Hardware audio guides vs QR guides on visitors' phones

Rental handsets give every visitor the same device, but they cost a lot to buy and even more to run: someone must hand them out, take them back, charge them, clean them and replace the ones that break or disappear. A QR guide on the visitor's own phone removes all of that, and a few handsets kept at the desk cover the visitors who need one.

This guide compares the two and gives a plan for moving from one to the other.

The work behind handsets

Handsets look simple to visitors. Behind the desk, they are a daily operation.

• The desk. Every visitor who wants audio queues, often leaves a deposit or an ID, and returns the device at the end.
• Charging. Racks of devices need charging every night, and batteries wear out within a few years.
• Hygiene. Earphones and handsets need cleaning between visitors.
• Losses and breakage. Devices are dropped, left in cafés and taken home by mistake.
• Content updates. Changing a stop often means updating every device, or calling the supplier.

Pathoura, a visitor-phone platform, estimates around £80 per device and £1,100 to £1,600 a year in maintenance for a traditional setup. Musa, another provider, puts an entry-level hardware system at $50,000 to $120,000.

The visitor's own phone

With a QR guide, visitors scan a code with their phone's camera and listen in the browser. There is no queue, no deposit, nothing to charge or clean, and an update reaches the next visitor immediately. QR code audio guides explains how it works.

Who still needs a handset

Not every visitor has, or wants to use, a smartphone. Keep a fallback for:

• visitors without a smartphone, or with a flat battery;
• some older visitors who prefer a simple device with big buttons;
• groups led by a guide using a radio system;
• visitors with specific access needs who use a dedicated device.

The answer is rarely "all handsets" or "no handsets". It is a small number of devices kept at the desk for those who ask.

The hybrid model

Audiogids, a Belgian audio guide provider, describes a hybrid approach: most visitors listen on their own phone, and a few devices remain available at the desk. It keeps the cost of hardware low while nobody is left out.

A practical version:

1. Launch the QR guide for everyone.
2. Keep 5 to 10% of your current handsets, the newest ones, for visitors who ask.
3. Load the same content on them, or lend a basic phone with the QR guide already open.
4. Review after a season how many handsets were actually used.

A transition plan

Month 1: prepare

• Publish the QR guide with the same stops as the handsets, or better ones.
• Place QR signs next to the existing stop numbers.

Month 2: run both

• Offer both at the desk: "Use your phone, or borrow a device."
• Count how many visitors choose each.

Month 3: shift

• Make the QR guide the default in every message: website, tickets, desk.
• Reduce the handsets to the number actually used.

Month 4 onwards: review

• Check listens per stop and visitor feedback.
• Decide whether to keep a small set of devices permanently.

Costs over five years

Handsets load the cost at the start and add staff time every day. A QR guide spreads a small cost over time and makes changes nearly free. How much does an audio guide cost? has the full five-year comparison.