Touch Stay guidebooks are a Progressive Web App (PWA). Guests don't need to download anything from an app store, but they can add your guide to their phone's home screen and open it like an app — including when they have no WiFi or data, which is great for remote locations.
Table of contents:
Adding the guide to the home screen
When guests open your guide on their phone, Guidebook 2.0 shows a card inviting them to add it to their home screen:
Android: in browsers that support installing web apps, such as Chrome, the card offers a one-tap install.
iPhone and iPad: the card shows step-by-step Add to Home Screen instructions.
Samsung Internet: the card suggests opening the guide in Chrome to install it.
The card doesn't appear when the guide is opened inside another app's built-in browser, or when the guide is already installed. If a guest dismisses it, it stays hidden for 14 days.
For help with the home screen prompt, see Troubleshooting the PWA prompt for iOS and Android.
Making sure the guide works offline
Offline access only covers content the phone has already downloaded while online:
Once the guide is added to the home screen, it downloads your guide content and images in the background so they're ready offline. This is the most reliable option.
Without installing, pages a guest has already viewed may still be available offline, but the rest of the guide may not be.
💡 Tip: recommend that guests add the guide to their home screen and open it once while they still have a connection — for example before travelling to the property.
Guides using the legacy design
If your account still uses the legacy guidebook design rather than Guidebook 2.0:
Offline viewing only works after the guide has been added to the home screen. A guide opened in a normal browser tab isn't saved for offline use.
Use Chrome on Android or Safari on iPhone/iPad. Other mobile browsers show a notice recommending a switch to one of these.
The image below shows the legacy prompt on Android and iPhone:
On the legacy design, guests can also create a PDF version to save on their phone or laptop by clicking the printer icon at the top right of the guide info page.
🤝 Need help?
Our Fin AI assistant is available 24/7 and typically responds in under 10 seconds. If Fin isn't able to solve your issue, our support team will take ownership of your case from there.
You can also reach out to our team at [email protected], and we'll be happy to help.