Starwood Begins First Phase of Mobile Phone Hotel Room Key Rollout With 10 Properties
Following an initial pilot program at a pair of its properties, hotel chain Starwood today announced the official launch of its SPG Keyless program that will allow hotel guests to use their iPhones or Android phones to check in for their stays and unlock their doors via Bluetooth. The system will go live this Wednesday in ten hotels around the world under Starwood's Aloft, Element, and W brands and expand to 150 hotel comprising 30,000 hotel room doors by the end of next year.
SPG Members must register their phone once through the SPG App and allow push notifications. After booking a reservation at a keyless hotel and approximately 24 hours before arrival, SPG members are invited to opt-in to SPG Keyless. 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.
Starwood's
SPG: Starwood Hotels & Resorts app [
Direct Link] has been updated today to support the iPhone check-in program, which is going live at hotels in Beijing, Cancun, Cupertino, Harlem, Doha, Hollywood, Hong Kong, New York City, and Singapore.
Starwood is not the only hotel chain working on phone-based room keys, with Hilton previously announcing its intentions for a similar program including check-in and room selection via app available in 4,000 hotels by the end of this year and and mobile phone room keys rolling out in 2015. And just today Hilton has reiterated those plans, announcing pilot testing of room keys early next year with an initial rollout to its Conrad brand soon after and expansion to additional brands coming in the summer.
Popular Stories
Apple has begun selling the Hikawa Phone Grip and Stand, a new limited-edition iPhone accessory designed with accessibility in mind.
Designed by LA-based Bailey Hikawa to celebrate the 40th anniversary of accessibility at Apple, the grip uses magnets to securely snap onto any iPhone with MagSafe.
Apple says it can be removed with ease, and doubles as a stand with two different viewing...
iOS 26.2 is currently in beta testing. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics for Apple Music, and more.
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date.
Keep reading...
Apple's annual four-day Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping event is returning on Friday, November 28 through Monday, December 1 in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand, and others.
During the shopping event, customers can get an Apple gift card with...
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through all of the new features and improvements expected to come to next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models.
Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos
Apple's next-generation iPhones are less than ten months away and we already have a good idea about what to expect based on corroborated leaks, rumors,...
Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in fall 2026, and it's shaping up to include two standout features that could set it apart from the competition.
The book-style foldable will reportedly feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-display camera built into the inner display, according to a recent JP Morgan equity research report. That...
Black Friday is just over a week away, and iPad deals have finally started to flood in at retailers like Amazon and Best Buy. Below we're tracking discounts on every current generation iPad, including lowest-ever prices on M3 iPad Air and M5 iPad Pro, plus steep markdowns on iPad and iPad mini.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a ...
iOS 27 will reportedly have two major elements: quality improvements and new AI features.
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense that Apple is focused on improving "quality and underlying performance" over adding new features.
Gurman said there is one exception to this rule, though, as he expects...
We're officially less than one week away from Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these...
Apple is planning to release new entry-level models across its iPhone, iPad, and Mac categories early next year, with an all-new affordable MacBook the most notable addition to the lineup.
According to a new research report by Jeff Pu of GF Securities seen by MacRumors, Apple will launch the iPhone 17e – its second iteration of the "e" line – in the spring, likely along with a...
