SMS Tipping for Hotels

SMS tipping - tapping a link in a text message to tip a staff member - is on the NexGen Guest roadmap and not yet live. Today, guests tip by scanning a staff member's personal QR code, which opens that employee's tipping page in the browser with no app to download. When SMS tipping ships, it will use the same no-app, browser-based checkout guests already know.

The intended flow is simple: a guest receives a text message with a secure link, taps it to open the staff member's tipping page in their mobile browser, and pays by card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. There is no app and no account. The tip is attributed to the named employee and paid out through payroll, exactly like QR tipping works today.

Right now, the live method is QR code tipping: guests scan a staff member's personal QR code and pay in seconds, with no app to download. It is available across every department - housekeeping, valet, bell, front desk, restaurant, and spa - and every tip is attributed to the named person who delivered the service.

No. Like QR tipping, SMS tipping is designed to be fully browser-based - a guest taps the link in the text and lands directly on the tipping page. There is nothing to install and no login, which removes the biggest drop-off point in mobile tipping.

Tips will be captured through the property's payment processor and paid out to staff through payroll, the same way live QR tips are handled today. Each employee also gets a personal dashboard showing today's, this week's, and this month's earnings with per-tip detail.

Yes. Email delivery of a tipping link is live. The guest receives the link, taps it, and lands on the staff member's page in the browser to pay by card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. Because the link is just a URL, it behaves identically to a texted link would: no app, no account, and the same named attribution and payroll payout. Outbound SMS delivery is the part still in development.

Only how the guest reaches the page. A QR code is the link in scannable form, useful when the guest is physically present and the code is on a card, a badge, or a claim ticket. An emailed link is useful when the moment has passed, for example after checkout or when thanking a specific person later. Both open the same browser page, attribute the tip to the same named employee, and pay out the same way.

No. Whether a guest reaches the tipping page by scanning a code or tapping a link, there is no charge to them for the delivery itself and nothing to download. The guest pays only the gratuity they choose, by card or digital wallet.