A QR code for welcoming guests: where to put it and what should it open?

To give access, in one gesture, to information that changes: your recommendations, the practical details, everything a host would explain in person. It replaces an object that gets lost or never opened.

QR codes got a bad name from restaurant menus people scanned reluctantly. For welcoming guests, it's different: it doesn't replace a menu you'd rather hold, it replaces a laminated sheet that doesn't follow guests when they go out. Once scanned, the guide stays on their phone for the whole stay.

Three uses that make a difference

• Instant access to your favourite places, with one-tap directions from the guest's phone.
• Information that's always right: a restaurant closes, you fix it, everyone sees the correct version straight away.
• A welcome that continues outside your hours: the guest arriving at 11 pm gets the same information as the one arriving at 3 pm.

A web page designed for phones, readable without zooming, that opens with no account or app. What it opens is what gives a QR code its value, not the code itself.

Why not a PDF

A PDF reads badly on a phone: you have to zoom, scroll sideways, and the text is tiny. Above all, it becomes wrong as soon as you change a place, because the copy the guest saved doesn't update. Our comparison of PDF, Google Maps, WhatsApp or QR code sets out what each format does well and badly.

An address that never changes

The printed QR code contains a web address. If that address changes, all your printed materials become useless at once. Choose a tool where the link stays the same when you edit the content: that's the case with HerePicks guides, whose link and QR code never change.

Beware of free "dynamic" QR codes

Some generators create a code that goes through their own redirect address. If the free trial ends or the service shuts down, the printed code stops working. Before printing dozens of copies, check which address your code points to.

Where guests sit, wait or pass on arrival: that's where they have the time and the inclination to scan it. Put it at eye level, or flat where people put their phone down, somewhere well lit.

Avoid the back of a drawer, a closed folder or a poorly lit corner: a QR code nobody sees doesn't exist. For more by type of property, see the hotel guest directory or the campsite welcome book.

One QR code, or several?

The same code can appear everywhere: in every room, at reception, on the key note. Several codes only make sense if they open different guides, for example a restaurant guide in the rooms and a family outings guide at reception.

A format that stands up or sticks, large enough to scan without effort. The most practical:

• an A5 card, in a display stand or on a bedside table;
• a folded A4 table tent, which stands on its own on a counter;
• an A4 card, for a door or a notice board;
• a round sticker, for a mirror or a worktop.

Print on thick paper, keep good contrast (a dark code on a light background) and leave a white margin around the code. HerePicks generates these four formats as PDFs with your guide's QR code, and provides the code alone as SVG or PNG for your own materials.

Before printing in bulk, scan a proof from where it will sit, with two different phones. Two minutes of testing saves a pile of unusable cards.

What to write on the card

• The name of your property, so guests know whose guide it is.
• A line saying what the code opens (see the examples below).
• The link written out, for anyone who can't scan.
• The languages available, if you host guests from abroad.

In HerePicks, the print materials can be set on each of these points: title, tagline, logo, visible link and languages shown.

By saying what the code opens. A bare QR code gives no reason to take out a phone; a concrete sentence does.

Think about languages: if you host guests from abroad, add a line in their language or in English. And mention the guide in your welcome message: a guest who knows it exists looks for it on arrival. Our guide to self check-in includes a sample message.

• A code pointing to an address that changes: every printed copy becomes wrong.
• A code that's too small or low-contrast: people have to get closer, try again, and give up.
• A code nobody tested: one typo in the address and it's an error page.
• Content designed for a computer: tiny text, zooming required.
• No accompanying text: nobody scans a code without knowing what it opens.

A safety precaution

Some scams involve sticking a fake QR code over a real one, mostly in public places. The risk at your property is low, but check from time to time that your cards haven't been swapped, especially in shared areas.

By looking at how often the guide is opened, then comparing placements. A QR code nobody scans isn't necessarily badly placed: it may lack a line that makes people curious, or be too small.

• Track the number of guide openings week by week.
• Change one thing at a time: the placement, the line or the format.
• Ask a few guests whether they saw the code, and where.
• Look at which places are viewed most: they tell you what guests are looking for.

In HerePicks, the Host plan statistics show guide openings, place pages viewed and directions started, without tracking any guest individually.

No, it takes over when you're not there: in the evening, on a day off, or to avoid repeating the same tips at every arrival. When you're around, nothing replaces advice given in person, and the guide can even support the conversation.

The idea isn't to add technology to look modern, but to replace a sheet that gets lost with a link that stays up to date and follows guests throughout their stay. To decide what that link contains, see the local spots to recommend and how to create a digital welcome book.