A 'Duffers' Guide to QR Codes
A QR is an abbreviation of the word 'Quick Response'.
A QR code consists of black squares arranged in a square grid on a white background.
Originally started in the Automotive Industry in the 1990's when standard labels could not hold enough information about a component.
In the past QR codes would have been read by scanners which retrieved all the information about the component (Rather like when your goods are passed through a bar code reader in a supermarket).
They are now starting to take off because they can be read by mobile phones and can be linked to websites.
QR Codes in the Hospitality Sector:
Covid 19 has accelerated the use of QR codes and more and more hotels are using them.
Most common use is to place a QR code on a dining table menu (usually plastic laminated to make it easy to clean). A guest can take a photograph of it with their mobile phone and be redirected to a page on the website containing the menu. (With the side advantage that you don't have to keep reprinting menus). Some properties are even putting an QR code on their sign outside their building so passers by can hold their phone up to it and be automatically redirected to their website.
Free websites exist where you can go to and generate a QR code and link it to a particular webpage ie
https://www.canva.com/qr-code-generator/
Never tried it? Hold the camera on your phone to the QR code in this article and see what happens.
Other common uses
You have spent hours sweating over a new Special Offer, got it off to the local newspaper, they print and circulate it, viewers start to read it, and then.......well you are dependent on the viewer remembering the offer, remembering your website address, tapping it in to a phone and booking it. What if they could take a picture of a QR code next to the ad they see in a Newspaper/On a Billboard/in a Bush Shelter etc and be directed straight to the Special Offer?
Expect to see QR codes for bedroom door keys etc in the future. Ie a guest walks up to the door and shows a QR code on their phone to a door lock and the door opens.