QR codes for hotels and vacation rentals

Codes for the room

• Guest WiFi. A WiFi QR code on the desk card or nightstand. Use the guest network, never the one your front desk and payment systems run on.
• Guest directory. Breakfast hours, checkout time, parking, pool rules, the TV channel list. One web page you can edit when breakfast moves to 7, instead of reprinting a binder.
• Room service menu. A mobile menu page with prices and the number to call. Keep a printed menu for guests who prefer one.
• Housekeeping requests. An SMS QR code opens a text to the front desk with the message started, like Room ___ could use extra towels. The guest fills in the number and sends.
• Local guide. Your picks for dinner, coffee and a good walk nearby, on a page you keep current.

Codes for the lobby and checkout

Checkout is the moment to ask how the stay went. A code on the checkout card or key envelope that opens a short survey, or your review page, catches people while the stay is fresh.

The key card sleeve is also a good home for a book-direct code. It opens your own booking page, so the next stay doesn't have to go through a third party. Put the same code on a lobby sign near the elevators.

Vacation rental hosts can put the whole house manual behind one code on the fridge: WiFi, checkout steps, trash day and how the thermostat works.

Where to place them

• Nightstand or desk, on an acrylic stand or a laminated card, 3 to 5 cm (1.2 to 2 in) square
• The back of the room door, with the directory and checkout time
• Room service and minibar menus
• The lobby, the elevator landing and the breakfast room, on table tents

Choose a matte finish. Bedside lamps reflect off glossy cards at exactly the angle guests hold their phones.

What to avoid

Personal details in a code. Never encode a guest's name, room assignment or booking number. Codes are plain text, and the card will be seen by the next guest and the one after that.

Frequent WiFi password changes. Every change means a new card in every room. Rotate the guest password on a schedule you can keep up with, and use holders that make swapping a card quick.

Codes you never check. In public areas, look over your codes now and then to make sure nobody has stuck a different code on top. The guide to whether QR codes are safe explains why that matters.

Start with the WiFi card

Make a code from your guest network details, print one card, and test it in a room with an iPhone and an Android phone. If both connect on the first try, roll it out floor by floor.