Apple makes digital key tech available to hotels in the US

Samsung has been making headlines recently with its digital car key rollout and partnerships with various car makers. But Apple is no stranger to this specific tech and even announced today a partnership with a well-known chain of hotels – Hyatt.

Starting today, several Hyatt hotels in the United States will be using room keys in Apple Wallet. The six participating 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, will offer room keys in Apple Wallet to their guests.

These digital keys can be used to unlock guestrooms and other key card-protected areas like gyms, pools, and elevators. The technology removes the need to handle a traditional plastic room key and supposedly marks an important milestone for Hyatt to upgrade its services.

Here is how it works

From the World of Hyatt app, customers can add their room key to Apple Wallet after completing a reservation. The room key in Apple Wallet will be updated after it’s been added to let customers know when it’s time for check-in. The digital key in Apple Wallet will be activated once the guest checks in and the room is ready.

If a guest must change rooms, the digital key can be remotely updated by the hotel without the guest having to visit the front desk. Even the check out can be done through the World of Hyatt app since the digital key in Apple Wallet can be remotely deactivated and archived.

The digital key will work on any iPhone running iOS 15 or Apple Watch running watchOS 8. Once their assigned room keys are added to Apple Wallet in iPhone or Apple Watch, guests can hold their device near the door’s NFC (Near Field Communication)-enabled lock to access key card-protected areas.

As far as security goes, the digital keys in Apple Wallet are stored on the guest’s device, so they should be completely safe. When a guest is using a room key in Apple Wallet, the key is never shared with Apple or stored on the company’s servers.