QR codes for vacation rentals and Airbnb hosts

Guests ask the same questions every stay: what's the Wi-Fi, how does the heating work, where's the nearest coffee. A few QR codes around the house answer them before anyone sends you a message. Here's what to put on each one, and how to keep them right when things change.

A Wi-Fi sign by the router or on the fridge

Make a free Wi-Fi code on our home page: enter the network name and password, pick the security type and download it. Guests point their camera and join, with no typing. It needs no account and never expires.

A Wi-Fi code holds the password itself, so when you change the password, you need a new code. If you change it between guests, plan to print a new sign each time. A separate guest network keeps visitors off your own devices, if your router offers one.

A house guide you can update

Write your house guide once, as a shared document or a page on your own website: check-in steps, parking, the heating, the trash days, checkout. Point an editable code at it, and put the code by the door. When something changes, such as a new lockbox or a new rule, update the guide, or point the code at a new one. The printed sign stays the same.

For questions the guide doesn't answer, a WhatsApp QR code for guest questions opens a chat with you.

If your guide is a Google Doc or a PDF, share it so that anyone with the link can view it. Otherwise guests will hit a sign-in page.

Local tips, and reviews

A code in the welcome book can open your list of favorite places nearby: a shared map, a page or a doc. Change it with the seasons.

For reviews on a booking platform, follow that platform's own rules.

Signs that last

• Matte paper or a matte laminate. Gloss and glare lower contrast, so check the sign under the room's own lights.
• Size it for where guests stand: at least 1.8 in (4.5 cm) for a code on a counter, 1.2 in (3 cm) in a welcome book held in the hand, and bigger by the door if people read it from across the hall.
• Dark on light, with the plain border kept.
• Scan it once after laminating, from where a guest would stand.

Several properties, one account

Each rental can have its own codes, and each code shows its own scans. Free covers 2 editable codes. Pro covers 50, enough for several homes, with your colors and logo. Wi-Fi codes are fixed and always free, so they never count toward a plan.

Related: Free Wi-Fi QR code · Change a QR code's link · How big to print a QR code · Pricing

A business page QR code can show your reception hours and contact details. Put information for an individual stay in your guest guide.