Starwood Hotels has officially launched its SPG Keyless service, allowing guests to use their iPhone (and, in the Spring, Apple Watch) to unlock their hotel doors, bypassing the front desk. The boutique hotel group first announced the project back in January.
1. After booking a reservation at a keyless hotel, SPG members are invited to opt-in to SPG Keyless and register their phone through the SPG App.
2. Approximately 24 hours before arrival, the guest receives his/her room number and Bluetooth key via the app.
3. Upon arrival at the hotel, the guest can completely bypass the front desk (where available) and go directly to his/her room.
4. Then, after ensuring his/her Bluetooth is enabled, the guest simply opens the SPG App, taps the smartphone on the door lock, waits for the green light and enters the room.
The service goes live today at three Starwood brands: Aloft, Element and The W.
The hotel group says the three brands were the obvious place to start. Aloft hotels are already equipped with Apple TV boxes connected to 42-inch LCD televisions.
Aloft, Element and W, which were a natural fit to pilot and begin rollout because of their commitment to tech-forward, design-savvy, and eco-friendly initiatives. Aloft Harlem, Aloft Cupertino, Aloft Beijing, Aloft Cancun, W New York – Downtown, W Hollywood, W Singapore, W Hong Kong, W Doha and Element Times Square will be the first ten hotels to implement the technology. Starwood will rapidly expand rollout in the first half of 2015 and, by the end of next year SPG Keyless will be in 30,000 doors in 150 hotels across the globe.
Based on Bluetooth LE (not NFC), it will work with all iPhones from the 4s onward – and you’ll of course still have the option of a physical key in case your iPhone battery doesn’t make it through a full day and long night out. The company has posted a (rather loud) promo video for the service:
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6yb2TprJkc]
Hilton Worldwide has announced that it will be introducing its own smartphone key system in the Spring at four brands: U.S. Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts and Canopy by Hilton properties. It will initially be U.S.-only.
Hilton’s global head of digital at Hilton Worldwide, Geraldine Calpin, says the service will extend beyond just unlocking your hotel door.
Never before has a hotel guest been able to check-in, select their room from a digital floor plan, request items to be ready upon arrival, and then access their room via their smartphone and find it exactly the way they requested it. We’re truly revolutionizing travel by making the stay experience more convenient.
Hilton will be piloting the system at 10 U.S. properties in early 2015, with Conrad Hotels & Resorts following soon behind and Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts and Canopy by Hilton properties beginning next summer.
Both Starwood and Hilton will also be supporting Android handsets.
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I don’t see any problems happening with this system. Nothing like, walking straight to your room only to find someone stepping out of the shower because the room was mixed up, or finding others belongings still in the room because the room was shown as empty and cleaned….no, I don’t see that happening.
How do you vote dos comments on this thing?
Have you even been to a hotel?
Do you know how issuing room keys actually works, or do you keep your head in the sand for every topic that’s discussed??
I don’t agree with the first half of comment. There are already plenty of smart locks on the market, so that feature has probably been validated. I think the key is per device linked to the app.
However I could definitely see a room being marked vacant or clean before it is leading to a few awkward interactions. Lol
That has nothing to do with the room’s entry method but the hotel’s room management system. Doesn’t matter if you unlock the door with an iPhone a swipe card. It’s better than it was when we used a physical key which couldn’t be time coded or automatically disabled.
this already happens with hotel’s current system of issuing cards. if you travel enough you have experienced getting to your room and its not been cleaned yet, still occupied..
Said it before, said it again, the whole using an iDevice to unlock or pay for things is totally pointless when it would be far more convenient for the end user to simply place their finger on a biometric reader next to the door or even use an eye scan – the latter of which will mean you can get in without having to put your luggage down, assuming the door unlocks and swings inwards automatically. All for use of tech, but this is all a clever ploy by Apple to make their devices essential rather than useful.
The problem is you would then need to register your fingerprints or retina scans with the hotel ahead of time and they would be responsible for storing some form of the biometric data. With the iPhone, it’s already registered and the biometric data is only stored in one place (hashed locally on the phone.) Second, up until TouchID, every fingerprint scanner was complete crap and I can only imagine what cheap piece of junk reader most hotels would opt to use when you’re talking about having to buy hundreds or thousands of them to outfit their rooms.
As per home control, I don`t dispute that current (consumer grade) biometrics may be poor, but that is no excuse for a company to design a better product. BTW, the hotel would not need to register anything. Just as long as your proof of identity matched your profile then they would authenticate the readeron your room door. BTW, the sort of company who could do consumer biometrics well would be NEST or Dropcam, both now owned by Google I believe. I don`t contest that Apple solution will work (their reputation is on the line and they are great at execution most times), i contest the whole concept of tying external services to the Apple ecosystem. I have no problem with the touch ID system for access to the iPhone!
You’re an idiot and your idea is ignorant beyond belief, how about you educate yourself on how those biometrics would be obtained and then multiply that process by several guests. Guess what, it turns out it’s inconviant and time consuming.
Oh really? Am the CEO of a company, software designer and we are also in the business of hardware (so I am also surrounded by engineers) so I think I know what I am talking about. a) The UK’s Barclays Bank now provides it’s business customers with a biometric reader to dispense with the need for those card dongles. b) Biometric entry systems are used world-wide. c) A hotel based system would be networked using technology no different than a card terminal at a retailer or on the hotel front desk. What Apple are doing, and this is the same reason that the Apple Watch will not (despite global tech standards) work with anything but an iPhone, is forcing people into the ecosystem to make money. (I’m buying a Pebble that is more open, even if less flashy.) Typing this on a MacBook Pro 15″ Retina, so I will buy Apple when I have the choice to use an open system.
I’m sorry for the misunderstanding, let me revise what I previously said. Now that makes you a stupid CEO and an ignorant DESIGNER (Which I don’t understand why you decided to divulge on here, because your stupidity on the matter is mind boggling).
a) The fact you can’t can’t consider and distingush why using biometrics at bank compared to a hotel actually proves how moronic you are.
Here are the facts:
1. Bank: You input that data once and it lasts for however long you belong to that particular organisation. You’re typically more concerned with security than convenience.
2. Hotel: I’ll reiterate what was said before, the fact you have to register biometrics to hundreds of guests per given hour and ensue that they’ve been instructed and inputed correctly in timely manner makes your idea impractical and infeasible.
b) Worldwide use is an absolutely nonsense metric. What’s important is the application and you can be assured that there is not wide adoption of biometrics that most consumers would be aware of.
c) Did you even bother reading the article? I don’t think you did, let me quote it for you, “Approximately 24 hours before arrival, the guest receives his/her room number and Bluetooth key via the app. Upon arrival at the hotel, the guest can completely bypass the front desk (where available) and go directly to his/her room.”
Completely bypass the front desk…hmmm that for some reason actually sounds more convenient and quicker then having to line up at reception to log biometric data.
You have absolutely no idea what the meaning of open source means and I couldn’t give a damn what you’re writing this on and your future purchase.
Thank you Mosha, I was going to respond to that oaf, but you already summed it up as good (if not better) than I was going to.
Cheers
You don’t understand my point (perhaps my fault for not explaining clearly, so my bad), but in view of your lack of manners, it’s not worth me continuing to argue. But I will clarify: I am discussing a standardised national/international biometric security system that renders it unnecessary for people to use a tangible item to make a purchase and/or gain entry to a premises/room etc. IE, you can be in the nude 100% of the time, and shop, travel and more without the need for anything more than your good self. Yes, of course, the system would have to be incredibly well protected against fraud, misuse, hacking etc – just like any system.
It will happen, it is just a matter of when.
I am not disputing the effectiveness or otherwise of the solution this article is about. I am making the point that a bit like the washing up bowl, it is not necessary – in my opinion, if you think otherwise and wish to make your purchases and gain access to locations using your devices, that is your choice. I would prefer a system that (as mentioned earlier) was devoid of tangible access methods, keys, smart watches, phones etc. It would be quite liberating.
The main advantage is the long lines at the front desk at evening check ins.
[quote]Upon arrival at the hotel, the guest can completely bypass the front desk (where available)[/quote]
I read that sooooo the wrong way lol
Great to see technology working like this! Unlocking you door and having a room prepared is such good customer service!