This guide walks you through every way Hotel360 can print receipts, bills and kitchen orders: USB thermal printers via the Print Agent, Ethernet / IP printers direct from the server, and direct printing from the mobile app (bypassing the agent entirely). Pick the section that matches your hardware.

1. Overview — how Hotel360 prints

Hotel360 supports three printing paths. You configure each printer once in Admin → Print Management, and Hotel360 automatically picks the right path for every receipt.

2. Installing the Print Agent

Download the installer for your operating system from the Hotel360 landing page:

• Windows → hotel360-print.exe
• Linux → hotel360-print
• macOS → hotel360-print-macos

1. Place the file in a permanent folder, e.g. C:\Hotel360\ on Windows or ~/hotel360/ on Linux/macOS.
2. Double-click to launch (Windows) or run ./hotel360-print from a terminal.
3. On first run the agent asks for your Hotel360 URL and an agent token — copy both from Admin → Print Management → Install Agent.
4. The agent registers itself, finds your local printers and starts waiting for receipts in the background. You should see a small tray icon or notification confirming it is connected.
5. Future updates are downloaded and applied automatically — just leave it running.

3. USB printing — printer sharing is mandatory

USB thermal printers don’t expose a raw byte device the way Ethernet printers do. The Print Agent works around this by writing to the printer via its shared name. This means you must share the printer — even if it’s only going to be used by the same PC. This is the single most common cause of “agent found, printer silent” tickets.

3.1 Windows — share the USB printer

1. Install the printer driver that came with your thermal printer (or the built-in Generic / Text Only driver for basic models). Confirm you can print a Windows test page from Devices and Printers.
2. Right-click the printer → Printer properties → Sharing tab.
3. Tick Share this printer. Set a simple share name with no spaces, e.g. POS01, KITCHEN, BAR. Hotel360 uses this exact name.
4. Open Control Panel → Network and Sharing Center → Advanced sharing settings and enable File and printer sharing for the Private profile.
5. Back in Devices and Printers, double-check your printer now shows a small "shared" icon and that the share name matches what you entered.
6. Restart the Print Agent. In Admin → Print Management the printer will appear with its shared name. Send a test print.

3.2 Linux / macOS — install the printer in the system

1. Plug in the printer and add it from System Settings → Printers. On Linux you can also open http://localhost:631 in a browser to manage printers. Choose the "raw" option if you see it.
2. Open a terminal and confirm the printer is listed:

   lpstat -a

3. Send a quick test print from the terminal to confirm the system is talking to the printer:

   echo "Hello" | lp -d YOUR_PRINTER -o raw

4. Restart the Print Agent — it will pick the printer up automatically.

4. IP / Ethernet printer configuration

Ethernet thermal printers are plug-and-play with Hotel360. Just give the printer an IP address on your network and Hotel360 will send receipts to it directly — no drivers to install, no operating-system quirks, and no agent needed.

4.1 Give the printer a static IP

1. Most thermal printers can print their current network configuration by holding the Feed button while powering on. Note the MAC address and current IP.
2. In your router’s DHCP settings, reserve a static lease for that MAC (recommended) — or configure a static IP via the printer’s built-in web panel.
3. Make sure the printer is on the same network as the Hotel360 computer or device that will print to it.

4.2 Check the printer is reachable

From any PC on the same network, open a command window and run:

# Replace with your printer IP
ping 192.168.1.50

If you get replies back, the printer is on the network and Hotel360 can talk to it. If the ping times out, the printer is off, cabled to the wrong switch, or on a different Wi-Fi — fix that before continuing.

4.3 Add the printer in Hotel360

1. Open Admin → Print Management → Add printer.
2. Choose Ethernet as the connection type.
3. Enter a friendly name (e.g. Reception, Kitchen, Bar), the printer’s IP address and the port (leave it at the default 9100 unless the printer manual says otherwise).
4. Select which department(s) should route to this printer — kitchen orders, bills, lodge receipts, etc.
5. Click Test print. You should get a printed test receipt within a second.

5. Mobile app direct printing (bypassing the agent)

The Hotel360 mobile app can print directly to any Ethernet thermal printer over the hotel’s Wi-Fi. No agent, no middleman — the phone talks to the printer itself. This is the path used by waiters and bar staff working on the floor.

5.1 Install the APK

1. From a phone browser, go to the Hotel360 landing page and tap Download APK.
2. Allow installation from unknown sources if prompted.
3. Open the app, log in with your Hotel360 credentials (the app enforces the same permissions as the web app).

5.2 Connect the phone to the printer network

1. Connect your phone to the same Wi-Fi network as your IP printers. Guest/isolated SSIDs block device-to-device traffic and will prevent printing.
2. Ensure the printer already works from the server (see Section 4). If the web app can print to it, the phone can too.

5.3 Select the printer in Settings

1. Tap the Settings tab in the app.
2. Under Printer, tap Select printer. The app lists every Ethernet printer registered on the server.
3. Pick one. The app saves your choice locally and shows its IP and port (e.g. 192.168.1.50:9100).
4. Tap Test print to confirm bytes reach the printer.

5.4 Print from POS, bills and lodge

• POS checkout: use Save & Print — the app builds the receipt and sends it directly to your selected printer.
• Bill clearing: after clearing a bill (Cash or Co-op STK) tap Print receipt.
• Lodge booking: after creating a booking, tap Print receipt to produce a lodge slip.
• Reprint: open any past bill and tap Reprint.

6. Troubleshooting

Nothing prints, no errors

• Check the printer has paper and the lid is closed — receipt printers silently drop jobs when out of paper.
• Confirm the printer is on the same network as the device sending the job.
• Run the ping check in Section 4.2.

Agent says “Failed to copy to \\HOST\NAME”

• The Windows printer is not shared, or the share name contains spaces or special characters.
• Re-share with a simple name (POS01, KITCHEN) and retry.
• Make sure File and printer sharing is enabled for the Private network profile.

Agent connects then disconnects

• Your firewall or antivirus may be blocking the live connection to Hotel360. Allow the Hotel360 Print Agent through Windows Defender / your firewall and try again.
• The agent token may have been rotated — grab a new one from Admin → Print Management.

Mobile: “No printer configured”

• Open Settings → Printer in the app and select one.
• If the list is empty, make sure the printer is added as an IP printer on the web (Section 4.3).

Web prints fine but phone doesn’t

• Your Wi-Fi is likely set to guest mode (client isolation). On guest Wi-Fi, phones can’t talk to other devices on the network, including printers.
• Connect the phone to the same Wi-Fi the printer is on, or ask your IT to turn off guest isolation.

Receipt prints but text is garbled

• The printer is probably using the wrong driver. On Windows, remove the printer, reinstall it using the Generic / Text Only driver, then share it again.