SPG Keyless Rollout Continues For Starwood Hotels & Resorts
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
Starwood option allows guests to use smartphones in lieu of keys
Starwood Hotels announced last fall that it was rolling out a new program to help travelers have a smoother guest experience, from check-in to room keys. Starwood Preferred Guest® (SPG®), the award-winning loyalty program from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT),has introducedSPG Keyless, also called Room Key 2.0, the hospitality industry’s first truly mobile and keyless entry system that allows guests to use their smartphone as a key.
SPG Keyless – powered by the SPG app – offers the first program that enables guests to bypass the front desk, avoid waiting in line and ultimately unlock their stay with a simple tap of their smartphone.
“Innovation and personalization are at the forefront of everything we do at Starwood and SPG Keyless represents the perfect intersection of these two pillars,” Frits van Paasschen, Chief Executive Officer of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, said in the release. “We are excited to be the first in our industry to debut this new technology allowing us to further deliver on the wants and needs of our early adopter, hyper-mobile guests who use their smartphones for just about every aspect of their lives.”
SPG Keyless first went live on November 5, 2014, at three Starwood brands: Aloft, Element and W, three brands that have a strong commitment to tech-forward, design-savvy, and eco-friendly initiatives. Aloft Harlem, Aloft Cupertino, Aloft Beijing, Aloft Cancun, W New York – Downtown, W Hollywood, W Singapore, W Hong Kong, W Doha and Element Times Square will be the first ten hotels to implement the technology.
With 80% of their Starwood Preferred Guests currently interacting on the app, PSFK reported that Starwood representatives see incredible potential in leveraging the keyless technology to empower their customers. There are already plans in motion to further develop the capabilities to enhance guest experiences. To date, 15,000 Starwood guests have signed up to go keyless, a number that will significantly increase with the global debut of the service.
The idea of keyless room entry was initiated by guest feedback, which allows the hotel’s development team to develop features requested by their most frequent travelers.
The rollout is continuing during the first half of 2015, and by the end of the year SPG Keyless will be in 30,000 doors in 150 hotels across the globe. SPG Keyless will be available to Starwood Preferred Guest members who book a hotel room through one of Starwood’s channels (hotel websites, SPG.com, the SPG app or call centers).
The new program works like this: A guest books a reservation at one of the keyless hotel options, and then SPG members are invited to opt-in to SPG Keyless. To use the app, users must register their phone through the SPG App. Guests then receive room numbers and Bluetooth keys via the app approximately 24 hours before their scheduled arrival. That means that when a guest arrives, he may completely bypass the front desk and proceed directly to the assigned room. With his Bluetooth enabled, the guest opens the SPG App, taps the smartphone on the door lock, waits for the light to show green, and may enter the room.
Starwood also plans upgrades to the SPG App throughout 2015, aimed at empowering guests to tailor their stays through mobile devices and equip associates to provide meaningful, customized services away from the front desk.