Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) announced this week that the tech giant will be collaborating with Hyatt Hotels (NYSE: H) in order for hotel guests to keep their hotel room keys in their Apple Wallets in the technology's latest test.
Rather than looking inside their pockets for their room keys, guests will now have the capability of utilizing Apple Watches or iPhones in order to unlock hotel rooms, in addition to any surrounding areas that are located near the hotel and are in need of a key in order to enter.
Presently, there are only six Hyatt hotels in America that have access this feature, despite of the fact that Hyatt has stated that it intends to ultimately include the feature in hotels across the globe. The hotels that are involved and that support this particular feature are the following: Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort, Hyatt Centric Key West Resort and Spa, Hyatt House Chicago / West Loop-Fulton Market, Hyatt House Dallas / Richardson, Hyatt Place Fremont / Silicon Valley, and Hyatt Regency Long Beach.
The new program will work in conjunction with the World of Hyatt mobile app. As soon as hotel guests reserve their rooms on this app, they will be shown screens that provide the choice of adding room keys to their wallets. This resembles the process of booking passes or tickets and then being presented with the choice of pressing buttons to later add the items to Apple Wallet for accessibility. Also similar to other types of passes, it is possible to add hotel room keys instantly after making reservations.
"Like everything we do at Hyatt, our approach to technology always includes listening to our guests and members. We heard that they want access to be near-instantaneous. Room keys in Apple Wallet is an easy, convenient and secure room key option for our guests when they travel," Julia Vander Ploeg, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Digital and Technology of Hyatt, said in a press statement. "We are proud to work with Apple to launch this game-changing digital experience. 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."
Regarding Apple's collaboration with Hyatt regarding the keeping of hotel room keys in their Apple Wallets, it will likely open up new doors in terms of its level of technological advancement.