QR code or app download: the choice that decides whether guests use it

An app nobody installs serves no purpose. A QR code in the room removes the obstacle: nothing to download, no account to create, and the welcome screen opens in the guest’s own language.

Ask your receptionists how many guests agree, at the desk, to download an app for a two-night stay. The answer will make you smile. After a flight, a long drive through the night or a day of meetings, nobody wants to create an account, choose a password and accept notifications.

The problem is not technical, it is human. Every extra step puts off some guests, and those who persevere are often the ones who needed it least.

Nothing to install, nothing to remember

Hotella Guest App is a web app. The guest scans the QR code in the room with their phone camera, and it opens in the browser. There is no app store to visit, no account to create and no password to forget.

It works on any phone, whatever the brand. A guest travelling with an older model uses it exactly as easily as one who changes their phone every year.

For your team, setting it up is just as simple. One QR code per room, placed on the bedside table or the desk, is enough to link every request to the right room number. No more codes to hand out at the desk, no more explanations to repeat at every check-in.

A welcome by name, in their language

Everything happens in the first second. The welcome screen opens in the guest’s language and greets them by name. A German guest arriving late reads her welcome message in German, without hunting for the right flag in a menu.

This detail carries more weight than you might think. It tells the guest that the hotel was expecting them, not a room number.

The same care applies to everything that follows. The guest reads about your services and opening hours in their own language, without guessing what lies behind a local name or asking the front desk to translate the menu.

From screen to order

Once open, the app gives access to everything your hotel offers: the room service menu, the spa, the restaurant, housekeeping and maintenance requests. The guest can also write to the assistant, just as they would message the front desk, and receive an answer drawn from your hotel’s own information.

Every order is confirmed by the guest before it is sent. It then goes to the right department with the room number, and the guest follows its status on screen. The family ordering two croque-monsieurs at 9 pm knows the request has been received, then that it is in progress, without picking up the phone.

Hotella Guest App is included in every plan, starting with PRESENCE, where the guest exchanges messages with the assistant in writing. With WAVE, they can also speak to it. With SIGNATURE, it even opens under your hotel’s own domain name, so the guest never leaves your world.

The most telling test is to scan the QR code yourself. During a demonstration, you hold the phone and see exactly what your guest will see on walking into the room.