At an event in San Francisco earlier this week, Apple released more details on its new watch and showed off a few apps. Along with displaying the weather, making calls (as long as your phone is nearby), and tracking your fitness, the watch will also support Apple Pay, a mobile payment system that processes credit card transactions without the need to swipe an actual card. Ahead of the event, Marriott announced it would be the first hotel company to use Apple Pay, and would roll it out this summer at select Ritz-Carlton, Courtyard, Residence Inn, and Edition properties in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, San Francisco, Miami, and Chicago.
Apple Pay uses the near field communication (NFC) chip in an iPhone 6 or Apple Watch to communicate with specially equipped card readers, providing more security than old-school magnetic card swipers. While this could be a huge money maker for Apple, with analysts predicting that mobile payment systems will process $700 billion in transactions by 2017, it also offers hotels a new tool to measure guests’ habits and preferences.
This aspect of the watch is the big reason Starwood worked with Apple to create a version of its SPG app that showcased the high-tech timepiece’s ability to interact with its surroundings—in this case allowing guests to check in and use the Apple Watch as a room key. The SPG app was prominently featured in Apple CEO Tim Cook’s demonstration during the first Apple Watch announcement in September and will come pre-loaded on the device when it’s released in April. It uses Bluetooth to communicate with Starwood’s keyless entry system which is also designed to work with both Android and Apple phones. By the time the watch is out, Starwood says keyless entry will available at all 150 Aloft, Element, and W properties worldwide.
“In addition to SPG Keyless, the SPG App for Apple Watch will provide key information about current and upcoming stays,” said Stephen Gates, VP and Digital Creative Director, Global Brand Design at Starwood via email. His team sees a lot of ways the watch can help Starwood hotels enhance the guest experience. “We learned from creating the SPG App for Google Glass that guests are using wearable technologies very specifically for real-time information needs and actions.” For Starwood, the SPG App for Apple Watch will take this ability to respond to guests’ needs in the moment one step forward. Unlike Marriott, Starwood hasn’t committed to supporting Apple Pay.
Not to be outdone, Accor and IHG also announced new Apple Watch apps this week. The Accorhotel Apple Watch app will work in connection with a smartphone to manage reservations, access hotel information and property maps, and notify guests when a room is ready for online check-in. IHG’s Apple Watch app is a port of its popular smartphone language translator. It will convert the words a user speaks into the watch into 13 different languages and even offer phonetic pronunciation help as well as a range of common phrases.
The Apple Watch is set to go on sale April 24th. Pricing was also announced, with the base aluminum model priced at $349 and a more fashion-forward steel model priced at $550. The most expensive Apple Watch, made of solid gold, will cost $10,000.
