Google Wallet gained the ability to unlock hotel room doors at participating locations last year. With digital hotel room keys, you can use your phone to access hotel rooms and amenities, saving you the trouble of carrying around yet another card while traveling. Here’s everything you need to know.
What do hotel keys in Google Wallet do?
Digital hotel keys in Google Wallet work the same as RFID hotel room key cards and digital room key functionality offered by hotel chains’ specific apps. With your key added to Google Wallet, you can tap your phone to unlock your room, as well as other hotel amenities accessed with room keys, like elevators, fitness centers, and swimming pools.
Different hotels may offer different functionality. For instance, you may or may not need to unlock your phone to use your room key. Some hotels may also let you use your phone to unlock your room while it’s powered off. For more specifics on what you can and can’t do with a Google Wallet hotel key, check with the hotel you’re staying in.
Which hotels offer support for Google Wallet hotel keys?
Google doesn’t maintain a list of which hotels support hotel keys in Google Wallet, and most hotel chains don’t advertise Wallet functionality, so it’s hard to assemble a comprehensive list.
The first hotel to offer support for hotel keys in Google Wallet was Strawberry Hotels’ Clarion Hotel Post, which announced the feature in June last year. A CNBC story from the following September mentions that Hilton’s Harpeth Hotel in Franklin, Tennessee also offers hotel key functionality for Google Wallet (and Apple Wallet).
In January, Club Quarters Hotels announced that it was the first hotel chain to offer Google Wallet key functionality at all of its locations. Club Quarters is a relatively small chain, though, operating a handful of boutique hotels in London and major US cities.
Google Wallet hotel key functionality is still far from universal. If you’re wondering whether a given hotel offers Google Wallet hotel keys, your best bet may be to reach out directly.
How to add a hotel key to Google Wallet
The process to add your hotel key to Google Wallet may vary depending on where you’re staying. Google says that if your hotel supports Google Wallet keys, you’ll typically see a button labeled Add to Google Wallet “on the reservation confirmation page from the hotel’s website, app, or email.” If you see it, tap that button, using the phone you use with Google Wallet.
If you don’t see an Add to Google Wallet button anywhere in your digital reservation confirmation, it’s likely that the hotel does not support Google Wallet keys.
How to use a Google Wallet hotel key
To use your hotel key in Google Wallet, unlock your phone and hold it near where you’d tap a regular hotel key. Not all hotels require unlocking your device to use your Google Wallet hotel key; if you’ve confirmed that the hotel you’re staying in doesn’t, you’ll just need to turn your phone’s screen on, then hold it near the key reader.
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How to remove a hotel key from Google Wallet
Your Google Wallet hotel keys will be disabled once you check out of your hotel, but they’ll still be listed in Google Wallet until you remove them yourself. Here’s how.
- Open Google Wallet.
- Tap your hotel key.
- Tap the three dots in the top right corner.
- Tap Remove key.
- Tap Remove.
Another niche Wallet feature with potential
The basic premise of hotel keys inside digital wallet apps sounds very convenient. But much like digital state IDs and passports, limited support means that today, it’s still not all that useful for most people. The largest hotel chain that offers Google Wallet hotel keys only operates a handful of locations, so it’s not likely you’ve stayed anywhere that let you unlock your room with Wallet.
The feature is only months old, though. As time goes on, more and more hotels will start supporting Google Wallet keys. Someday soon, physical hotel keys could be a thing of the past.
