The house manual is the how-things-work half of hosting: the thermostat, the TV, the washer, the grill. On Airbnb it also names a specific field on your listing that guests can read after they book. Same content, two homes: the field in the app, and the "How things work" section of your printed welcome book.
Every entry follows the same shape: Thing: where it is, how it starts, one thing
not to do. That is the whole trick. Guests do not read appliance manuals; they read
one line, standing in front of the appliance, holding a phone in the other hand.
Thermostat: Hallway panel; tap the arrows to adjust. Please keep it between 65 and 75.
TV: Round button on the small remote, then pick a streaming app and log in with your own accounts.
Washer and dryer: Hall closet; detergent is in the basket on the shelf. Lint filter is inside the dryer door.
Grill: Propane valve under the left side table; please turn it off after cooking.
Hot tub: Cover clips on both sides; please re-cover it when you get out.
A short test: anything with a remote, anything with a filter, anything that beeps, and anything that could flood. In practice that list is the thermostat, the TV and streaming setup, the washer and dryer, any dishwasher quirk, the grill, the hot tub or fireplace if you have one, and, for the 2 AM cases, the breaker box and the water shutoff.
Write it like you would text it to a friend staying over, not like the manufacturer wrote it. "Jiggle the handle after flushing" is a fine sentence in a house manual. Short beats complete; the entry only needs to cover the step people actually get stuck on.
Three places: pasted into the listing's manual field, printed in the welcome book, and, for the two or three appliances that generate the most questions, a small card taped near the appliance itself. The free generator formats your "Thing: how it works" lines into the book's How Things Work section automatically.