QR codes for Airbnb and short-term rentals

The house-manual set

Code	Where	Why
WiFi	Framed card near the router	Ends the first message every host receives
House manual	Entry hallway or kitchen	Bin days, heating, appliance quirks, checkout steps
Local guide	Kitchen or lounge	Opens the map pin for the beach car park, not a vague postcode

The WiFi code is a privacy decision

A WiFi QR code encodes the network name and password literally, WIFI:T:WPA;S:YourHome;P:yourpassword;;. For a rental, that is your home's password, so where it gets generated matters. A server-side generator receives the password; a client-side generator never does. This is exactly the case covered in why not to upload a WiFi password to a website. UseQR builds WiFi codes entirely in the browser, and the WiFi card tool produces a printable card in one step.

Label everything

A guest in a stranger's home is right to be suspicious of unlabelled codes. Every code gets a plain-language caption ("Scan for WiFi", "Scan for the house manual") ideally in a frame with a clear label. An anonymous square on a wall in someone else's house gets ignored, and should.

Placement numbers

• Framed card read at arm's length (30–40 cm) → 3–4 cm code.
• Print matt and skip the glass in the frame, or angle it away from windows, glass over a code adds the same glare as gloss laminate.
• One WiFi card by the router, a duplicate in the house-manual folder. Guests look in both places.

Multi-unit hosts

Ten flats means ten SSIDs and passwords. Put them in a spreadsheet and run the bulk generator once, rather than filling a form ten times. Re-run it whenever a password rotates, and reprint, because the old card keeps "working" while connecting guests to nothing.

What goes wrong

• The router password changed at some point and the card was never reprinted: see WiFi QR code not connecting.
• Passwords containing ; or : encoded without escaping, producing a code that fails only on some phones.
• Unlabelled codes that guests, sensibly, refuse to scan.

FAQ

Should I put my WiFi password in a QR code for guests?

Yes: it is the single most useful code in a rental. But generate it with a client-side tool so the password never leaves your browser, and remember the printed card contains the password in plain text: anyone who photographs it has it.

What QR codes should a short-term rental have?

Three: WiFi by the router, a house manual near the entrance covering check-in, appliances and checkout, and a local guide with map-pin codes for places guests actually drive to. Label each one clearly so guests know what they are scanning.

How do hosts with many units manage QR codes?

With a spreadsheet and a bulk generator: one row per unit with its SSID and password, one run, one printable set. The per-unit cost of doing it properly is close to zero, and rotating a password is a re-run, not a project.