Mobile Key Brand Standard & Refreshed Deployment Approach
As one of the most highly-demanded digital guest amenities, Mobile Key is critical to our ability to streamline and personalize member experiences. Mobile Key takes the transactions out of the arrival experience, allows guests to get to their rooms faster, and provides associates additional time to focus on delivering the perfect guest experience. As keyless entry becomes more prevalent, we are requiring Mobile Key to be a portfolio-wide brand standard to meet guest expectations.
Brand Standard:
The Mobile Key hardware and activation brand standard requires all hotels to install locks compliant with the Mobile Key Lock Standard and activate Mobile Key by January 1, 2021. This activation standard supplements the hardware requirements standard that has been in place since 2015.
Under the new Mobile Key activation brand standard:
- All Marriott Rewards, Ritz-Carlton Rewards, and SPG hotels installing or changing locks—including new openings, conversions, PIPs, and renovations—are required to follow the brand standard and install locks compatible with Mobile Key.
- All Marriott Rewards and Ritz-Carlton Rewards hotels with the correct locks installed must activate Mobile Key as soon as possible or upon installation in 2018.
- All hotels with SPG Keyless (primarily W, Aloft, and Element) will migrate to Marriott’s Mobile Key platform as part of the Big 4/Platform Integration in Q3 2018.
- All SPG hotels with the correct locks installed will be required to activate Mobile Key in Q1 2019.
Actions to Streamline Deployment for Franchise Hotels:
To simplify deployment and improve our ability to scale, we are adjusting the technical requirements for franchise hotels on the Marriott network. Effective immediately, franchise hotels will no longer be required to have a Marriott-imaged lock server. Managed by Marriott hotels will continue to be required to have a Marriott-imaged lock server.
This change was made to provide a more cost-effective solution and streamline the deployment process. In addition, the same benefits from having a Marriott-imaged server are expected to be achieved when new cloud-based solutions become available in the next 2-3 years.
Franchise hotels implementing Mobile Key will need iT leaders to perform limited network configuration changes to allow their lock servers to communicate with Marriott systems. These details will be included in the deployment tasks and communications.
To ensure a consistent and secure guest experience, franchise hotels will be required to ensure their lock server meets the minimal technical requirements and is maintained according to the security standards for franchise systems, including Information Security Breaches at Franchised Hotels (IT-PRV-002), IT Physical Security (IT-SEC-005), End User Logins & Passwords (IT-SEC-008), Access Provisioning and Removal (IT-SEC-012), End User Computing (EUC) Devices (IT-SEC-017), and Franchisee Requests for Access to Employee Information Assets (IT-PRV-P02).
Franchise hotels that are currently installing locks or are in the process of implementing Mobile Key will receive targeted communications in the next week to provide additional guidance on next steps. In general, franchise hotels that already have a Marriott-imaged server will keep their Marriott-imaged servers if they are already using it or can easily complete the configuration process.
2018 Deployment Information:
Activation for hotels with the correct locks installed: Hotels with Mobile Key certified locks will receive a kick-off communication with next steps on activating Mobile Key. To ensure hotels can easily go-live with Mobile Key, lock vendors will send installation teams onsite to program locks, configure servers, and complete testing. To ensure hotels with the correct locks installed go-live with Mobile Key, all relevant one-time and ongoing costs will be deferred for 2018 and will be included in the 2019 budget instructions.
Activation for hotels installing new locks: Hotels with a signed quote to install new locks will receive a Land-It task list prior to their scheduled installation date with guidance on activities required to go-live with Mobile Key. Under the brand standard, hotels are required to activate Mobile Key upon installation of new locks.
Hotels intending to install new locks: Hotels preparing to obtain quotes from lock vendors can opt-in to receive a Land-It task list with specific guidance and instructions for Mobile Key. This process will enable hotels to ensure they have full and detailed information during the sales process and ensure readiness for Mobile Key at installation. More information on this process will be communicated in late Q1.
Guest behaviors and expectations are changing and we are well positioned to meet this demand. As we scale Mobile Key and create a more consistent guest experience, we expect to see continued adoption of our Mobile platform, driving direct bookings, greater revenue, and higher guest satisfaction. In the past two years, we have seen double-digit growth in the take rate for Mobile Check-In, now 25% of Marriott Rewards members, as well as increases in revenue from mobile app bookings, which rose to $2.56 billion in 2017. We expect to see this trend continue, if not accelerate, as we expand keyless entry across the entire portfolio.
Thank you for your continued support for Mobile Key. If you have any questions, contact mobileservices@marriott.com.
