Yes. Depending on your plan, Touch Stay gives you three built-in ways to make your guide links more user-friendly and on-brand, and there are a few other ideas you can use on any plan.
Table of contents:
Built-in options
Custom slug — a Touch Stay link ending in a word you choose, for example /beach-retreat.
Custom Sub-domain — your guidebook on a Touch Stay sub-domain you choose.
Set these per guidebook: open the guidebook's Settings tab and go to Guidebook access → URL format. See Guidebook settings & features.
Your own domain — every guide link uses an address on your own website, for example guides.yourdomain.com. This is set once for your whole account under General settings → Custom domain. Once it's active, new guide links use your domain, and existing guide.touchstay.com links keep working. See How to set up a custom domain for your guide links.
ℹ️ If your plan doesn't include these options, you'll see an upgrade notice in their place.
URL format rules: custom slug and sub-domain
In URL format, choose Custom slug or Custom Sub-domain, type your text and click Save Changes. Touch Stay turns what you type into lower case. If a value isn't allowed, you'll see a message that says why.
Custom slug
Up to 250 characters.
Letters, numbers, hyphens and underscores only. No spaces or other symbols.
It must be unique. If another guidebook already uses it, choose a different one.
Some words aren't allowed: reserved words (for example login or support), anything that starts with test, some brand names (including Touch Stay's) and offensive words.
Custom Sub-domain
3 to 63 characters.
Letters, numbers and hyphens only.
It can't start or end with a hyphen, or have two hyphens in a row.
It must be unique. Reserved words, brand names, anything that starts with test and offensive words aren't allowed here either.
You can't use a Custom Sub-domain while your account uses your own domain, and you can't connect your own domain while any guidebook uses a Custom Sub-domain. Remove one first.
Plans: Custom slug and Custom Sub-domain are one plan feature, so your plan includes both or neither. Your own domain is a separate plan feature, so check your plan for each.
Create a Shortened URL
Using a website like https://bitly.com/ you can paste the guidebook link and it will generate a short version. Whilst it’s not branded (you’ll need a paid bitly account for that) and still is a string of characters, it is much shorter.
Redirect URL
If you have your own website, this is a really simple and quick solution. The major website hosts, like GoDaddy and WP Engine, all have a redirect feature. It’s nothing more than redirecting one URL to another.
For example, you could redirect yourwebsite.com/guest-guide, /guidebook or /beach-retreat-guide to your guidebook's Quick Share link.
QR Codes
Most phones let guests point their camera at a QR code to open a web page — beyond simple. See How to create a QR code for your guide.
If you want to add a bit more design flourish, we really like QR Code Monkey (that’s how we created the code above): https://www.qrcode-monkey.com/. Just copy the guidebook link into the URL box, optionally play with the colours, logo and design, then click to create the code. You can then download it and place it on your website, add it to a poster, create a small printed card, etc.
You might like to have a look at point #5 on this article we wrote about QR codes being used in holiday/vacation homes: https://touchstay.com/self-check-in
🤝 Need help?
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You can also reach out to our team at [email protected], and we'll be happy to help.