Hyatt Is the First Hotel Chain to Use Digital Room Keys You Can Access With Apple Wallet

A lost or forgotten hotel room key is a thing of the past thanks to Hyatt's new partnership with Apple Wallet, allowing for rooms and common areas to be more accessible than ever.

Although other hotels like Hilton and Disney offer digital room keys, Hyatt is the first to do so through Apple Wallet. Guests at select Hyatt hotels will only need to hold their iPhone or Apple Watch to a door's NFC-enabled lock in order to enter, as opposed to swiping through apps to access a key. (If "Express Mode" is enabled, guests won't even need to unlock their device to use it as a room key.)

The feature launched Wednesday at six different Hyatt hotels including Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort, Hyatt Centric Key West Resort & Spa, Hyatt House Chicago/West Loop-Fulton Market, Hyatt House Dallas/Richardson, Hyatt Place Fremont/Silicon Valley, and Hyatt Regency Long Beach.

Guests at these hotels can also use their iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock their rooms and access common areas like gyms, pools, and elevators.

In order to activate the feature, guests will first need to download the World of Hyatt app. After completing their reservations, the app will add a key to a guest's Apple Wallet. The app will also remind them when it's time to check-in (which can be done via the app or front desk). Once guests are checked in and their room number assigned, the key in their Apple Wallet will activate.

The key will stay activated or automatically update if guests should need to change rooms or extend a stay.

When its time for check out, the Apple Wallet room key will be remotely deactivated and archived.

And if an iPhone looses charge while traveling, devices will still be able to unlock rooms for up to five hours, thanks to automatic Power Reserve.

The Apple Key feature requires an iPhone running iOS 15 and an Apple Watch with watchOS 8. The feature will roll out to other Hyatt hotels in the near future.

Cailey Rizzo is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure, currently based in Brooklyn. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, or at caileyrizzo.com.