Starwood goes with Bluetooth for guest access
03 November, 2014
category: Corporate, Digital ID
Starwood Preferred Guest members will be able to skip the check-in desk and use SPG Keyless, an application that uses Bluetooth low energy to access their rooms.
Rolling out to Aloft, Element and W Hotels around the globe, SPG Keyless makes its debut in 10 hotels in markets including Beijing, Hong Kong, New York, Los Angeles and Doha in Quatar.
SPG Keyless goes live November 5 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 and Element Times Square. Starwood will rollout SPG Keyless with plans for it to be available on 30,000 doors in 150 hotels around the globe by early 2015 across Aloft, Element and W hotels. SPG Keyless is available to SPG members who book a hotel room through one of Starwood’s channels — hotel web sites, SPG.com, the SPG app or customer contact centers.
SPG Keyless works when members register their phone through the SPG App and enable push notifications. After booking a reservation at a keyless hotel and approximately 24 hours before arrival, members are invited to opt-in to the keyless option.
Guests will receive a push notification noting that they are checked in and the SPG App will update with a 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 Bluetooth is enabled, the guest opens the SPG App, holds the smartphone to the door lock, waits for the solid green light and enters the room.
Starwood tapped the world’s largest lock manufacturer, Assa Abloy, to create the Bluetooth-enabled lock as well as keyless software, which are designed to securely recognize and connect with a guest’s mobile device.
In addition to the keyless rollout schedule, Starwood is piloting innovations for the next wave of upgrades to the SPG App, which will support and enhance SPG Keyless. These upgrades aim to not only empower guests to control aspects of their stay, but equip hotel associates with the tools they need to continue Starwood’s legacy of personalization and provide meaningful, custom services away from the front desk.
