Use case · Hotels
QR codes for hotels
The in-room folder nobody opens becomes a page everybody sees. But the code that matters most in a hotel room is still the Wi-Fi one.
- Free
- No sign-up
- No expiry
- Commercial use
Hotels use QR codes for guest Wi-Fi, digital compendiums, room service menus, check-in and local recommendations. The Wi-Fi code delivers the most value because it removes the single most common front-desk question, and it works without the guest having any signal at all.
What each surface should carry
| Placement | Code | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Bedside card | Guest Wi-Fi | 35 mm |
| Desk or compendium | Digital guest directory | 30 mm |
| Back of the door | Fire procedure and floor plan | 30 mm |
| Minibar or tray card | Room service menu | 30 mm |
| TV or remote card | Casting instructions | 25 mm |
| Lobby | Local guide and transport | 60 mm |
Print the Wi-Fi network name and password as text alongside the code, always. Laptops have no camera pointed the right way, and a guest with a work laptop is exactly the guest most annoyed by not being able to connect.
The one code that has to work
Guests arrive with no local data, often from another country, and the first thing they do is connect. A code that fails here creates a front-desk call before the guest has taken their coat off.
- Put it on the guest network, isolated from the property management system and the payment terminals. Non-negotiable.
- Enable client isolation so guests cannot see each other's devices on the network.
- If the network uses a captive portal with a per-guest code, a static Wi-Fi QR cannot carry it — encode the network join and print the portal instructions beneath.
- Rotate the password on a schedule and reprint the cards. Build the reprint cost into the schedule, not the other way around.
- Laminate matte. Bedside cards get handled with wet hands and suncream.
The Wi-Fi generator handles the escaping that trips up passwords containing semicolons or colons.
Replacing the folder, honestly
A digital compendium saves reprinting and lets you update restaurant hours and closures the same day. It is also less accessible to some of your guests, so run both for at least a season.
- Keep a paper copy available on request, and say so on the card.
- Make the page work at large text sizes. A meaningful share of hotel guests use their phone's accessibility text scaling.
- Do not require the guest Wi-Fi to view it — some guests never connect. Ensure the page is reachable over mobile data.
- Translate it. Scanning a code that opens a page in a language the guest cannot read is worse than a printed folder with pictures.
- Include the front desk number as a tappable link at the top of every page.
Frequently asked
Can hotel guests join the Wi-Fi by scanning a code?
Does it work with a captive portal?
What size should a bedside Wi-Fi code be?
Should the digital compendium replace the paper folder?
Last reviewed 24 August 2026 · Checked by the QR Code Builder team