Stay pass: how a guest connects a device to the room
A stay pass is permission on a guest's device to act on behalf of their room: order to the room, pay “Charge to room”, leave service requests, call staff, see “My room” and their bill. The pass is tied to the stay, not to the room: it ends by itself at check-out, so a photo of the QR or a link taken by a previous guest is useless.
Who: front desk staff (the “Hotel front desk” section, or the owner) and the owner who chooses the mode. The location's business type must be "Hotel", and check-ins must be handled in the Cenaly PMS — without a check-in there is no stay, and therefore no pass.
Room QR and stay pass: the difference#
| QR in the room | Stay pass | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A permanent “address” of the room on the desk or door | Permission on a specific guest device |
| What it gives without a pass | Menu, hotel information, “Call the front desk” | — |
| What it gives with a pass | — | Room orders, “Charge to room”, service requests, staff call, “My room”, “My bill” |
| Validity | No expiry | Until check-out |
The QR in the room is still needed: the guest opens the menu from it and, if necessary, enters the room code (see below).
Choose the mode#
- Open Rooms and the Hotel settings window.
- Go to the Stay rules section, the Guest actions on behalf of the room block.
- Choose a mode:
- Only with a stay pass (recommended) — the guest connects a device once, with the front-desk QR or the room code; a photo of the room QR is useless after check-out;
- By the room QR, as before — anyone who scans the QR in the room acts on its behalf, including after check-out.
- In Devices per stay, set the limit: 1 to 10, default 6.
- Select Save.
Connect a guest: the stay QR from the front desk#
This is the main method.
- After check-in, the result window shows the stay QR right away. Later you can open it from the room card on the room board with the 🔑 Guest services button — the button is active only while the room has an open stay bill.
- In the Guest services — {room} window, the Hotel services for the guest block shows a large QR and the validity “Room {room} · until {date}”.
- The guest points their phone camera at the QR — the hotel's guest page opens, and they see “Room {room} connected”. Nothing else needs to be entered.
You can also give the guest the same link: Copy link, Send by email, Send by SMS or Share. The email and SMS buttons open a message on the staff member's device — you send it yourself, the server sends nothing. One link connects all the family's devices within the limit.
Connect a guest with the room code (PIN)#
If the guest has no link:
- The guest scans the QR in the room and taps an action on behalf of the room (for example, a room order). The Connect your room window appears.
- They tap Enter room code, type the 6 digits into Room code (from the front desk) and tap Connect.
Every new stay bill gets its room code (stay PIN) automatically. The front desk sees it in the Guest services window, in the Room code (stay PIN) block. If there is no PIN yet (for example, on a bill opened before stay passes were turned on), select Issue PIN; to replace the code, select Reissue.
Brute-force protection: after 5 wrong codes in a row, code entry for the room is closed for 15 minutes — the guest sees “Too many wrong codes — try again in {N} min or ask the front desk.” Reissuing the PIN lifts the block.
Other ways to connect#
- Link in the “arriving tomorrow” email. If the guest opens it before check-in, they see “Link saved — your room will connect automatically once you check in.” — the pass turns on at check-in without the front desk.
- Cenaly Phone. If the guest's phone is connected as the room phone, the app opens “Hotel services” with a button — the device gets a pass without a code (see Room phone on the guest's smartphone).
What the guest sees: “My room” and “My bill”#
After connecting, My room appears in the guest menu:
- the room and the departure date (after an extension — the new date);
- Devices connected: N of M and the Disconnect all except this one button;
- My requests with the statuses “Received”, “In progress”, “Done”, “Cancelled”;
- My bill — charges and payments on the stay bill and the balance;
- the “Write to the front desk”, “For you” (upsell) and “Check out online” buttons, if the hotel has turned them on.
Guest devices: disconnect one or all#
In the Guest services window, the Connected devices block shows “N of M”, the device label, how it was connected (“by link”, “by room code”, “from Cenaly Phone”, “before arrival”), when it was connected and when it was last seen.
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| The guest lost their phone | Disconnect on that device's row |
| It is unclear who connected and how many | Suspected leak — disconnect all: all devices are disconnected, the link and the room code are reissued. Give the guest a new QR |
| The guest wants to close access for others | The guest taps Disconnect all except this one in My room |
| The device limit is reached | The guest sees “The maximum number of devices is already connected — please ask the front desk.” Disconnect a device that is no longer needed to free a slot |
A new device does not push out an old one when the limit is full. The exception is a device that has not been seen for 7 days or more: its slot is freed first.
Room move, extension, check-out#
| Event | What happens to passes |
|---|---|
| Extension | They keep working; My room shows the new departure date |
| Room move | They move with the guest: an order from the old room's QR goes to the new room |
| Check-out (at the front desk or online) or check-in rollback | All end at once; the guest sees “Your stay has ended. Thank you!” |
What works without a pass#
- Online prepayment of a room order goes through without a pass: the front desk and the kitchen see a mark that the device is not verified, and the amount is not charged to the room bill.
- “Charge to room”, payment on delivery, service requests and staff call — only from a connected device. The guest sees “To order on behalf of your room, connect your room (the code is at the front desk). Your cart is saved.”
The “guests not connected” banner#
In the “Only with a stay pass” mode, a banner appears above the room board: Occupied rooms whose guests are not connected yet: N. Show rooms expands the list; a room's {room} · Give QR button opens the Guest services window of that room.
Separately: the room phone and the electronic key#
- The room phone (Cenaly Phone as the room's phone) is connected its own way — with a one-time front-desk code for each phone. Unlike the pass, it does not move with the guest on a room move. Details — Room phone on the guest's smartphone.
- The electronic lock key (TTLock or Nuki) is not linked to the pass: the lock code is issued at check-in and revoked at check-out separately — see Electronic key and the stay.
Not available yet#
- The front desk cannot add a device for the guest above the limit — only free a slot by disconnecting another one.
- Strict stay pass checks are turned on for cenaly.com and cenaly.ru. On the platform's other domains, orders on behalf of a room without a pass are still accepted, as before.
Related articles#
- Guest requests and room service
- Online guest check-out
- Room phone on the guest's smartphone
- Restaurant, minibar and meals on the room bill
- Check guests in and out at the front desk
- Hotel: Rooms, PMS and Guest Service
FAQ#
A former guest photographed the room QR. Can they order after check-out?#
No, if the “Only with a stay pass” mode is selected: the room QR permits nothing by itself, and the previous guest's pass ended at check-out.
Does the guest need to enter a code for every order?#
No. The device is connected once for the whole stay — after that the guest enters nothing.
How many devices can a family connect?#
6 per stay by default, 1 to 10 in the settings. All of them connect with one link or one room code.
The guest moved to another room. Do they need to reconnect?#
No. Passes move with the guest. Only the room phone needs to be connected again.
Why is the Guest services button inactive?#
The room has no open stay bill — the guest is not checked in in the PMS. Check the guest in first.