Using QR Codes for Activities or Facility Reservations

 

QR Codes effectively add ticketing functionality to Sportsman.  As currently implemented, you can have Activity Timeslots and Facility Reservations send QR Codes to the patron when registering through the internet.  These are received as an attachment to the Confirmation Email as well as a “text” to their cellphone.

The admittance screen will then accept that code on a one-time basis and grant them access to the facility thus creating a touchless registration experience.

Both Time Slots and Facility Reservations are ideal for limiting access to the facility.  Examples include creating sessions for pools, open gym, walking tracks, work out rooms, etc.

Prerequisites:  The Membership module is required for admittance and a QR scanner is required.  The tradition scanners used in Sportsman do not have QR code or 2D scanning ability.  The new QR scanners can directly replace the older scanners and will scan both traditional barcodes (1D) and QR Codes.  You can purchase a scanner from the form at the bottom of our equipment order page.  You should also be familiar with setting up Time-Slot type Activities and Facility reservations.

This document will cover:

ü Enabling QR Codes

·      Time Slots for Activities

·      Time Slots for Facility Reservations

ü Registering for QR Code Enabled Items

ü Configuring Admittance

ü Resending QR Codes to Patrons

 

Enabling QR Codes

QR codes are enabled at the definition of the Activity or Facility.  Facilities will send QR codes for Revenue-based (normal) or Non-revenue based (skip transaction) reservations.  However, at this time, Timeslot Activities only work for revenue-based transactions however the fee may be zero.  A typical usage in timeslots is that a member may receive a zero or reduced fee while non-members are charged the normal day pass rate.

Time Slots for Activities

Within activity definitions, the only registration type suitable for QR codes is Time Slots which represent registration for one-time events.

Refer to existing documentation on how to setup Time Slots.  This section is an addendum for just QR Code functionality.

Under the Activity Definition screen. Simply check the “Send QR Code for Touchless Admittance” option.

 

Admittance Purpose: When the card is swiped at the admittance station, that station must have this purpose included to be valid.  This is consistent with the functionality in membership definitions.

Reservation Limits: These are self-explanatory but allow you to restrict patrons from hoarding reservations.  At present these restrictions only apply to online (ActivityReg website) reservations, the in-house Sportsman application does not respect these restrictions.

 

Time Slots for Facility Reservations

Enabling QR Codes for Facility Reservation is similar whether the type is Predefined Time Slots or Resource.  If Predefined Time Slots, you must enable the settings on each reservation item.  If using Resource Reservations, you only need to enable the parent resource however you can also do it at the individual item level.

Simply check the “Send QR Code for Touchless Admittance” option.

 

Admittance Purpose: When the card is swiped at the admittance station, that station must have this purpose included to be valid.  This is consistent with the functionality in membership definitions.

Send Test QR Code: This button allows you to see an example of what the QR code sent to the customer will look like.  You can send it to yourself as a test and the code will scan but since it is not tied to an actual registration, it will be rejected with an appropriate message at the admittance station.

 

Registering for QR Code Enabled Items

There is no difference to the patron for registering for QR code enabled items.  The QR code will come automatically as an attachment in the confirmation email.  If they have a cell phone number attached to their account (you can make this field required), they will also receive a “text” message with the code.

In both cases the QR code is simply an image and not embedded in the email.  This is by design as it is easier to click on the image and have it be the focus on your phone.  As an image, it can be scanned in either portrait or landscape orientation.  Within an email, you have potential pagination issues to be sure it stays visible.

The broad intention of the QR code is to have customers scan it right from their phone however a printed copy works as well.  The glare issue of phones can sometimes make it a little challenging to scan however the new QR scanners sourced from Peak Software scan well directly from most phones.

 

Configuring Admittance

In general, there is no special settings necessary for a QR code to be scanned by admittance other than it requires a scanner capable of scanning QR codes.  Those can be purchased directly from Peak Software Systems.

For a successful scan, the admittance purpose code must be contained in the Admittance Stations Parameters defined on the workstation configuration for the input device.  This is no different than the requirement for normal memberships.

There is one new optional feature, “Only Admit Patrons With QR Codes” which disables regular membership swipes.  This would be useful if you restrict the entry point for a special event or you need to restrict all entry to only patrons with reserved times.

 

Resending QR Codes to Patrons

If a customer does not receive or misplaces their QR code, you can resend it to them.

Find the member and select the Activity or Reservation tab as appropriate.

Click on the [QR Code] button.  You will be prompted for the email and / or cell phone number for the member.

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