# QR codes for hotels > How hotels use QR codes in rooms and lobbies: guest Wi-Fi, digital compendiums, room service, check-in and local guides. With print guidance. Source: https://qr-code-build.com/qr-code-for-hotels/ Last reviewed: 2026-08-24 Publisher: QR Code Builder ## Summary 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](/wifi-qr-code-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 questions ### Can hotel guests join the Wi-Fi by scanning a code? Yes, on iOS 11+ and Android 10+. Print the network name and password as text as well, for laptops and older devices. ### Does it work with a captive portal? Partly. A Wi-Fi code can join the network, but it cannot fill in a portal login. Print the portal steps beneath the code. ### What size should a bedside Wi-Fi code be? 35 mm on a laminated matte card. Guests scan it from a seated position, sometimes in dim lighting. ### Should the digital compendium replace the paper folder? Not immediately. Run both for a season and keep a paper copy available on request — some guests cannot or will not use the code. --- Licence: this page may be quoted with attribution to QR Code Builder (https://qr-code-build.com/qr-code-for-hotels/).