App Idea: Lightweight Payment App Dashboard

At the end of our stay at a pleasant inn last year, I wanted to tip the room staff. I didn't have any cash, there was no on-prem ATM, and hotel was in the middle of nowhere.

I had an idea: why not place placards or cards in the rooms at the end of a stay that would allow guests to tip via Venmo, Cash App, or some other payment service? It might display QR codes or a deep link.

I was a bit excited. I came back to Simsbury and started calling the local hotels. I asked if they had seen tips plummet in the past few years, as we went to a cashless society. "Yes!" The owners said. They were emphatic that tips just weren't a thing anymore, even if they were still encouraged.

I asked if I could give a trial run of my placards. It would be based on the honor system. I just wanted to see if they were used. I was told under no circumstances would this be allowed. Game over.

Recently I had another idea for the same type of app. This would be an extremely lightweight web app where a user could set the links and QR codes for all the payment apps they can receive money from.

When a guest asks where to tip, they could either open the app on their phone and show the list of QR codes, or give the guest of short URL that would allow the customer to go, at their own time, on their own device and tip.

This could be built over the weekend and tested with almost no cost. I know that this would be beneficial to anyone in the service industry. The question is: does this app exist? Well. It will.