AI Scanner best practices and troubleshooting guide

The AI ID Scanner reads a guest’s ID and fills in the reservation form for you. This article explains how it works, how to get reliable scans, which webcams work best, and what to do when a scan doesn’t go as expected.

How the scanner works

For a US driver’s licence the scanner uses both sides of the card:

• Front: the printed text (name, address, date of birth, licence number, expiry) is read from the photo.
• Back: the large barcode (a PDF417 barcode, the wide rectangular one made of many thin bars) is decoded. It holds the same details in machine-readable form and is the most accurate source.

The results are combined and filled into the form. A scan usually takes 10–30 seconds.

Passports and other ID types are read from the photo page only; there is no barcode step.

How to scan an ID

1. Open Create Reservation and choose the ID type (for example Drivers License).
2. Capture or upload the front of the ID.
3. Capture or upload the back of the ID. On the camera screen, line the barcode up with the “Barcode here” marker in the card guide.
4. Click Scan ID and wait for the form to fill.
5. Review the filled-in details before saving.

Best practices for a good scan

Placement

• Fill the frame. The card should take up most of the camera view, with the barcode inside the guide.
• Hold it flat and level. Even a small tilt (a few degrees) can stop the barcode from being read. Lay the card on the desk or hold it square to the camera.
• Hold still. Keep the card steady for a second before and while capturing. The scanner picks the sharpest of several frames, but it can’t fix constant movement.

Focus

• After moving the card into place, wait about one second so the camera can refocus.
• Check the preview: you should be able to see the individual thin bars of the barcode. If the barcode looks like a grey smudge, it won’t read.

Lighting

• Use even, bright light. Avoid strong glare or reflections across the barcode from overhead lights or windows; tilt the light source, not the card.
• Avoid heavy shadows (for example your hand or phone shading the card).

Uploading photos instead of using the camera

• Phone photos usually work very well because phone cameras autofocus at close range.
• Upload the original photo. Screenshots, heavily compressed images, or very small images (under about 1000 pixels wide) often lose the barcode detail.

Choosing a webcam

The single most important feature for barcode reading is autofocus. Resolution matters less: a 1080p (Full HD) camera has enough pixels if the image is sharp.

Many built-in laptop cameras (including MacBook cameras) and low-cost webcams are fixed-focus. They are designed to keep a face sharp at arm’s length, so a card held close to them comes out blurry. In that case the front of the ID usually still reads, but the barcode on the back often does not.

Using a different camera

The scanner uses your browser’s selected camera. To switch to an external webcam in Google Chrome:

1. Click the camera icon in the address bar (or go to Settings → Privacy and security → Site settings → Camera).
2. Choose your external webcam from the list.
3. Reload the page and open the camera screen again.

On a Mac with an iPhone nearby (macOS Ventura or later), the iPhone can appear in that list as a camera via Continuity Camera.

Troubleshooting

Contacting support

If scans keep failing, please send us:

• Your property name and the user who scanned
• The date and time of the scan (with time zone)
• The ID type and the camera or device used
• What you saw (error message, missing fields, or how long it took)