What Should a Rental House Manual Include So AI Can Answer Guest Questions?

Copy the template below. Fill in every field for one property before launching the guest-reply workflow in Dave by voolama (hellodave.ai). Leave a field blank only if it genuinely does not apply: the agent writes [NOT PROVIDED] for blank fields rather than guessing, provided the systemPrompt includes that instruction. Do not put real Wi-Fi passwords, access codes, or street addresses in any version of this template shared publicly: use placeholders in shared copies.

The Federal Plain Language Guidelines (plainlanguage.gov/guidelines/) require concrete, verifiable details rather than vague descriptions. Apply that standard to every field: write specific times, specific locations, and specific steps rather than general guidance the AI cannot act on. The Agent Interaction node (purple/Bot icon) in Dave by voolama reads only what is in the workflow context: vague fields produce vague replies.

HOUSE MANUAL FOR AI GUEST REPLIES
Property name: [SHORT NAME USED IN GUEST COMMUNICATIONS]
Property address: [FULL STREET ADDRESS - use a placeholder in shared versions]
Host name: [YOUR NAME OR BUSINESS NAME]
Host contact: [PHONE OR EMAIL GUESTS USE TO REACH YOU]
Manual version: [DATE LAST UPDATED]

SECTION 1: CHECK-IN AND CHECK-OUT
Check-in time: [TIME, e.g., 3:00 PM local time]
Check-out time: [TIME, e.g., 11:00 AM local time]
Early check-in available: [YES / NO / SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY - contact host]
Late check-out available: [YES / NO / SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY - contact host]

Check-in steps:
1. [STEP 1]
2. [STEP 2]
3. [STEP 3]
4. [STEP 4]

Check-out steps:
1. [STEP 1]
2. [STEP 2]
3. [STEP 3]
4. [STEP 4]

SECTION 2: WI-FI AND APPLIANCES
Wi-Fi network name: [NETWORK NAME - use a placeholder in shared versions]
Wi-Fi password: [PASSWORD - use a placeholder in shared versions]

Appliance instructions (one line per appliance):
Thermostat: [LOCATION AND BASIC OPERATION]
Washer: [LOCATION AND BASIC OPERATION]
Dryer: [LOCATION AND BASIC OPERATION]
TV: [LOCATION AND BASIC OPERATION]
Oven: [LOCATION AND BASIC OPERATION]
Coffee maker: [LOCATION AND BASIC OPERATION]
Other: [LIST ANY OTHER APPLIANCES WITH BRIEF INSTRUCTIONS]

SECTION 3: PARKING
Parking spaces available: [NUMBER]
Parking location: [SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION]
Street parking: [AVAILABLE / NOT AVAILABLE / AVAILABLE WITH RESTRICTIONS]
Street parking restrictions: [DESCRIPTION IF APPLICABLE]
Guest parking permit required: [YES / NO]
How to get a guest parking permit: [INSTRUCTIONS IF APPLICABLE]

SECTION 4: HOUSE RULES
[List each rule on its own line. Be specific.]
- Maximum [NUMBER] guests overnight.
- No smoking anywhere on the property.
- [PETS POLICY]
- Quiet hours: [TIME] to [TIME].
- No parties or events.
- Trash bins are at [LOCATION]. Pickup is on [DAY].
- Do not move furniture.
- Report any damage immediately to the host at [HOST CONTACT].
[ADD YOUR OWN RULES HERE]

SECTION 5: LOCAL TIPS
[List only tips you have personally verified. Do not include hours, prices, or ratings.]
- Nearest grocery store: [NAME], [APPROXIMATE DISTANCE OR DIRECTION].
- Nearest pharmacy: [NAME], [APPROXIMATE DISTANCE OR DIRECTION].
- Nearest urgent care: [NAME], [APPROXIMATE DISTANCE OR DIRECTION].
- Nearest gas station: [NAME], [APPROXIMATE DISTANCE OR DIRECTION].
[ADD YOUR OWN TIPS HERE]

SECTION 6: TOPICS THE AI MUST HAND TO THE HOST
[The agent's systemPrompt must reference this section explicitly. For any question matching a topic below, the agent replies: 'I will pass your question to the host directly.']

- Maintenance emergencies (broken appliance, plumbing, heating or cooling failure, power outage).
- Security deposit questions.
- Early check-in or late check-out requests.
- Guest complaints.
- Requests to bring additional guests beyond the maximum in Section 4.
- Any question not covered by Sections 1 through 5.
- Any question about the host's policies not stated in this manual.

The systemPrompt in the guest-reply agent's Config JSON is the primary control for preventing invented answers and ensuring Section 6 hand-offs happen correctly. Navigate to Agents in the sidebar, click New Agent, name it Guest Reply Agent, click Create Agent, then click Create Version and paste this Config JSON. The Config JSON fields confirmed in the agents help documentation (DEV v0.11.0, confirmed 2026-08-30) are: systemPrompt, model, temperature (0.0-1.0), maxTokens, and topP. Recommended settings for a guest-reply agent: temperature 0.1, maxTokens 300.

{
 "systemPrompt": "You are a guest reply assistant for a vacation rental property. Answer guest questions using only the house manual provided in the workflow context.\n\nFour rules:\n1. Do not generate or estimate any fact not in the house manual. If a fact is not in the house manual, write [NOT PROVIDED].\n2. If the guest's question matches any topic listed in Section 6 of the house manual (Topics the AI Must Hand to the Host), reply exactly: 'I will pass your question to the host directly.' Do not attempt to answer it.\n3. Do not share Wi-Fi passwords or access codes unless the guest has already checked in and is asking about the property they are currently staying at.\n4. Keep replies to 3 sentences or fewer. Use plain language.",
 "model": "gpt-4o",
 "temperature": 0.1,
 "maxTokens": 300
}

After confirming the Config JSON produces correct output for at least five different guest questions, save the systemPrompt as a Prompt Library entry: navigate to Agents in the sidebar, switch to the Prompt Library tab, click New Prompt, select Category: Content Generation, paste the completed systemPrompt, and save. Then open the agent, select the library prompt, and toggle the Lock Prompt switch. Only Admin and Create roles can lock prompts. When locked, the agents help documentation (DEV v0.11.0, confirmed 2026-08-30) states: 'workflow designers cannot override it, the agent always uses its locked prompt.' Sourced from the agents help documentation, DEV v0.11.0, confirmed 2026-08-30.

The workflow graph for a guest-reply workflow in Dave by voolama (hellodave.ai) uses five nodes: Start (green/Play), User Interaction (blue/User), Agent Interaction (purple/Bot), Human Review (amber/Eye), and End (red/Square). Only Admin and Curate roles can open the Workflow Editor (Workflows sidebar, Open in Editor) and build this graph. Sourced from the workflow-editor help documentation, DEV v0.11.0, confirmed 2026-08-30.

This template covers the house manual structure and the agent Config JSON for a vacation rental host using AI to draft guest replies in Dave by voolama (hellodave.ai). Five explicit boundaries:

• This is not legal advice. The FTC Act Section 5 citation (ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/statutes/federal-trade-commission-act) is to a publicly available federal document. Whether a specific AI-drafted guest reply creates liability requires the host's own legal assessment. Logan Esposito's expertise is in practical operations how-tos, not in short-term rental law or consumer protection law.
• This template does not cover platform-specific rules. Short-term rental platforms have their own terms of service governing how hosts communicate with guests. Check the platform's current terms before activating a guest-reply workflow. This template does not name any platform's AI policy because those policies change.
• This template does not cover local short-term rental regulations. Many US cities and counties regulate short-term rentals, including requirements for what information must be provided to guests. This template does not address those local requirements.
• This template does not cover security codes or access credentials. Do not put real credentials in any version of this template shared publicly or stored outside the host's own secure systems.
• Dave by voolama does not send replies to guests. The platform generates the draft and records the Human Review approval in the audit log with the reviewer's user ID and a UTC timestamp. Sending the reply is a separate step using the host's normal messaging channel.