In brief
The right decisions for guest Wi-Fi coupons: single-use versus group codes, validity, device count, what the coupon binds to in the record, the hand-out trail, batch generation and printing.
The coupon is the second core sign-in method on guest Wi-Fi, next to the SMS code. A foreign guest whose phone has no signal, a visitor who does not want to give a number, access tied to the length of a stay, or hundreds of people signing in at once at an event: coupons cover all of them. But because coupons are easy to generate, they are also easy to misuse. This post sets out the rules for designing coupons well, the batch generation and printing flow in Hotspot-Box, and what the coupon corresponds to in the Law 5651 record.
What does the coupon bind to in the record?
The most important question first. With SMS sign-in, the verification detail in the record is the phone number. With coupon sign-in, the verification detail is the coupon code. The record holds: coupon code, device MAC address, assigned internal IP, session start and end, and NAT details where applicable. Visited sites are not written.
In practice this means the coupon points to a code in the record chain, not to a person. The answer to "who did you give this code to?" is not in the box; it is in your hand-out routine. Every rule in coupon design exists to close that gap.
Single-use or group code?
| Single-use coupon | Group code | |
|---|---|---|
| How many devices sign in? | One guest, up to the plan's device count | Many people, same code |
| Distinction in the record | Each guest a separate code, separate line | Same code, different MAC addresses |
| Hand-out | On a receipt, a card, in the room; personal | Projected on stage, a poster, an invitation |
| Risk | A lost code becomes useless | Once the code leaks, everyone gets in |
| Where it fits | Café, hotel, waiting area, office visitor | Conference, wedding, trade-fair stand, training day |
The rule is simple: a coupon handed to a person is single-use; a coupon announced to a room is a group code. Even with a group code, devices are told apart by MAC address; the record keeps a separate session for each device. But the "who" question is necessarily weak with a group code. So use group codes with short validity and only at closed events.
Validity period
How long a coupon can be used is the most neglected setting. Suggestions:
- Café, restaurant: same day. A code printed on a receipt should not work the next day.
- Hotel, serviced apartment: the length of the stay. The coupon is generated to match the guest's stay and expires on its own afterwards.
- Dormitory: the whole term, together with 7-day device memory.
- Event: the event's hours plus a small margin.
- Office visitor: the end of the meeting.
Validity can be designed to start "when the coupon is first used" or "when it is generated"; staff need to know which one you chose. If printed coupons wait in a drawer, validity counting from generation wastes all of them.
Device count and plan
A coupon is attached to a plan: speed, session length, idle timeout, device count and daily quota come from that plan. So a "VIP coupon" or a "staff coupon" really means a coupon attached to a different plan. The coupon's device count lets one guest sign in with phone and laptop together; with a group code, keeping the device count low limits the damage of a leak.
| Scenario | Plan template | Coupon type | Validity | Devices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel room | Long stay (15/5 Mbps, 24 h, 5 GB) | Single-use | Length of stay | 3 |
| Café receipt | Standard (10/5 Mbps, 2 h, 1 GB) | Single-use | Same day | 2 |
| Conference hall | Conference (5/2 Mbps, 4 h, 500 MB) | Group code | Event hours | 1 |
| Office visitor | Standard | Single-use | End of meeting | 2 |
The values are our lab suggestions; they ship as ready templates in the box.
Who handed it out? The audit trail
The box's audit trail records who generated a coupon batch, together with the panel user. Role-based permissions let you grant coupon generation only to specific roles. But the code's journey from hand to guest happens inside your venue; the box cannot see it. Two easy habits close that gap:
- Name the batch. Something like "Reception, 12 October, morning shift". The batch name tells you which code belongs to which stack.
- Hand the stack to a person. Which shift took which stack; a simple notebook or spreadsheet is enough. When asked, you can say "this code is from that stack, and that stack was with this shift".
In hotels and dormitories you keep the link between the coupon and the guest record in your own front-desk routine; the box does not create that link and does not need to.
Batch generation and printing
In Hotspot-Box coupons are generated in bulk from the panel: pick the plan, enter the quantity, set the validity, name the batch. The generated coupons come out in a printable form, for cards to cut and hand out or a code list to print on receipts. Suggestions:
- Keep code length readable; avoid confusing "0" with "O" and "1" with "l".
- Print the validity and a short usage rule on the card: "Valid today, 2 hours, 2 devices."
- Add the portal address or the sentence "Connect to the Wi-Fi and enter the code on the page that opens".
- Keep batches small. If a single batch of a thousand is lost, a thousand codes have to be voided; with batches of a hundred, only the lost stack is cancelled.
Signs of misuse
- The same code used on different days from different MAC addresses (it should have been single-use and has turned into a group code).
- A batch consumed before hand-out even started (the stack has leaked).
- Coupon sign-ins outside opening hours (someone is connecting from outside; consider SSID scheduling on the AP side).
The reports screen makes these signs visible through sign-in method breakdown and hourly load. See Box + Software for coupon generation and portal details, and the Industries page for coupon scenarios by sector. To design your own coupon routine, write to us.