QR Codes for Hotels: The Complete Guide

QR Codes for Hotels — Frequently Asked Questions

Are QR codes free for hotels?

Creating and designing one is free and needs no account — your logo, brand colors, and a call-to-action frame are all free at creation. Downloading the finished file requires a free account. From there the free plan covers one dynamic code plus unlimited static codes, and 100 scans a month across the whole account; once those 100 scans are spent, the dynamic code stops redirecting until the monthly reset, which a property with real guest traffic will hit in days. The free download is a PNG capped at 1024 px; SVG is resolution-independent and prints at any size, and it comes with any paid plan or the one-time Download Pack. Nothing on any plan stamps a watermark on the file — free dynamic codes show a small “Powered by QRKit” line on the scan page they open, not on the printed image. See the pricing page for what a working property deployment costs.

Should a hotel QR code be static or dynamic?

Ask what it costs you the day the information changes. A static code carries its payload inside the pattern, so a new password, a new time, or a new supplier means a new code and a new print run for every room it sits in. A dynamic QR code carries only a short redirect, so the printed card never changes: you edit the destination in the dashboard, and editing a destination is not plan-gated. Six payload types are static in QRKIT — WiFi, email, SMS, plain text, calendar event, and GS1. Everything else is dynamic, including a website URL and a vCard, and each one uses a dynamic slot on your plan (the free plan has one). So the real question is how many printed pieces you would have to replace, and how many dynamic slots you are willing to pay for.

Can QRKIT check guests in or issue room keys?

No. QRKIT produces the code and records the scans; identity, payment, and key issuance all stay inside the check-in portal or property app the code opens. There is no mobile-key or digital-key feature, and nothing in QRKIT reads or writes a reservation. What you get back is the scannable entry point and a count of how many guests used it.

Does QRKIT integrate with my property management system (PMS)?

No. There is no native integration with Opera, Cloudbeds, Mews, or any other PMS, and QRKIT never reads reservation data. You point a dynamic code at whatever web address your PMS or booking provider already exposes — a check-in link, a booking page, a guest portal — and swap that address later if you change provider, without reprinting. Starter and above do include API access, but that is an API for creating and managing QR codes, not a PMS connector.

Can guests order in-room dining or pay through the QR code?

The code takes guests to your ordering page; QRKIT does not process orders or take payments and stores nothing about what a guest ordered. Point a dynamic URL code at the in-room dining ordering page you or your provider already run, and that system handles the cart and the checkout. QRKIT's side of it is the scannable link and the scan record. See the ordering-page guide for how to set the destination up.

Can I put the guest WiFi on a QR code?

Yes. A WiFi QR code encodes the network name and password so guests join with one scan instead of typing credentials. The credentials are part of the pattern, which has two consequences: changing the password means regenerating and reprinting every card, and a printed WiFi code should be treated exactly like a printed password — put it on the guest network, never on a staff or back-office one. QRKIT creates the code that shares the credentials you already have; it does not provide or secure the network.

Can I track how many guests scan a code?

Yes, for dynamic codes. Free workspaces see the summary in the scan-analytics dashboard — total scans, unique scans, top device, top location — with 30 days of history. The charts, the full device and geography tables, custom date ranges, and CSV export unlock on Starter, which also keeps 24 months of history so you can compare this season with last. Static payloads such as WiFi or a calendar event open nothing of ours, so there is no redirect to record and no scan data for them at all.

How many QR codes does a hotel need, and which plan?

Count the touchpoints that need their own destination — express check-in, the in-room directory, in-room dining, spa booking, feedback, local-area guides — and remember that per-room codes multiply that number. Every one of those is a dynamic code, and the free plan carries a single dynamic code with 100 scans a month for the whole account, so free is a trial rather than a deployment. Starter carries 12 dynamic codes, Plus 200, Pro 600, and Ultra 1,200, all with uncapped scans and 24 months of history; bulk import starts at Plus. Plan cost is on the pricing page, and no plan puts a watermark on your files.

Can I create a unique QR code for each room?

Yes, on Plus and above — bulk creation is not available on the free or Starter plans. Upload a CSV or Excel file (or paste the rows), one line per room, and the whole batch comes back as a single ZIP in PNG, SVG, PDF, or EPS, ready for door cards and compendiums. Check the room count against the plan first, because each room's code is its own dynamic code: 200 fit on Plus, 600 on Pro, and 1,200 on Ultra. The payoff is room-by-room scan data, which tells you whether the in-room card is being used on floor three but ignored on floor seven.

What can a hotel QR code link to?

The rule is simple: if it has a web address, a QR code can reach it — your check-in portal, a directory page, an in-room dining ordering page, a booking page, a feedback or review page, a transport page, a social profile. One payload needs no web page at all: a WiFi code carries the network credentials inside the pattern, so it still joins a phone in a corner of the building with no signal. A vCard is not in that group — it is dynamic, so the printed pattern carries a short link and the front-desk or concierge details open on a page QRKIT hosts. That is what keeps those details editable after printing, and it is also why a guest needs a connection to load them. What a code cannot be is the destination itself. Apart from that hosted contact card, QRKIT does not host your directory, take the booking, or run the form behind it, so every link points at a page you or one of your providers already operates.

Where should QR codes go in a hotel room and property?

Judge a candidate spot with three questions: can a guest reach it with a phone at arm's length, is there enough light on it, and do they have a reason to stop there? That rules out the ceiling of a lift, the top third of a tall lobby banner, and the reverse of a card that ends up facing the wall. It rules in surfaces a guest already handles — the desk tent card, the compendium page, the door hanger, the spa reception counter. One operational habit is worth more than any of it: keep a register of which code lives where, because a year later the only way to retire a code without pulling every card is knowing which rooms it is printed in.

Do hotel QR codes need a special app to scan?

No. Every current iPhone and Android recognizes a QR code in the built-in camera and offers the link, so no scanner app is involved. When a guest says nothing happens, it is nearly always one of three things: an older phone whose camera does not scan (a free scanner from its own app store fixes it), a code printed too small or with too little contrast for the distance, or no signal in that part of the building — a code that opens a web page still needs a connection, even though the code itself does not. The code is rarely the variable: QRKIT's codes follow the ISO/IEC 18004 QR standard.