Why the timing is the whole mechanism
A review request sent while the guest is still seated is an interruption and often produces a rating of the request rather than the meal. A request sent three days later arrives after the memory has faded into a general impression. The window that works sits a few hours after the visit, while the experience is specific and the guest is somewhere they can type. VoqadoWiFi times the request from the moment the guest connects: 3 hours later by default, adjustable per location from 1 to 72 hours, and never between 21:00 and 09:00 venue time (a request that falls overnight waits for the morning). It does not watch for the session ending, so for long visits, such as a hotel stay or a long dinner, set the delay longer so the request lands after the guest has left.
Filtering out the visits that should not be asked
Not every connection should become a request, and not every guest should be asked on every visit. VoqadoWiFi applies these rules before a request goes out, and each can be changed per location.
- Consent: by default only guests who ticked the separate email box at the login are sent a request.
- Status: review emails switch on venue by venue as guest email goes live; until then they are held, not sent.
- A cooldown per guest: one request every 90 days by default, so a regular who visits weekly is not asked every week.
- A cap across all emails: no more than one email per guest per venue in 7 days, and four in 30, whatever triggered them.
- Quiet hours: nothing lands between 21:00 and 09:00 venue time, so a request from a late bar session waits for the morning.
- What is not there: a minimum dwell rule. Someone who connected for two minutes is asked like anyone else, so keep the guest network inside the venue rather than out on the pavement.
The line you must not cross
Google's contributed content policy says merchants may not "selectively solicit positive reviews from customers", which rules out routing happy guests to the review form and unhappy guests to a private complaint box. The same policy bars offering incentives such as payment, discounts or free goods in exchange for a review. Google says reviews posted because of an incentive will be removed, and it can restrict or close the accounts involved. Both mistakes are easy to build accidentally when a template offers a "how was it?" step before the review link. The compliant pattern is simpler: send the same request to everyone who qualifies, link straight to your Google review form, and offer nothing in return. If you also want private feedback, offer it alongside the public link, never instead of it. That is how the VoqadoWiFi review page is laid out.
What the operator actually sees
In practice you set this up once and then watch two things. The first is each guest's message timeline: what was sent, and what was skipped because of the cooldown, the cap or quiet hours. The second is your Google listing, where you want new reviews to arrive at a steady pace rather than in a spike, because the request follows normal footfall rather than a campaign. Leave the settings alone for a full trading cycle before adjusting them. Changing the delay every week makes it impossible to tell which setting was responsible for anything.
What this does not do
A review automation improves the number of people asked. It does not improve the experience being reviewed, and it does not hide a bad one. If service is inconsistent, asking more guests simply surfaces that faster and in public. Treat the first month of reviews as a diagnostic: read what comes in, and fix the thing that keeps getting mentioned. That is the useful return, and you get it whatever happens to your ranking.
How to set it up
In order. Skipping a step here is usually why a portal ends up showing a spinner instead of a login screen.
- 1
Get the portal capturing consented email addresses first
A review request is an email or message to a person, so it needs the same consent basis as any other marketing. Start with a working portal and a consent checkbox before you build the trigger on top of it.
- 2
Find your Google review link
In your Google Business Profile, use the "Ask for reviews" share link. It opens the review dialog directly rather than dropping the guest on your listing and hoping they find the button. Test it on a phone while signed out of any staff account.
- 3
Set the delay and the cooldown
The default is 3 hours after the guest connects, with one request per guest every 90 days. Shorten the delay for quick visits such as a coffee, lengthen it for long ones such as a hotel stay, and keep the cooldown in months rather than weeks.
- 4
Write the message
Keep it short, name the venue, thank them for the visit, and put the review link as the single call to action. No incentive, no satisfaction survey in front of it, no second ask lower down.
- 5
Run it on your own visit first
Connect as a guest with your own address, tick the email box, and confirm the request arrives after the delay you set and opens the review form. Requests send once guest email is switched on at your venue, so ask us whether it is live first. Only then let it run for everyone.
Who this suits
The venue types where this job comes up most often, and where the data the portal produces is dense enough to act on.
Run this on your own network first
The Starter plan is free forever: one location, 500 logins a month, a branded splash page and consent logging. Growth is $49 a month and covers up to three locations. Works with TP-Link Omada and Ubiquiti UniFi.
Common questions
Can I send the request by SMS instead of email?
Not with VoqadoWiFi, which sends email only. The login can collect a phone number with its own consent box, but texting it is a job for an SMS provider you choose, and only within the rules of the country you are sending to. SMS consent is stricter than email consent, so start with email.
Will Google penalise me for automating this?
Automating the ask is fine. What Google prohibits is filtering who gets asked based on how happy they are, and offering anything of value in exchange for a review. Send the same unincentivised request to everyone who meets your consent and cooldown rules and you are inside them.
How long should the delay after the visit be?
Short enough that the visit is still specific in memory, long enough that the guest is not still at the table. VoqadoWiFi defaults to 3 hours after the guest connects, which for most visits lands after they have left. Pick a delay, leave it alone for a full trading cycle, then judge it.
What if a guest leaves a bad review?
Reply to it publicly, quickly and without arguing. A well-handled negative review reads as evidence that a real person runs the place. Trying to prevent negatives from reaching the listing is the gating behaviour Google prohibits, so the only real defence is fixing the underlying issue.
Read next
These jobs share the same plumbing, so operators normally set them up in sequence rather than one at a time.
Collect Emails From Your Guest WiFi
Turn the WiFi login that already happens hundreds of times a month into a consented, deliverable email address you own.
Run a Loyalty Programme Through Your WiFi
Recognise and reward guests who come back, without asking anyone to install an app or carry a stamp card.
Win Back Customers Who Stopped Coming In
Notice when a regular quietly stops coming in, and reach them before the habit belongs to somewhere else.
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