Airbnb doesn't let you attach a PDF. That isn't the real problem.

One question comes up again and again among hosts and property managers: I've prepared a guide with restaurants, things to see and useful info — how do I send it to guests if the chat doesn't let me attach a PDF?

It's a fair question. Anyone running a property gradually builds up local knowledge that can make a stay easier and more personal: the trusted restaurant, the easiest parking spot, the Saturday market, a walking route, the bar that stays open late.

The problem isn't putting those things together. It's making sure the guest can find them when they actually need them.

The specific fact: no PDF, but links are allowed

Airbnb doesn't let you attach documents like PDFs directly to messages. It does allow you to share a link to a document hosted on an external service. After a booking is confirmed, photos and short videos can also be shared.

That distinction matters. The problem isn't that no content can pass through the chat. The problem is trying to turn a conversation into the permanent home of your guest guide.

Features can be different on other OTAs and can change depending on the channel you use. There is no universal rule that all platforms block every kind of attachment. Any guide should be shared while respecting the current rules of the OTA in use.

There's a more useful question underneath, though: even when you can send a file, is that really the best place for a guide to live?

The chat can deliver access — it shouldn't become the guide

The booking inbox is well suited to:

• confirmations;
• clarifications;
• coordinating arrival;
• last-minute questions;
• conversations that need to stay on the platform.

It's less suited to being the place where, three days in, the guest has to scroll back to find the name of the restaurant you recommended or the directions to a beach.

A message can deliver an address. It doesn't have to carry the whole guide.

The PDF isn't wrong — it just has limits

A PDF can still be useful. It works well for an official document, for material meant to be printed, for instructions that rarely change, for something a guest wants to keep offline, or for anything that needs to hold a fixed layout.

The limit shows up when it's used for content that changes. A restaurant switches its closing day. A road gets closed. An event ends. A parking option is no longer available. The PDF copy already sent to the guest stays the old one.

You can build a new file, of course. But then you need to update it, replace it and resend it to guests who already have the old version.

That's why the real issue isn't the format itself. It's the gap between static content and a stay that keeps moving. This is the same idea explored in the article about <a href="/blog/guest-pdf-stays-still">why the welcome PDF stays still while the stay keeps moving</a>.

An address instead of a new copy

A link-based guide works differently. The guest keeps the same address. Whoever runs the property updates the content behind that address.

That makes it possible to correct a time, swap out a restaurant, add a temporary event, flag roadworks, refresh arrival instructions or remove a tip that no longer applies. No new copy needs to be created and distributed each time: the link the guest already has keeps pointing at the current version.

The link isn't a way to bypass the platform

An external guide shouldn't be used to move the booking, the payment or the messages that need to stay on the OTA away from the platform. Airbnb allows sharing links to hosted documents, but it enforces clear rules about off-platform communications and payments, especially before a booking is confirmed.

The guide's job is simpler: give guests orderly access to the information that's useful during the stay. The current rules of the channel in use always have to be respected.

Where StayFast fits in

StayFast lets you build a guest guide that lives at a stable address and can be updated from the property dashboard.

On the Free plan, a property can publish a guide accessible by link and QR code, with the essentials and local tips.

On the Fast plan, it can add the personal Stay Hub, tied to a specific stay and available during the useful window of that stay.

The distinction matters: the public guide presents the property, general information and the area; the Stay Hub accompanies a recognised stay; any sensitive information stays separated and behind the applicable access rules.

The link can be shared through allowed channels or offered via a QR code at the property. It doesn't necessarily replace the OTA chat — it just avoids having to rebuild the whole guide inside that chat.

Where to start

You don't need to start with a fifty-page manual. It's enough to collect the questions guests ask most often:

• Where can we have dinner tonight?
• Where do we park?
• How do we get to the centre?
• Which beaches or attractions do you recommend?
• Where can we find a supermarket?
• What are the check-in and check-out times?
• How does the rubbish and recycling work?
• Who can we contact if we need help?

Those answers are already the first version of a useful guide. From there you can add experiences, itineraries, seasonal events, property services, Extras and content tailored to the different phases of the stay.

When to use a file and when to use a page

A simple rule of thumb helps.

Use a file when it needs to be printed, needs to keep an official layout, is meant to be kept as a document, or when its content rarely changes.

Use an updatable page when times or availability can change, when it holds local tips, when it includes temporary events or notices, when it needs to be consulted several times during the stay, or when a correction needs to be visible right away.

The two can coexist. A digital guide doesn't force you to remove every PDF — it just avoids using a static document as the single reference point for information that is very much alive.

The QR code covers access at the property

The link can be sent before arrival. Once at the property, the same content can be opened via a QR code.

The QR shouldn't just be a shortcut to another copy of the PDF, though. Its value grows when it leads to content that can be updated, is easy to read on a phone and is organised around what the guest actually needs to find. This is explored further in the article about <a href="/blog/qr-code-property-guest-guide-ota-rules">what really sits behind the QR code at a property</a>.

The real problem isn't the attachment

The host looking for a way to send their PDF is trying to do the right thing: help guests discover the area and find their way during the stay.

The question can just be sharpened. Not only: how do I attach this file? But rather: where can I put this information so that the guest always finds it up to date?

The answer isn't necessarily to get rid of every document. It's to give the guide a stable home, separate from the flow of messages and easy to update without resending it from scratch.