Keyless hotel stays a reality at 10 Starwood properties

STARWOOD Hotels & Resorts this week launched SPG Keyless, an initiative that transforms the guest’s smartphone into a room key and enables guests to bypass the front desk when checking in.

SPG Keyless was rolled out this week to 10 properties under the Aloft, Element and W brands at the following hotels: Aloft Beijing, Aloft Cancun, Aloft Cupertino, Aloft Harlem, W Doha, W Hollywood, W Hong Kong, W New York – Downtown, W Singapore – Sentosa Cove and Element Times Square.

Available to SPG members who book a hotel room through one of Starwood’s channels, SPG Keyless requires SPG members to first register their phones through the SPG app and allow push notifications.

Guests will receive a push notification noting that they are checked in, and the app will update the guest with his/her room number and Bluetooth key when the room is ready. To use, guests simply have to hold their smartphone to the door lock, wait for a solid green light and enter the room.

Frits van Paasschen, Starwood’s president & CEO, said: “Not only does SPG Keyless alleviate a perennial pain point for travellers, but it also transforms the first interaction with our guests from one that is transactional to something more personal.

“This is just the beginning because through mobile we have the opportunity to marry high tech and high touch to transform the hotel experience in many exciting ways.”

Starwood will rapidly roll out SPG Keyless through its international network to make it available on 30,000 doors in 150 hotels around the globe by early 2015, across Aloft, Element and W hotels, said a press release.

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