Guests decide how they feel about your place in the first ten minutes. A crisp check-in says "you're in good hands"; a fumbled one — hunting for a pen, photocopying IDs, forgetting the wifi password — starts the stay with doubt. Here's a process that's fast, warm and fully compliant.

Before arrival

  • Send directions, a location pin and your number the day before.
  • Confirm arrival time — and be reachable if it slips.
  • Have the room genuinely ready 30 minutes early.

At the door (the 5-minute check-in)

  1. Welcome first, paperwork second. Water, a seat, a smile.
  2. Record identity. Scan or photograph the guest's ID and capture the register details — it's a legal expectation, not optional. Foreign guest? Form C within 24 hours.
  3. Log the money. Note any advance already paid and the agreed rate, so checkout has no surprises.
  4. House rules, once, kindly. Quiet hours, smoking, kitchen use — 60 seconds, no lecture.
  5. Hand over the essentials. Wifi, hot-water timings, your number, one great local tip.

Why hosts automate this

On paper, each of those steps is small. At 9pm, with a tired family at the door, they compound — and the register is what gets skipped. That's the exact moment an app earns its keep: scan the ID, the form fills itself, the advance is already on the guest's ledger, and you're done in the time it takes the chai to arrive. You can even send guests a web check-in link so they fill in their own details before arriving.

Bedlo turns this whole checklist into a 10-second scan — register, ID proof, Form C and the guest's running bill, all from your phone.

Check-in is step 6 of the full How to Start an Airbnb in India guide.