drop any trash in the driveway bins. Staying over a Monday? Bins go to the curb Monday night; pickup is Tuesday. For weekend stays, ignore this line. That's it. Pull the front door shut and it locks itself. Thank you for staying — safe travels home.

1. The door code became a placeholder, not a number Your notes were firm about this and you're right: the manual says the code comes in the arrival message, so the book can sit on the counter (or in the listing) without ever leaking the door. 2. The slider apology became one instruction Your current binder says sorry about the slider in three places. The manual says how to open it in one line and apologises zero times — a quirk stated plainly reads as character, not neglect. 3. “Don't be weird about the hot tub” became four plain rules Shower, glass, kids, cover — one line each, with the 10 PM close tied to quiet hours so it reads as the neighborhood's rule, not a scold. 4. The thermostat got one line, not a lecture As asked: 68 cozy, 72 the ceiling, 62 at checkout — the checkout number lives on the checkout page, not with the heating note. 5. Quiet hours are stated once They appeared three times in your notes (rules, hot tub, neighbors); the manual states them once in the rules and the hot tub line points there. 6. Your five picks went in, and only your five Nothing was added from the internet — no restaurant, trail or shop you didn't name. The river trail got moved up to a full line because your notes said guests wish they'd known on day one. 7. The snow-route tow warning moved to the arrival page It was mid-rant in your notes; guests need it before they park, so it sits directly under the parking line.

1. Does the keypad code change per guest, or is it one standing code? The manual assumes per-guest (“your code is in the message we send the morning you arrive”). 2. Is checkout 10 AM firm? The manual states it plainly with no “ask us about late checkout” line — say the word and we'll add one. 3. The dog is free — do you also cap it at one dog, or any number? The manual says “your dog”, singular, which quietly reads as one. 4. Should the manual name your cell number, or only “text us in the booking app thread”? It currently says the thread only, matching your code caution. 5. The sofa pull-out: do you want a line about where the bedding for it lives? Your notes mention it sleeps 5 but not the linens. 6. Cover photo page: do you want the street address on the manual's cover, or just “Juniper House, Pinewood”? It currently omits the address.