Access Control, Security

Hotel Giant Pilots Contactless Room Keys in Apple Wallet

Whenever you travel and stay in a hotel, odds are you’ve found yourself digging in your pockets, purse, or what have you for your room key. Well, one major hotel brand is testing out a new digital alternative to that elusive plastic card.

Hyatt Hotels Corp., a global hospitality company whose portfolio includes more than 1,000 hotel and all-inclusive properties in 69 countries across six continents, announced the introduction of room keys in Apple Wallet. The company is initially rolling out the technology at six participating U.S. hotels: Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort, Hyatt Centric Key West Resort & Spa, Hyatt House Chicago/West Loop-Fulton Market, Hyatt House Dallas/Richardson, Hyatt Place Fremont/Silicon Valley, and Hyatt Regency Long Beach.

As one of the first hotel brands to offer room keys in Apple Wallet, the company explains guests in the World of Hyatt loyalty program at participating locations can now seamlessly and securely tap their iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock hotel rooms and key-card-protected common areas like gyms, pools, and elevators—with no need to open an app or handle a traditional plastic room key.

“Room keys in Apple Wallet is an easy, convenient. and secure room key option for our guests when they travel,” says Julia Vander Ploeg, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Digital and Technology at Hyatt. “Many consumer technologies evolve through a ‘tipping point’ that drives a change in adoption. We believe our collaboration with Apple on this new approach to room keys in Apple Wallet can be exactly that.”

How it Works

According to the company, Hyatt room keys in Apple Wallet help deliver an easy and contactless experience from check-in to check-out, while also providing additional security and privacy benefits for guests.

Seamless Set-up and Check-In: From the World of Hyatt app, members can add their room key to Apple Wallet after completing a reservation. Once added, the room key in Apple Wallet will be updated to let them know when it’s time for check-in. Once a guest is checked in and the room is ready, the room key in Apple Wallet will be activated, will note the guest’s room number, and can be used immediately. The room key will not activate until the guest is checked into the hotel and a guestroom has been assigned.

Safe, Easy, and Contactless Experience: If a World of Hyatt guest needs to change rooms, extend a stay or access late checkout, the hotel can update the guest’s room key in Apple Wallet remotely—bypassing the need to visit the front desk. When it’s time to check out, guests can simply do so through the World of Hyatt app. The guest’s room key in Apple Wallet will then be remotely deactivated and archived in Apple Wallet.

Simply Tap iPhone or Apple Watch to Unlock: Room keys in Apple Wallet give World of Hyatt guests easy and secure access to their room and common areas around the hotel with a tap of their iPhone running iOS 15 or Apple Watch running watchOS 8. Once a room key is added to Apple Wallet on iPhone or Apple Watch, guests can hold their device near the door’s NFC-enabled lock to access key-card-protected areas. With Express Mode, guests don’t need to unlock their device to use their room key in Apple Wallet. If their iPhone needs to be charged, they can still use the device to unlock their room or common areas for up to five hours with automatic Power Reserve.

More Secure and Private: Room keys in Apple Wallet are stored on your device and take full advantage of the privacy and security built into iPhone and Apple Watch. When or where a World of Hyatt guest uses a room key in Apple Wallet is never shared with Apple or stored on Apple servers. If an iPhone or Apple Watch is misplaced, the guest can promptly use the Find My app to lock the device and help locate it.

Hyatt room keys in Apple Wallet are supported by ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions door locks and their Vostio Access Management cloud-based solution. Vostio Access Management provides the digital key information that is securely delivered to guest devices.

Following the first six U.S. locations, the Apple Wallet offering is expected to be rolled out across Hyatt’s global portfolio. The feature builds on Hyatt’s current digital keys in the World of Hyatt mobile app, now available at more than 600 participating hotels.

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