Hilton: Your smartphone is now your all-access key

The use of smartphones to unlock rental properties and issue or revoke credentials remotely has been a niche but growing part of the access control industry. A number of hotels and hotel chains have been experimenting with the idea to allow guests to utilize their smartphones for property and room access control. Now, members of Hilton’s (free) frequent guest program can look forward to a new kind of access in the next year or so.

The global hotel giant recently announced a beta program whereby guests would not only be able to use their smartphones as their room key, but as a new way to access guest amenities and even bypass check-in at the desk altogether. The system will be managed through the company’s iOS app (Android is coming later this year) and the beta program will be available in a few hotels to start. Users can access their rooms by simply hitting the “unlock” button on their phone, and will have access to their room as soon as it is ready on the day of arrival.

While the company had announced a similar but more limited initiative last year, it appears as though the company is now committed to its strategy and will roll it out in most of their 650,000 hotel rooms by the end of 2016. This is the largest deployment of smartphone credential-based access control yet, and may be a sign that it is ready not only for global giants like Hilton but for smaller firms and vacation home rentals as well.