Starwood Hotels Rolls Out New Smartphone Room Key

Starwood Hotels has announced the introduction of SPG Keyless, the hospitality industry’s first mobile keyless entry system allowing guests to use their Smartphone as a key.

SPG Keyless is part of the award winning loyalty program, Starwood Preferred Guest, from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and is being rolled out to Aloft, Element and W Hotels around the globe. SPG Keyless will go live on November 5th in 10 markets. W Doha will be among the first ten hotels in the world to offer the service. Starwood expects SPG Keyless to be available at 150 hotels by early 2015. 

SPG Keyless is a groundbreaking turning point in the traditional hotel experience, redefining the age-old way guests arrive and check-in to their rooms. SPG Keyless – powered by the SPG app – enables guests to bypass the front desk (where available), go directly to their room and unlock their stay with a simple tap of their Smartphone.

SPG Keyless is available to SPG members who book a hotel room through one of Starwood’s channels SPG.com, the SPG app or customer contact centers.

SPG Members must register their phone once through the SPG App and allow push notifications. After booking a reservation at a keyless hotel and approximately 24 hours before arrival, SPG members are invited to opt-in to SPG Keyless.

Guests will receive a push notification noting that they are checked in and the SPG App will update with the room number and Bluetooth key when the room is ready.

Upon arrival at the hotel, the guest can completely bypass the front desk (where available) and go directly to the room.  After ensuring the Bluetooth is enabled, the guest simply opens the SPG App, holds the Smartphone to the door lock, waits for the solid green light and enters the room.

SPG Keyless is an evolution of Starwood Smart check-in, another industry first that debuted at aloft hotels in 2011. Building on this technology, Starwood worked with the world’s largest lock manufacturer, Assa Abloy, to create an all-new, Bluetooth-enabled lock as well as key-less software, which are designed to securely recognize and connect with a guest’s mobile device.