QR codes guests actually scan

Hostels put QR codes everywhere now. Most of them get ignored. They are too small, stuck in the wrong place, or labelled with nothing more than "Scan me". A code that nobody scans is just decoration.

Put them where questions happen

Think about where a guest is standing when they get stuck, and put the code there.

• Reception, for the queue at check-in and for anyone waiting to ask something.
• Inside each dorm and room, on the back of the door or by the lockers, for the evening questions.
• The kitchen and common room, next to the house rules and the bar menu.
• The lift or stairwell, where people stand still for a moment with nothing to do.

Tell people what they get

"Scan me" is not a reason. "Wifi, bar menu and tonight's events" is. Name the two or three things guests want most, in large type, right next to the code. If you have a lot of international guests, add a line in the languages you hear most at the desk.

Make it big and easy to scan

Print the code at least the size of a palm, on a matte surface so the lights do not glare off it, at a height people can reach without bending. Leave clear space around the edges. Test it with a few different phones before you print fifty of them.

Make what opens worth it

The scan is only half the job. If the code opens a PDF, an app store page or a login screen, the guest closes it and walks to reception anyway. What opens should load fast in the browser, look like your hostel, and answer the question on the first screen.

That is how Staye works: one code opens your property's own guide, with no download and no account, so the effort of scanning pays off straight away.