The familiar hotel keycard might soon feel as dated as the landline phone. Lore Group, the international hospitality company known for design-driven hotels like Pulitzer Amsterdam, Riggs Washington DC, and Sea Containers London, has quietly taken a big step into the future of guest access. The group has started rolling out Apple Wallet room keys that can be provisioned directly via the web — no app download, no plastic card, no fumbling at reception.

This shift is more than a gadget upgrade. It’s part of a wider movement across the hospitality industry where smartphones and wearables are becoming the primary bridge between digital identity and physical spaces. With a single tap of an iPhone or Apple Watch, guests can now move seamlessly from lobby to lift to room, while hotels reduce the overhead of managing lost or demagnetized cards. For travelers used to mobile boarding passes, ride-hailing apps, and eSIMs, the hotel key was one of the last analog holdouts. Lore’s rollout signals that even this is rapidly changing.

Put simply: instead of downloading a brand app or scanning QR codes, guests receive a link (typically via email or SMS) to add a digital key to their Apple Wallet. Once they check in, the key becomes active and enables tap-to-enter access to rooms, common areas, elevators, and more — all using NFC capabilities in Vingcard smart locks. With Express Mode, guests needn’t even unlock their device to use the key.

Lore has already rolled this out at Sea Containers London and Pulitzer Amsterdam; other properties (including Riggs DC, Lyle Washington DC and additional London/New York sites) are expected to enable it in 2025. Lore’s integration is powered via a tech stack combining Vingcard’s Vostio access management platform and integrations by Alliants.

From a guest’s viewpoint, the experience is seamless — zero app installs, no plastic keycards, and the ability to update or revoke keys remotely mid-stay (for example, in case of room change or late checkout).

Phygital convergence in hotels: devices as identity, not just tool

Lore’s move is more than a convenience upgrade — it’s a clear signal of where the hospitality stack is heading. We’re witnessing a deeper “phygital” convergence: smartphones and wearables are migrating from being mere interfaces to becoming identity anchors in physical spaces.

In practice, a guest’s mobile device (and by extension, the digital identity profile it carries) becomes the single “source of truth” inside a hotel. It handles check-in, credential issuance, access control, and even personalized in-property services (e.g. elevator access, gym doors, back-of-house zones). Lore’s implementation is a microcosm of that.

The benefits are multiple:

• Friction removal at scale — app fatigue is real. Let guests use infrastructure they already have (Apple Wallet) rather than forcing another app.
• Operational leverage — fewer physical cards means less card management, fewer replacements, less overhead at the front desk.
• Security and privacy — keys are stored on device, not on Apple servers; usage is not shared with Apple; and the system inherits built-in wallet protections (e.g., encryption, device-level security).
• Resiliency — thanks to features like Power Reserve (iPhone holds a minimal amount of power for wallet access even if battery is “dead”) you retain usability.

In other words, the device becomes the credential, the portal, and the security guard — all rolled into one.

How Lore stacks up vs other hotel chains and innovators

Lore isn’t alone in this race. Several hoteliers and access-tech providers are pushing Apple Wallet key integration. Here’s a comparative snapshot:

In short: Lore’s adoption is neither first nor last, but the web-provisioning aspect gives it an edge in UX simplicity. Many existing systems still require a hotel-branded app to issue mobile keys before embedding into a wallet; Lore sidesteps that friction entirely.

On the trends front, a few patterns are worth noting:

• Wallet + Web provisioning is gaining steam: The shift away from “app-first” mobile access is accelerating. Hoteliers are realizing the cost and friction of getting users to install, register, and update apps is a barrier. As one industry commentary argues, wallet-based keys are “booked, installed, and active with no guest app installs.”
• Interoperability standards are forming: The Connectivity Standards Alliance’s new Aliro protocol is shaping a path for better cross-wallet and access-device interoperability (Apple, Google, Samsung, etc.).
• Beyond rooms — property-wide credentialing: Guests will expect to use the same digital key for hotel room, gym, spa, parking gates, elevator zones, staff-only doors — blurring the lines between guest identity, loyalty, and physical access.
• Biometric + multi-factor expansions: To guard against misuse, hotels are exploring overlaying biometric validation (face, fingerprint) or device-based attestations to strengthen the “device-as-key” model.

Lore’s push is both validation and acceleration in that direction.

Conclusion: what this signals

Lore’s move is more than a hotel feature launch — it’s a strategic nudge in our direction: a world where our smartphone (or watch) becomes the ambient digital identity for travel. For your audience — travelers, operators, and tech brands — here’s what to take away:

1. Maturity in identity-as-key is real
   The infrastructure (locks, access management, APIs) has caught up. What once would have been experimental is now operational at scale.
2. User experience is the differentiator, not the technology
   Many hotels have had mobile key systems for years — but those that require another app, slow provisioning, or clunky workflows see poor adoption. Lore’s web-to-wallet model is a UX leap.
3. Interoperability will become a competitive moat
   The winners will be those who allow keys to work across wallets (Apple, Google, Samsung) and integrate cleanly with PMS/CRM systems to connect identity, loyalty, and access.
4. Device-as-credential demands high security disciplines
   As devices become identity anchors, the risk surface expands: lost devices, credential theft, phishing, and insider misuse must be mitigated by strong cryptography, real-time revocation, detection of anomalies, and layered security controls.
5. Ecosystem bets are gaining weight
   Travel tech players (eSIM, identity providers, digital wallets) should see alignment — there’s potential synergy between a travel-identity wallet and hotel credentialing. The ambition: your phone is your universal travel identity, handling SIM, boarding, hotel stays, car access — all in one trusted wallet.

In short: Lore’s rollout is a strong signal that the hotel industry’s digital identity pivot is in full swing. For Alertify readers, it’s a reminder that mobile identity and credentialing is no longer a fringe play — it’s central to how the future of travel (and hospitality) will work.