Mar 30, 2015, 12:29 am

FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides

Last edit by: lcpteck

SPG Keyless

List of SPG Keyless properties

Aloft Abu Dhabi
Aloft Arundel Mills
Aloft Asheville Downtown
Aloft Atlanta Downtown
Aloft Austin at The Domain
Aloft Beachwood
Aloft Beijing, Haidian
Aloft Birmingham Soho Square
Aloft Bogota Airport
Aloft Bolingbrook
Aloft Broomfield Denver
Aloft Brussels Schuman
Aloft Buffalo Airport
Aloft Bursa Hotel
Aloft BWI Baltimore Washington International Airport
Aloft Calgary University
Aloft Cancun
Aloft Cessna
Aloft Chapel Hill
Aloft Charleston Airport & Convention Center
Aloft Charlotte Ballantyne
Aloft Charlotte Uptown at the EpiCentre
Aloft Chesapeake
Aloft Chicago City Center
Aloft Chicago O'Hare
Aloft Cleveland Downtown
Aloft Cupertino
Aloft Dalian
Aloft Dallas Downtown
Aloft Denver Downtown
Aloft Denver International Airport
Aloft Detroit
Aloft Dongguan Songshan Lake
Aloft Dulles Airport North
Aloft Frisco
Aloft Green Bay
Aloft Guadalajara
Aloft Haiyang
Aloft Harlem
Aloft Houston by the Galleria
Aloft Jacksonville Airport
Aloft Jacksonville Tapestry Park
Aloft Kuala Lumpur Sentral
Aloft Las Colinas
Aloft Leawood-Overland Park
Aloft Lexington
Aloft Liverpool
Aloft London Excel
Aloft Miami - Brickell
Aloft Miami Doral
Aloft Milwaukee Downtown
Aloft Minneapolis
Aloft Montréal Airport
Aloft Mount Laurel
Aloft Nanhai, Foshan
Aloft Nashville West End
Aloft Nashville-Cool Springs
Aloft New Orleans Downtown
Aloft New York Brooklyn
Aloft Oklahoma City Downtown Bricktown
Aloft Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga
Aloft Orlando Downtown
Aloft Panama
Aloft Philadelphia Airport
Aloft Phoenix-Airport
Aloft Plano
Aloft Portland Airport at Cascade Station
Aloft Richmond West
Aloft Rogers-Bentonville
Aloft San Antonio Airport
Aloft San Francisco Airport
Aloft Seoul Gangnam
Aloft Silicon Valley
Aloft Sunnyvale
Aloft Tallahassee Downtown
Aloft Tampa Downtown
Aloft Tempe
Aloft Tucson University
Aloft Tulsa
Aloft Tulsa Downtown
Aloft Vaughan Mills
Aloft Winchester
Aloft Yancheng
Aloft Zhengzhou Shangjie
Aloft Zhengzhou Zhengdong New District
Element Arundel Mills
Element Dallas Fort Worth Airport North
Element Denver Park Meadows
Element Ewing Princeton
Element Fargo
Element Frankfurt Airport
Element Hanover Lebanon
Element Harrison - Newark
Element Houston Vintage Park
Element Las Vegas Summerlin
Element Lexington
Element Miami Doral
Element Miami International Airport
Element New York Times Square West
Element Omaha Midtown Crossing
Element Suzhou Science and Technology Town
W Atlanta - Buckhead
W Atlanta - Downtown
W Atlanta - Midtown
W Austin
W Barcelona
W Bogota Hotel
W Boston
W Chicago - City Center
W Chicago - Lakeshore
W Dallas - Victory
W Doha Hotel & Residences
W Fort Lauderdale
W Guangzhou
W Hoboken
W Hollywood
W Hong Kong
W Istanbul
W London - Leicester Square
W Los Angeles - Westwood
W Mexico City
W Minneapolis - The Foshay
W Montréal
W New Orleans - French Quarter
W New York - Downtown
W New York - Times Square
W New York - Union Square
W Paris - Opéra
W Retreat & Spa Bali - Seminyak
W Retreat Koh Samui
W San Francisco
W Santiago
W Scottsdale
W Seattle
W Seoul - Walkerhill
W Singapore - Sentosa Cove
W South Beach
W Taipei
W Washington D.C.

SPG Keyless (mobile, keyless check-in) - Now Live [Master Thread]

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Nov 3, 2014, 3:20 am

lcpteck

Original Poster

Join Date: May 2012

Location: SIN

Programs: JL GC | Marriott LT Silver | Global Entry | SQ Silver

Posts: 6,819

SPG Keyless (mobile, keyless check-in) - Now Live [Master Thread]

Here's the website.

Android app updated as well.

I'm not gonna book a W Singapore just to try out the app. Way too expensive.

Somebody else would have to.

*COUGH*travelswithmyself*COUGH*

Nov 3, 2014, 4:07 am

Oxon Flyer

Moderator: British Airways Executive Club, Marriott Bonvoy

Join Date: May 2006

Location: Englandshire

Programs: SPG LT Plat, BA G, BD*LG, MG Blue+ ...

Posts: 16,032

BBC : Smartphones to be used as hotel room keys

Quote:

The BBC was given a demonstration of the new system and spoke to Chris Holdren, Starwood's Senior Vice President, and Dr Selva Selvaratnam, the chief technology officer of HID global, the company which designed the locks' security

I'm presuming the "upgraded 30,000 room locks in its nearly 150 hotels" refers to Aloft.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-29869249

(not sure if this link works outside the UK - there's a shorter video clip on the BBC Facebook page)

Last edited by Oxon Flyer; Nov 3, 2014 at 4:40 am

Nov 3, 2014, 9:55 am

Starwood Lurker IV

Company Representative - Starwood

Join Date: Aug 2011

Programs: SPG

Posts: 713

SPG Keyless - Now Live [Master Thread]

Earlier this year we announced a pilot that allowed for a truly mobile check-in experience. Today, we are excited to introduce SPG Keyless, powered by the SPG app; members can now use their phone as their room key. SPG Keyless is available across 10 hotels worldwide and will expand to all Aloft, Element & W Hotels globally early next year.

SPG Keyless works through Bluetooth & the SPG app for iPhone or Android. Starwood partnered with the world’s largest lock manufacturer, Assa Abloy, to create an all-new, Bluetooth-enabled lock as well as keyless software, which are designed to securely recognize and connect with a guest’s mobile device.

Here is how it works:

Download the SPG app (if you haven’t already!)
SPG Members must register their phone once through the SPG app and allow push notifications. Once you register your device, we will ask if you would like to go SPG Keyless for your upcoming reservations.
After booking a reservation at a participating hotel and approximately 24 hours before arrival, SPG members are invited to opt-in to SPG Keyless via push notification.
Guests will receive a push notification noting that they are checked in and the SPG app will update with his/her 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 his/her room.
After ensuring his/her Bluetooth is enabled, the guest simply opens the SPG app, holds the smartphone to the door lock, waits for the solid green light and enters the room.

Hotels will start using SPG Keyless with reservations from Thursday, Nov.6th on. The ten hotels currently participating in SPG Keyless are listed below.

Aloft Beijing
Aloft Cancun
Aloft Cupertino
Aloft Harlem
W Doha
W Hollywood
W Hong Kong
W New York-Downtown
W Singapore
Element Times Square

As always, we would love to get your feedback on SPG Keyless. For more details visit spg.com/keyless.

Best regards,

Christopher Carman
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

Nov 3, 2014, 10:01 am

ChimarraoMate

Join Date: Nov 2013

Location: Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Programs: IHG Spire Ambassador, Avis Prefered Plus, Hertz Gold Plus Rewards® Five Star®, & Rapid Rewards

Posts: 85

What I would like is the ability to see a room map, and be able to select my own room from available rooms at checkin. Even better if I could walk around and inspect the room first, just like the Emerald Club Isle at National. Obviously, having a higher reward tier would offer available upgraded rooms too.

Nov 3, 2014, 10:29 am

YSL5577

Join Date: Jul 2014

Posts: 105

Didn't like the SPG video. Didn't seem much business oriented and looks like SPG put much effort into...

Nov 3, 2014, 11:14 am

zsmith2

Join Date: Apr 2003

Location: Atlanta

Programs: AA Lifetime Gold, Marriott Silver, Starwood Platinum

Posts: 3,656

Doesn't work with Galaxy S5!

Nov 3, 2014, 11:20 am

Starwood Lurker

Company Representative - Starwood

Join Date: Nov 2000

Location: Austin, Texas

Programs: Marriott Employee Level

Posts: 31,593

Quote:

Originally Posted by zsmith2

Doesn't work with Galaxy S5!

Thanks for letting us know. We were made aware of some members who were having challenges with registering their device for SPG Keyless. If you could reach out to the SPG App Assist Team via email at [email protected] with your device type, operating system, and SPG app version, they will be glad to log the issue and open a ticket, if necessary.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

Last edited by Starwood Lurker; Nov 4, 2014 at 10:02 am Reason: add "if necessary"

Nov 3, 2014, 12:27 pm

iflyuaaa

Suspended

Join Date: Mar 2009

Posts: 981

how does this work if i have 4 people in the room with me? can we get all our phones to work? it would be awesome if none of used keys.

Nov 3, 2014, 12:35 pm

3Cforme

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Jun 2001

Programs: DL 1 million, AA 1 mil, HH lapsed Diamond, Marriott Plat

Posts: 28,190

Quote:

Originally Posted by iflyuaaa

how does this work if i have 4 people in the room with me? can we get all our phones to work? it would be awesome if none of used keys.

See the FAQ from the link in Lurker's post #3.

Can members register multiple smartphones?

Yes. Members can register up to three mobile devices. However, each device must be registered separately, because you must register using the device you wish to register.

Nov 3, 2014, 2:29 pm

#10

Soccerdad1995

Join Date: Feb 2014

Programs: UA Plat, SPG Gold, Marriott Gold

Posts: 677

I think this will be huge once the bugs get worked out.

I compare this to a car rental experience. Once upon a time, I had to wait in a line at the counter, wait while they filled out a bunch of paperwork / completed a bunch of screen prompts, then I would finally head out to my car. Now I just walk straight to my car, get in and go. On trips where time is limited (which is pretty much every single trip I make) those extra few minutes saved are a big plus to me.

Nov 3, 2014, 4:13 pm

#11

yvr76

Join Date: Sep 2010

Location: YVR

Programs: AC*SE MM, Marriott Lifetime Titanium

Posts: 4,604

How does SPG plan to confirm the identity of the guests? Some countries require this, and this seems ripe for fraud to allow other users obtain elite benefits when the actual Platinum member is not present.

Nov 3, 2014, 4:16 pm

#12

VPescado

Join Date: Nov 2002

Location: SQL

Programs: SPG Platinum; Hyatt Platinum; UA 1K

Posts: 3,170

How will payment settlement be handled. Will I be able to completely avoid the front desk and just have the room and incidentals charged to the credit card that was used to book the reservation?

Another good thing about this - At least now we should be able to at least get night/stay credit for no-shows that are the result of transportation issues (ie check into your room while falling asleep at the snowed in airport across the country).

BTW, I foresee some streamlined mattress run opportunities for some of the less scrupulous spg fans. :P

Nov 3, 2014, 4:21 pm

#13

Starwood Lurker

Company Representative - Starwood

Join Date: Nov 2000

Location: Austin, Texas

Programs: Marriott Employee Level

Posts: 31,593

Quote:

Originally Posted by yvr76

How does SPG plan to confirm the identity of the guests? Some countries require this...

In the FAQ, it says this about that:

How is the guest's ID verified?

For hotels located in regions where local law requires identification check, the room number will be withheld until the SPG member stops by the front desk prior to check-in. Some rate plans will also require verification and will require a member to stop by the front desk. Notification will be sent to the SPG member through the SPG app.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

Nov 3, 2014, 4:25 pm

#14

Starwood Lurker

Company Representative - Starwood

Join Date: Nov 2000

Location: Austin, Texas

Programs: Marriott Employee Level

Posts: 31,593

Quote:

Originally Posted by VPescado

How will payment settlement be handled. Will I be able to completely avoid the front desk and just have the room and incidentals charged to the credit card that was used to book the reservation?...

This really has no bearing on SPG Keyless check-in, but nothing should change with regard to how guests settle their accounts even now. From what I can tell, most guests already avoid the front desk when checking out, where it is allowed.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]