Members of Starwood Hotels and Resorts’ loyalty programme, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), will now be able to check-in via mobile device in more than 300 hotels across the Asia-Pacific region, including Hong Kong.
Image source: MelbTravel
The new mobile check-in feature is available for members who have downloaded the SPG mobile app and booked their stays directly with SPG on its website or in the app.Members will receive a notification a day before their stay asking if they would like to check-in using the app. On the day of arrival, a notification will be sent to their mobile device alerting them that their room is ready and their key is waiting for them at the front desk. When they checkout using the SPG app, their folio will be emailed to them.
Marriott is going to offer these app features for SPG members checking in at Westin, Sheraton, St Regis, Four Points, Le Meridien, Tribute Portfolio and The Luxury Collection hotels. More hotels will begin offering this feature on the SPG app with the global rollout completed by the end of 2017.
“Mobile check-in is incredibly popular among our Marriott Rewards members within Asia Pacific and we have seen usage grow almost 170% from 2015 to September 2017 which is why we wanted to extend this convenient app feature to SPG members as well,” said Irene Lin, VP of digital, loyalty and portfolio marketing, Asia Pacific at Marriott International.
“Mobile check-in is another example of how we are taking the best of our loyalty programmes to make the travel experiences for all of our 100 million members even better, with unmatched benefits and services rolled out at scale.”
Marriott first launched mobile check-in, checkout and room ready alerts in 2013, which is now available at all hotels that were in the Marriott portfolio before the company’s acquisition of Starwood Hotels and Resorts.
Over the last few years, a mobile revolution has been brewing around us as hoteliers shift their focus to mobile bookings. They have realised the need to engage with guests beyond the regular face-to-face interactions. A mobile service portal gives them the perfect opportunity to engage, and even upsell amenities to boost incremental revenues, paving the way for self-check-in to be a standard in a few years.
Read more on how California-based startup Proxce is creating a seamless and secure hotel check-in experience, here.
