Guests can download Accor’s digital key app to gain access to rooms, meeting rooms and floors via lifts. Photo Credit:Accor
Accor is rolling out a digital key solution following a successful pilot programme in North America, Europe and Asia.
The Accor Key will be introduced in new properties opening in 2021, with a goal to reach 500 hotels this year and 50% of all rooms in the next five years.
Guests will receive the tool, providing access to rooms, meeting rooms and floors via lifts, by downloading Accor’s digital key app. The mobile key is automatically deactivated once guests end their stay at a property.
With the digital key, the French hospitality group says it hopes to help reduce the amount of plastic used for traditional keycards and cardboard for the key holder.
Floor Bleeker, chief information officer at Accor, said: “Guests increasingly seek contact-light travel and hotel experiences. Therefore, the easy to operate and highly practical application will provide a streamlined process for our guests.”
The digital key is developed in partnership with STAYmyway, a company providing digital access solutions for hotels and private accommodation.
Other large hotel companies such as Hilton and Marriott have also implemented digital key services in recent years, but the pandemic has accelerated the roll-out of touchless solutions in the hospitality sector.