What are QR codes? QR codes, or Quick Response Codes, contain data that directs individuals to your hotel website or any other information you wish to share with your guests.
QR codes have significantly impacted the hospitality industry and are prevalent in various settings, ranging from restaurant menus to conveying information about health and safety measures.
In this article, as a Hotel Management Company, we will address two key questions:
- Is the use of QR codes merely a trend, or will it persist beyond the conclusion of the COVID-19 crisis?
- How can hotel managers effectively utilize QR codes as a communication tool and create revenue-generating opportunities? We will also provide creative examples of QR code usage.
Nowadays, it’s challenging to envision a visit to a restaurant or hotel without encountering QR codes prominently displayed. Whether employed for informative or marketing purposes, these recognizable symbols have become ubiquitous.
Offering a swift and convenient means of accessing information, QR codes present hotels with excellent opportunities to boost revenue, capture guest preferences (for more insights, refer to our article on smart tips for gathering guest information and emails), and enhance the overall guest experience by furnishing valuable information throughout the property.
By simply scanning the 2D ‘BAR’-code, guests can easily access an online mobile platform, opening up endless possibilities.
Let’s delve into how hotels can fully unleash the potential of QR codes.
QR codes as a Marketing Tool for Hotels
There are numerous ways in which QR codes can be utilized, ranging from directing users to a general web address to specific destinations such as your hotel’s landing page, welcome center, social media page, promotion page, contact pages, and more.
The crucial factor in effectively using QR codes boils down to providing added value. It’s essential to offer something that your audience doesn’t already know. While the “win a prize” or special offers approach is common, consumers may be growing weary of the constant influx of such promotions. There is a saturation point, where consumers become fatigued by the barrage of daily offers—commonly known as the “Advertising Saturation Point”
Given that customers’ inboxes are often flooded with promotions that lack genuine value, it’s crucial to provide meaningful value in promotional or marketing QR code campaigns. Otherwise, it might be more prudent to avoid excessive use and instead focus on leveraging QR codes to enhance the guest experience.
QR Codes as a Tool for Guest Experience
An effective approach involves bringing your team together to collaboratively compile a list of each team member’s preferred activities.
Essentially, this creates a personalized concierge-style recommendation accessible to every guest, coupled with the added advantage of guests having the information readily available on their mobile devices at all times. The ideal recommendations encompass:
- Preferred restaurants and bars
- Insider tips on unique city locations or notable buildings
- Tranquil or lively areas, catering to a variety of tastes (for instance, someone may prefer avoiding crowded beaches but might enjoy a charming, lesser-known beach)
- Local delicacies, treats, and souvenirs.
Creative Examples to use QR Codes
Being creative and thoughtful about the use and placement is important as we previously discussed. So, what are great ideas of QR codes for usage in hotels? Let’s take you through some examples:
In-room
- Room features
Scan the code and every detail and feature of the room will become visible with a description attached. Think of describing the exact location, full details, and any price per usage that might be involved.
Guests will have to call less to the reception for any questions and the information will be quicker available to them (decreasing risk of service failure).
- Activities
Start inspiring guests not only upon check in, but also when they are in the room No opportunity to create experiences and drive revenue should go untouched so make sure you have an attractive list ready to be linked to a QR code (use the above listed examples under the “marketing section” for inspiration)
Public Areas
- Hotel amenities & special features
Which amenities and where to find them (e.g. gym, spa, restaurant, parking garage, and even though it sounds silly: the shoe polish machine location could be valuable to guests!).
- History
Leverage your hotel/area´s history to engage customers more and drive better guest experiences.
- Other information
Any other information can always be used, but again, make sure that it is relevant and provides additional value to the guests
F&B
- You could also use it as a promotional tool to offer a discount on drinks in the bar or dinner in the restaurant, and offer 10% – 25% off during certain hours for those who scan it. The QR Code Happy Hour is born … Again be careful not to make it feel like a generic discount with no boundaries set to time or without a “real” discount that makes it worthwhile.
- Menus
- Opportunities reach further than just inside the dining room (use the QR code on the menu board outside of the hotel or in the lobby as well).
- The benefits include:
- Cost saving and better for the environment with less paper waste
- More customizable and more frequent updates possible
- Higher degree of available information with “hover over” effects as a tool to have a clean design. Great for showing allergenic information for example, which usually gathers up quite the list to be able to fully show on a traditional menu.
General
- Loyalty programs and call to action for downloading the Hotel App
- Include it on your keycards, brochures, print outs, or the curated recommendation list as explained previously.
- Write a review
- Spread your opportunities by having a QR in the room for reviewing the hotel stay, and also in other places such as the bar on napkins or coasters to review the bar or taste of your drink!
- Registering for an event or activities in your hotel
- Yoga session
- Guided city tours
- Airport shuttle service
- Anything could work that allows simple registration for guests
- Promote events
- Again, only if you can make it work well and provide value. Perhaps offering more information about an event you are hosting whereby guests can directly register on the same page after reading the full details of the event.
- Facilitating contactless payments
- Contactless payment is a hot ticket right now everywhere so why not use it. Just like in the example above, it can be for events or scanning a QR code to pay for something small in the lobby or your room. A great option for guests who do not want something billed to the room (family or the guest themselves) or simply do not have the cash on hand. Otherwise, you might risk losing that conversion of revenue into your pocket!
Here an example that just comes to mind, how about a daily raffle for a free upgrade? ¨WANT A FREE UPGRADE? SCAN ME!¨
Upon scanning guests receive instructions to post hotel pictures with a specific hashtag(s) on their social media account, to be eligible for a complimentary room upgrade, or another giveaway prize.
This way you will leverage their personal network to create exposure for your hotel. And while you are at it, they should add a discount code for their friends. This should get you some decent viral exposure…
QR Codes are Here to Stay in Hotels
In summary, it can be said that QR codes offer great ways especially for driving revenue and improving guest experiences.
Hopefully, you have gotten some great inspiration from this article to apply in your hotel and improve performance through marketing and guest experiences!
PS. If you need help with your hotel, click here Bring In Experts
Piyush Bhatnagar II Director-Strategic Alliance II 3Q Progressive Alliance