Free QR code generator for hotels and trade shows
Your logo in the middle, your brand colours, and a check that reads the finished code back to prove it actually scans. Your content is encoded in the image itself — no account, no trial, no scan cap, and nobody’s ad page in between.
Built in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded, which matters when it is a guest WiFi password.
Held at 22% of the code and set to the highest error correction, which is the room a centre logo needs. The check on the right reads the finished code back either way.
Fill in the field on the left and your code appears here.
PNG and JPG come out at 2,000px for print. SVG is vector, so it scales to any size — the right pick for a pull-up banner.
How it works
- Pick what the code carries — a link, WiFi details, a contact card.
- Set your colours and drop a logo in the middle if you want one.
- Watch the scan check. It decodes the finished code and compares it with what you typed.
- Download PNG or JPG for screens, SVG for anything going to a printer.
What travel businesses use them for
Guest WiFi. “What’s the WiFi password” is the question reception answers more than any other. A WiFi code on the desk or the nightstand card lets a guest join by pointing a camera at it, and one code covers every room on the network.
Trade show stands. A vCard code turns a badge or a stand graphic into a contact save — the buyer scans, you are in their phone, and nobody is typing an email address into a phone at a noisy stand. Same code on a business card, a lanyard insert or the back of a brochure.
Menus, itineraries and tour information. A link code on a table talker, a welcome pack or a coach seatback puts a current page in front of someone without reprinting anything. Multilingual guest information works the same way — one code, a page that knows the reader’s language.
The common thread is that none of these need editing after printing, which is exactly when a static code is the right choice and a subscription-backed dynamic one is a liability.
QR codes for a trade show stand
A stand is the hardest place to exchange details. It is loud, people are standing, and nobody wants to type an email address into a phone while holding a coffee. A code on the stand graphic, the lanyard insert or the back of a brochure removes the typing entirely.
On the stand itself. Make a code for the page you actually want people on — the rate sheet, the booking form, the brochure PDF — and put it large enough for the distance people stand at. Two metres back means roughly a 20cm code.
On a badge or lanyard. A contact card code turns a badge into a save: they scan, you are in their phone, and the follow-up has a name attached to it.
Print it before you travel. Codes made here are static, so nothing has to be renewed between the show being booked and the show happening — a real consideration when stand graphics go to print weeks ahead, and the reason a subscription-backed dynamic code is a poor fit for anything that gets printed.
WiFi QR codes for hotel guests
Choose the WiFi type, enter the network name and password, and the finished code makes a phone offer to join the network rather than showing text. One code covers every room on the same network, which is why it works on a nightstand card, a welcome folder or a sticker on the desk.
The password is inside the code, so the code has to be remade when the password changes — and anyone who scans it can read that password. That is the right trade for a guest network and the wrong one for a back-office network, which should not be on a printed card at all.
vCard QR codes for contact details
The contact card option writes a vCard 3.0 record — name, company, job title, phone, email — which iPhone and Android both turn into a native “Add Contact” card. MeCard makes a slightly smaller symbol and is tempting at print size, but desktop and third-party scanners treat it inconsistently, and a contact card nobody can save is not smaller, it is useless.
More fields mean a denser code, which needs to be printed larger to stay readable. On a small badge, a name, company and one contact method reads more reliably than a full record.
Making one that actually scans
Most codes that fail in the wild fail for one of four reasons, and none of them announce themselves on screen. The quiet zone — the clear margin of at least four modules around the symbol — gets printed over, which breaks decoding more often than any colour choice. Contrast drops too low once a brand colour goes on a tinted background. The logo covers more than about a quarter of the code. And the printed size is too small for the distance people stand at — the working rule is scan distance divided by ten.
This tool sets the highest error correction level whenever a logo is present, holds the logo at 22%, warns when contrast drops or the code is inverted, and then does the thing none of that replaces: reads the finished code back and tells you what it decoded.
Frequently asked questions
Do QR codes expire?
A static QR code does not. Its content is encoded in the pattern itself, so the code you print works the same in five years — there is no server in the middle and nothing to renew. Dynamic codes are the ones that expire: they hold a short redirect link owned by whoever generated them, and if that subscription or trial lapses the code stops resolving. Every code this tool makes is static, so the question does not apply to it.
Are free QR code generators really free?
Often not, and it is worth knowing where the catch usually sits. Several well-known tools give you a free dynamic code that stops redirecting when a 7 or 14 day trial ends, so codes already printed go dead. Others cap the number of scans, add their own interstitial page before your link loads, or keep vector export behind a paid plan. This tool has none of those, for a structural reason rather than a generous one: static codes have no server to switch off.
Can I put a logo in a QR code and will it still scan?
Yes, within limits. QR codes carry Reed-Solomon error correction, and the highest level recovers about 30% of the symbol — which is what makes a centre logo possible at all. In practice 20–25% coverage is the sensible ceiling, because decoding works in whole modules rather than smooth area. This tool holds the logo at 22% and sets the highest correction level automatically. It also reads the finished code back and tells you whether it decoded, so you are not guessing.
What size should a QR code be on a poster or stand banner?
The working rule is scan distance divided by ten. Someone reading from two metres away needs a code about 20cm across; at arm’s length, around 2–3cm is the floor, and closer to 3cm once a logo is in the middle. Leave the quiet zone — the clear margin of at least four modules on every side — genuinely clear. Printing artwork or a border into that margin is a more common cause of a code failing than any colour choice.
What is the difference between a static and a dynamic QR code?
A static code contains your content directly. A dynamic code contains a short link that points at your content, so the destination can be changed after printing and scans can be counted — at the cost of depending on whoever hosts that link. For a WiFi password, a printed menu, a stand vCard or a badge, static is the right answer: none of them need editing after printing, and none of them should stop working when a subscription lapses. This tool makes static codes only.
Can guests join hotel WiFi by scanning a code?
Yes. Choose the WiFi type, put in the network name and password, and the code carries both — a phone offers to join the network rather than showing text. One code works across every room on the same network. It has to be regenerated if the password changes, since the password is inside the code.
Can someone who scans my WiFi code see the password?
Yes. A static WiFi code contains the password, so anyone who scans it — or photographs the card and scans it later — can read it. That is the right trade for a guest network whose password is on a card anyway, and the wrong one for a staff or back-office network, which should not be on a printed code at all. Change the password and the code has to be remade.
Does a WiFi QR code work on a hidden network?
Yes, if you tick the hidden option. A hidden network does not broadcast its name, so the code has to tell the phone to look for it specifically. Leave it unticked for an ordinary broadcast network — ticking it unnecessarily can stop some phones connecting.
Should I choose WPA or WEP?
WPA, in almost every case — the WPA option covers WPA, WPA2 and WPA3, which is what any current router runs. WEP is decades old and only appears here for equipment old enough to need it. Choosing the wrong one stops the phone joining even though the code scans correctly.
What does a vCard QR code actually store?
Name, company, job title, phone, email and a website, written as a vCard 3.0 record — the format iPhone and Android both turn into a native Add Contact card. Every field you fill in makes the code denser, so on a small badge fewer fields print more reliably than a complete record.
Does scanning need a special app?
No. The camera app on iOS and Android has read QR codes natively for years. Point and tap the notification.
Can I download a file good enough for print?
PNG and JPG come out at 2,000px, and SVG is vector so it scales to any size without softening — that is the one to send a printer for a pull-up banner. All three are free and none carry a watermark. JPG has no transparency, so a transparent background is filled white rather than rendered black.
Is anything I type here sent to you?
No. The code is built in your browser and never leaves it — worth knowing, because the payload is often a guest WiFi password or a colleague’s mobile number. There is no account and nothing is stored.
Why does RepBud make this?
RepBud is a CRM for travel trade reps — the people working stands at WTM, ITB and Indaba, and the DMCs and hotels they meet there. QR codes turn up constantly in that work: guest WiFi, a stand vCard, a menu, a link on a badge. The tool is free and unconnected to any RepBud account. RepBud is designed to assist, not replace, your professional judgement.
Working trade shows this year?
RepBud is built for the reps who work these stands — logging a meeting on your phone between appointments and keeping follow-ups against the right contact afterwards. There is a calendar of the shows too, with dates, venues and who attends, and a spin-to-win prize wheel for your stand that visitors join by scanning a code.
See the other free tools →