Printing at a hotel or Airbnb
Email it to the front desk and let them print it — that's the fastest route and usually free. Only bother pairing with a printer you don't own if you have a lot to print.
Ask the front desk first
Before touching any settings: email the document to the hotel's front desk and ask them to print it. Most will, often for nothing, and it takes two minutes.
This is quicker than any technical solution and works from any device. Many hotels list a print email address on the guest information card; if not, just ask.
Use the business centre if there is one
Larger hotels have a guest computer and printer. Bring your file on a USB stick, or email it to yourself and open it in a browser there.
Sign out of everything before you walk away. Guest machines are shared, frequently poorly maintained, and are the wrong place to leave a logged-in email account. Use a private browsing window and close it when you're done.
Connecting to an Airbnb printer
If the host has a printer and you have several things to print, it's usually straightforward:
- iPhone or Mac: if the printer supports AirPrint, just choose Print — it appears automatically as long as you're on the same Wi-Fi. Nothing to install.
- Android: the built-in print service finds most modern printers on the same network. Some makes need their own app.
- Windows or Mac laptop: Settings → Printers → Add — it'll usually find it.
The requirement in every case is being on the same Wi-Fi network as the printer. A guest network that isolates devices from each other will block this entirely, and that's a common Airbnb setup.
When it can't see the printer
Same diagnosis as at home: the printer is fine, the network isn't cooperating.
- Confirm you're on the same network, not a guest SSID.
- Many printers only join 2.4 GHz networks — if your phone is on the 5 GHz band of a split network, they can't see each other.
- Ask the host for the printer's name or IP; adding it by address bypasses discovery.
If ten minutes hasn't fixed it, fall back to a print shop. It isn't worth an hour of your holiday.
Print shops and pharmacies
Copy and print shops are widespread across the city and will print from a USB stick, an email or a phone.
Many large pharmacy chains also have self-service photo and document printing. For a single boarding pass this is a few minutes and a couple of dollars.
Or don't print at all
Worth asking whether you need paper.
Airlines, trains, theatres and most attractions accept a phone screen. Save the pass to your phone's wallet app, which works with no signal and no battery anxiety about loading a webpage at the gate.
Take a screenshot as a backup. If the app won't load in a queue, a screenshot always opens.