Hyatt Digital Key
 

Is it just me or does the digital key simply not work at all for elevators or any non-room (so essentially you have to carry your room key to use many elevators).

If only Hyatt could implement a system as seamless and reliable as Hilton.

I've definitely had this probably at a lot of hotels, so I never both with the digital key anymore

Works for rooms maybe 50% or the time. For other things maybe 5% is the time. Not worth it. You can usually tell if a property has well functioning digital keys if OLCI works and they issue digital keys that way. Not perfect but much higher rate of working.

I think Hyatt has given up on fixing the bluetooth version of digital key and seems to be pushing towards rolling out the NFC based key on Apple Devices.

The problem is that Hyatt seems to only support one vendor of lock (Vingcard) at the moment which leaves all the properties with relatively new DormaKaba systems in a crappy limbo.

Hilton is by far the gold standard for OLCI/Digital keys. Nobody has come even close to their implementation, and they have had that for many years now.

The Hyatt NFC ones work pretty well for me, but I've only been able to use it at 2 properties.

It’s incredible how much of a gap the two chains have. While Hyatt doesn’t really work perfectly even at the best of times, Hilton is so seamless it works better than the card in many ways.

It will work for the rooms at Andaz Seoul but not the elevators. Pretty much self defeating to need the room key to press your floor.

As luck would have it, I just found a use for the app:

I left the room key in my room and remembered just as soon as the door closed. The mobile key did save me a trip to the front desk.

The only hotel I've ever stayed at where it worked really well is Grand Cypress.

At most hotels, it does not work at all for me.

At maybe 20%, it works some of the time but you can't rely on it.

Any ideas if new Hyatt's are being deployed with Apple's Digital Key? Staying at the Hyatt Centric Escazú in Costa Rica, which opened ~two months ago, in two weeks and would love to use the Apple Wallet Digital Key for the first time.

I see many Hyatt property homepage advertise they support digital key under Amenities header. Has Hyatt improved the digital key experience? I only tried using it once and it did not work.

No, it's still woefully inconsistent.

Hyatt is still a disaster on this front. My biggest issue is that even though I check-in on the app, it makes me go to the front desk before the digital key is activated. Not going to the front desk is my main goal in using digital key, particularly at airport properties. I just don’t use it or count on it still, even if the property says is supports it. Hilton is the best in this category by far.

going to the FD is mostly required for e.g. legal purposes and/or simply showing ID, to avoid others using a digital key under your name and getting tier credits in your name, hence violating the T&C.

All I know, is I dont have to do it at Hilton and it is nice sometimes. Arriving late an airport property and a long line, very nice to bypass it and go to bed.