Mobile Key

Keyless entry, so the room opens from the phone.

Product design · iOS and Android · 2016-17

The key in the app

Hotels.com was the first online travel agent to put a room key in the app, once you had a booking. You could check in, check out, and open the door from the phone.

The locks and the back end were built with ASSA ABLOY and Zaplox, in Sweden.

The pilot was written up by Phocuswire.

A hand holds a phone against a black hotel lock. The screen shows a green tick, Room 217, and a blue Got it button.
The mobile key flow on iPhone, from a booking at Hotel Skeppsbron through Bluetooth, room 217, and the check-out states.The mobile key flow on iPhone, from a booking at Hotel Skeppsbron through Bluetooth, room 217, and the check-out states.

The pilot

Both apps launched on a short timetable. We ran a short round of qualitative testing in the lab. The pilot was a few Cabinn hotels in Scandinavia. A larger set of Las Vegas hotels was planned for 2019.

People heard about it in three places. An email after booking, a note from the hotel closer to the stay, and posters by reception.

Wearables came off the first version. The next steps were the key on a watch, richer notifications at the right moment, and the new brand on the same flow.

A laptop on a wooden reception desk. The screen is the Hotels.com mobile key, a purple page with a code.
A hotel reception with a Hotels.com poster: skip the queue, download the app, scan a code, and check in for a mobile key.

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