Time coded? Surely they just generate a new key before they check you in, isn’t that what they do when they swipe the card during check in?
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Here's a First Look at the iPhone's Convenient Hotel Room Key Feature
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This has been available since iOS 8: https://www.macworld.com/article/224486/forgot-your-hotel-room-key-use-your-iphone-instead.html/amp
I’m not afraid to say this, I don’t like touching those disgusting plastic cards they hand you in the first place, given you have no idea whose hands have been all over them. Using your phone, it eliminates unnecessary contact with those cards. For that reason alone, this feature would be totally worth it.
Yea. When the day comes that your door lock, car key, wallet and ID are all in your phone, you lose one thing and you can't drive, go home, call for help, prove your identity, or pay for the bus. You're completely screwed.
Hotels got rid of metal keys because a "guest" would have a copy of the key made and then days, weeks, months later come back to rob, or worse, the hotel guest in that same hotel room.
Not sure if it's the same thing, but I have used Marriott's version for over a year now. It works great and is one less thing to touch or keep up with.
I recommend at least setting Face ID because if someone gets your phone they can easily get in your room.
Even if somebody were to find your phone, how would they know which room number you’re in? That person who took the phone, would literally have to know specifically which room number you were in, regardless of finding a random iPhone that’s highly unlikely that it’s unlocked.
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The article states that wallet will "display the guest's room number and reservation length."
You can activate wallet just by double-clicking the power button.
….But how would somebody know how to do that? That’s my question. So assuming that the phone is ‘unlocked’, [which again is unlikely], how would somebody know how to double click the power button to display the room number? There’s way too much credence given to a random person here.
Also, on older iPhone models that don’t incorporate Face ID, that wouldn’t work by double clicking the home button to activate the Wallet.
The Apple Wallet works with the double tap, so someone who's just an Apple Wallet user might trigger it thinking to look through membership cards. Or they just read Macrumors.
Doesn't have to be unlocked to get the stay info I don't think. It'll show the card with just the double tap. Then if it's on Express mode then someone could get in.
You're probably right that they might not expect it to have a hotel card on it so they probably wouldn't even look for it in the first place but they could accidentally find that out.
Just have to be careful that if you lose the phone try to activate lost mode as soon as possible, and be extra careful about Express mode (I'd recommend requiring FaceID regardless of convenience).
Not if you have an Apple Watch as well. 😉
This looks great. And it sure is after than the Marriott key option that they offer. Which was buggy, too slow and almost never worked. Most hotels gave me an extra room card “just in case”.
The only "IF" that I see if that you constantly need to change your "express card settings" in both iPhone and Apple Watch.
The only "IF" that I see if that you constantly need to change your "express card settings" in both iPhone and Apple Watch.
You can also lose your roomkey with the folio on it withy your roomnumber... The principe stays the same. Go to reception desk and have them block the card and issue a new one. I don't see the problem?
I disagree. Multiple times I have had a card go dead on me or not even work the first time, necessitating a trip back to the front desk for a new one. That is WAY more time consuming and kess convenient than just pulling your phone out. Plus it works with watch too, so I think that’s more convenient than a card.
I live in a serviced apartment building and have access to three separate apartments. I can use the one card for all doors, but I often leave my card in one of the rooms. It would be great if there was a way for me to hold the card up against my phone and it becomes a digital card, so I could then use my phone and only use the physical card as a backup.
Does anyone know if something like this is coming or will it always need to be the hotel/apartment staff who activate it on phones?
Does anyone know if something like this is coming or will it always need to be the hotel/apartment staff who activate it on phones?
You are describing me here as well. The worst is requesting the digital key and seeing it come back with… “please visit the front desk to activate your digital key”… boooooooooo