How To Use QR Codes in the Hospitality Industry

During the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitality organizations used QR Codes to create a contactless guest experience. This innovative technology helped providers keep their guests safe during a challenging time.

However, QR Codes aren’t just for safety. As the pandemic wanes, the hospitality industry continues to use QR Codes to streamline operations and provide exceptional experiences. There are many innovative ways to implement these handy codes throughout your establishment for efficiency and convenience.

What is the hospitality industry?

The hospitality industry comprises a range of businesses focused on food and beverage service, as well as lodging. These include hotels and resorts, spas, bars, and restaurants, as well as secondary industries like event management. Hospitality businesses rely heavily on tourism and travel.

The global COVID-19 pandemic hit hospitality and tourism hard, but these industries have since bounced back. Consumers are prioritizing travel and entertainment after several years of restrictions. By the end of 2023, international travel had bounced back to almost 90% of pre-pandemic levels. 

The hospitality industry includes:

• Hotels and resorts
  
  
• Transportation providers such as airlines, trains, buses, and car rentals
  
  
• Restaurants and bars
  
  
• Tourist attractions like guided tours and live shows
  
  
• Cruises

Why should you use QR Codes in the hospitality industry?

Today’s hospitality providers are investing in technology to create more comfortable and enjoyable guest experiences. QR Codes are a crucial part of the tech revolution in hospitality. By using them, you can speed up check-ins, share information quickly, and even boost sales. 

Here’s why QR Codes work so well for hoteliers and other hospitality providers.

Integration with existing systems

In most cases, QR Codes will integrate smoothly with the systems you already have. There’s no need to switch to an entirely new system to use them for your customer service or marketing strategy.

This is because you can use Dynamic QR Codes to share many different types of assets. For example, you can use QR Codes to share website links, social media pages, app downloads, images, and even WiFi networks.

Accessibility

Using a QR Code is simple and straightforward—all you need is a smartphone camera to scan them. Even if your guests aren’t particularly tech-savvy, chances are, they’ve encountered a QR Code before and know how to use it. For those who haven’t, they’re easy to explain with a few simple instructions.

To ensure that your guests use your codes, display them clearly with instructions. It’s also important that your codes use consistent colors and feature your logo to make them instantly recognizable.

Content relevance

QR Codes are an excellent way to share information and content with your guests. One of the most common examples is the QR Code menu. Many restaurants and bars use them to share food and drink options. 

Hotels and resorts can also use QR Codes for room service menus, amenity pricing information, exclusive promotions, and loyalty program information.

However, there are many other ways to use QR Codes for information sharing. In most cases, you can use a code with a link in place of your printed materials. 

For example, hotel concierges can use them to share maps and information about local attractions. Some hotels have switched to mobile concierge apps, which you can also share with QR Codes. 

Design and placement

QR Codes come with an instantly recognizable design. You can customize them to match your existing brand assets by adding your logo and changing their color and shape. 

For the best results, make sure to place each QR Code in a highly visible location. Properly label each code so people know exactly what they’re scanning.

The compact, square shape of QR Codes makes them easy to place throughout your marketing campaigns and on your property. For example, they are very easy to add to signs, business cards, and brochures.

Continuous updates

As your organization’s marketing strategy evolves, your QR Codes should evolve, too. Luckily, Dynamic QR Codes are easy to edit as long as they are active. You can change the link or content connected to the code with just a few clicks, or change its design and type as needed.

Your marketing team should periodically check to make sure that all QR Codes are working properly. As you update your website landing pages, social media pages, and mobile apps, switch the links in your QR Codes to ensure they’re still relevant to your audience.

Benefits of using QR technology in hospitality

In the hospitality industry, customer experience comes first. Implementing QR Codes helps hospitality teams reach their full potential for increased guest satisfaction and more efficient operations. 

There are many benefits to using QR Codes for hospitality—here’s why they’re so effective.

Better guest experiences

QR Codes contribute to more enjoyable guest experiences by saving time and adding convenience. This helps guests relax and make the most out of their stay. QR Codes also help employees save time on repetitive tasks, giving them more time to work directly with guests.

For example, when arriving at a hotel, most guests want to head straight to their rooms rather than go through a lengthy manual check-in process. When booking a reservation, hotels could send a QR Code to the guest via email, which they’d scan upon arrival to check in quickly. Hilton even uses digital keys in many of its hotels. 

QR Codes also make it easy for guests to browse and book amenities at resorts. Hotels could include in-room codes with a digital menu of activities and events to choose from. Using these codes, guests could make purchases directly from their phones and earn loyalty points.

Streamlined operations

Hospitality teams typically need to juggle a wide range of tasks at once. QR Codes streamline operations so everyone can work more efficiently. QR Codes for hotels and restaurants allow guests to check in and place orders on their own.

This allows staff to save time on these interactions and focus on providing more responsive, personalized service elsewhere. For example, they can focus on taking special requests or providing in-depth local guidance to guests. 

Many hospitality groups are already reaping the benefits—for example, 66% of restaurants already provide QR Codes at tables. 

Improved safety and hygiene

The pandemic may technically be over, but new strains of COVID-19 are still spreading. Cold and flu strains also spread rapidly, especially during the winter. QR Codes help hospitality businesses provide a contactless experience to prevent the spread of illness.

By scanning QR Codes, customers can place an order or find answers to their questions without talking directly to staff. Additionally, there’s no concern about spreading germs by sharing paper menus. 

This approach helps hospitality teams better adhere to post-COVID health and safety protocols. It also helps prevent illness-related staff absences.

Ease of use

Anyone with a smartphone can scan QR Codes, either directly with a camera or with a third-party app. It takes just a few seconds and doesn’t require customers to remember long website URLs. To emphasize this, make sure that your QR Codes are large and clearly displayed so customers can scan them from any distance.

Versatility and reliability

QR Codes also do a whole lot more than just connect to websites (although that’s pretty handy, too!). You can also use them to share images, videos, sound files, social media links, and digital coupons, and even enable automatic event registration and ticketing.

You can customize Dynamic QR Codes to fit your brand identity with logos, colors, and shapes. You can also have your QR Code link to a customizable landing page that contains your content.

5 examples of how to use QR Codes in hospitality

There are so many ways to use QR Codes as part of your hospitality business. They can be part of your customer journey or part of your marketing and sales strategies.

1. Virtual tours

Virtual tours are a great way to drum up interest in a particular travel destination or attraction. Many successful hospitality businesses used virtual tours to keep customers engaged during the pandemic when travel was limited. However, they’re still an effective way to show travelers what to expect before their trip starts.

Most virtual tours take place in an app rather than on a website. QR Codes are an easy way to connect people with that app. Rather than searching through the app store, they can scan the QR Code and download it immediately.

A travel agency promotes virtual tours by encouraging customers to download their app.

2. App promotion via social media

Many hospitality companies have their own mobile apps, which customers can use to make purchases, earn rewards, and learn more about your business. 

Skyscanner is an excellent example of a hospitality mobile app that offers even more functionality than its desktop website, allowing travelers to plan entire trips from their phones.

Social media is an excellent place to spread the word about your app. For example, you can include a QR Code in your Instagram ads. Your followers can then screenshot the ad and download the app directly.

A travel agency promotes an App QR Code with Instagram ads to drive traffic to mobile and encourage purchasing.

​​3. Travel package vouchers

QR Codes are an effective way to share links to travel vouchers and other promotional deals. You can place QR Codes on paper promotional materials throughout your hotel, restaurant, or entertainment venue. This encourages happy guests to scan the QR Code and book future visits at a discounted rate.

You can also share travel voucher QR Codes on social media or via email. Guests can use these QR Codes to book for themselves or take screenshots and share with friends.

An agency promotes coupons for their mobile travel deals with a Coupon QR Code in email marketing.

4. Billboard ads

Billboards and poster ads are effective ways to engage customers in your area. Put QR Codes on your billboards to send customers directly to your website. 

You can also use these codes to share travel videos or social media content. With this option, you can create a custom landing page with a call-to-action button. When using QR Codes on billboards, make sure that they are sized appropriately for easy scanning.

A travel agency promotes travel videos with a Video QR Code on a poster ad.

5. Digital menus

These days, it’s hard to visit a restaurant or other hospitality business without a QR Code somewhere on the table. This is more than just a pandemic-era trend. These menus are here to stay, and they have plenty of benefits in addition to safety.

Digital restaurant menus allow management to collect data about which dishes are most popular and how customers are spending money. This allows them to refine their offerings and cater more effectively to their audience. With digital menus, customers also place orders and receive their meals more quickly, so the entire restaurant operates more efficiently.

Generate your own QR Codes today to boost your guest experiences

Strategically placed QR Codes help create standout experiences for your guests. With this technology, interactions between guests and employees are quick and efficient. These helpful codes are also an effective way to promote your brand and increase bookings.

Create custom Dynamic QR Codes for your hospitality business with QR Code Generator PRO. Sign up today to start streamlining your operations and guest experience!