Everyone can agree – tap-to-pay and digital wallets have made it all too easy to spend money. An $8 latte feels free when you’re paying with anApple WatchoriPhone. While it may be contactless, it’s certain to make real contact with the numbers on your credit card statement.
But that’s the name of the game with these digital payment methods: convenience. It’s not just limited to payments, either. Apple Wallet can store airline boarding passes, event tickets, and even coupons right there on yourlockscreen, a couple button presses away. There’s endless potential when it comes to the capabilities of the wallet, from digital IDs to more innovations that have yet to pick up traction.
There is a less common way to use Apple Wallet that’s slowly creeping out of the woodwork, and it might remove a layer of stress from your next business trip or family vacation: storing your hotel room key.
Apple Wallet
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Your digital hotel key card
No more asking ‘who has the key?’
Like I said, this capability is still making its way into themainstream. In fact, it’s still a few tributaries away – while the feature has been around for several years now, not many hotels have this capability.Hyattnotably uses the feature on a few of its select properties and is adding to the list of compatible locations all the time. If you find yourself lucky enough to be staying somewhere compatible, you should absolutely take advantage of the convenience. Here’s how to do so.
First things first, make sure you have:
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Once you’ve confirmed that the above is true, here’s how to add your hotel room key to your Apple Wallet:
Once the hotel room key is added to your Apple Wallet on your iPhone, it will sync up and add to your Apple Watch too (as long as it’s eligible.
From there, something calledExpress Modewill be automatically enabled.Express Modelets you use your hotel room key just by holding your device close to or against the door lock. It’s similar to how you use Apple Pay at a café or grocery, except you don’t even have to wake / unlock your device, or authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode.
When your reservation is up, the digital hotel key will be remotely deactivated and off your screen. In that same vein, if you end up extending your stay, requesting a late checkout, changing rooms, or any other tweaks that come with traveling, the hotel can remotely apply those changes as well – feels like magic, doesn’t it?
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