30.09.2026
From Guest Pocket to Hotel Room: Hoteza and LEGIC Bring Digital Wallet Keys into the Guest Journey
What if the hotel guest journey did not start at the front desk? That was the idea behind Rafael’s Partner Pitch Perfect presentation at LEGIC connect26, where Hoteza showcased how digital wallet keys can become part of a connected hotel guest journey rather than simply replacing a plastic room key.
Together with LEGIC, Hoteza is bringing Apple Wallet and Google Wallet access into its Guest Journey Platform, connecting digital room access with the steps that already happen before, during, and after a hotel stay.
The result is a different approach to hotel arrival: instead of asking guests to queue at reception before they can reach their room, more of the journey can happen on the guest’s own device before they even arrive.
The guest journey starts before the lobby
Hotel technology has increasingly moved past individual touchpoints. Online check-in, digital payments, guest messaging, in-room entertainment, service requests, and mobile access are all becoming part of the same expanded conversation: how can hotels simplify the guest journey while giving teams more time to focus on hospitality?
Digital hotel keys are an important part of that shift.
In Rafael’s presentation, the Hoteza approach starts before arrival. Through the Hoteza Guest Journey Platform, guests can complete steps such as identity verification and payment in advance. Once they complete the required steps, the hotel can deliver room access digitally through Apple Wallet or Google Wallet.
This creates a much more connected sequence.
The guest checks in online. Their identity is verified. They handle payments and other pre-arrival requirements. The digital key is added to the phone. And when the guest reaches the hotel, they can use that same device to access their room.
The key is no longer an isolated feature. It becomes another step in the guest journey.
From plastic key cards to digital wallet access
For hotels, the traditional key card is familiar and functional. But it can also create friction: cards need to be issued, replaced when lost, collected or deactivated, and managed by front desk teams.
For guests, the process can feel even more noticeable after a long journey. Arrive at the hotel, find reception, wait in line, validate details, receive a card, and finally head upstairs.
A digital hotel key changes that sequence.
With Hoteza Wallet Key, guests can store the room credential in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, so they don't need to download a dedicated app to access their room. The key sits on a device they already use throughout the day.
The guest can then hold their smartphone or supported device near the compatible lock to unlock the room.
During his pitch, Rafael demonstrated exactly this process: a simple tap at the door, followed by immediate access.
It is a small interaction, but it illustrates a larger point about hospitality technology. The most useful technology often removes steps rather than adding them.
A digital key is only part of the journey.
The bigger opportunity comes when digital room access is connected to the rest of the hotel experience.
This is where the Hoteza Guest Journey Platform comes in.
Before arrival, hotels can communicate with guests through pre-arrival messaging, WhatsApp, and email campaigns. These touchpoints can support online check-in, pre-ordering, upselling and upgrades, while keeping communication connected to the guest’s upcoming stay.
Then comes arrival.
With a digital wallet key, the guest can move from pre-arrival to the room without stopping at reception for a physical key. For hotels managing busy arrival periods, this can reduce one of the most common sources of lobby congestion.
But the journey does not stop at the room door.
During the stay, guests can continue interacting with the hotel through Hoteza solutions, including in-room TV and the Hoteza Guest App. They can access information, explore services, order in-room dining, and communicate with hotel staff.
At the other end of the stay, digital check-out can continue the same principle. Guests can complete payment, receive their receipt, and leave without returning to the front desk to close the account.
In other words, the goal is not to create a “keyless hotel” for technology's sake.
It is to create a more connected hotel journey.
Why Apple Wallet and Google Wallet matter
One practical advantage of wallet-based hotel access is familiarity.
Guests already use their smartphones for boarding passes, payments, tickets, and identification. Adding a hotel room key to that environment can feel more natural than introducing another standalone app.
For hotels, this also changes the digital key's role.
It can become part of the guest’s everyday device rather than a separate technology that guests have to learn.
Hoteza’s Wallet Key supports Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, while the wider Hoteza platform can connect digital access with online check-in and other guest-facing services.
That combination is particularly relevant for hotels exploring contactless check-in and mobile-first guest experiences. Hotels can issue the digital key as part of the arrival workflow rather than treating it as a separate project.
Sharing access with family and friends
Another detail Rafael highlighted during the presentation was key sharing.
For guests traveling together, room access does not always need to remain limited to the person who completed the booking. Digital credentials can make it easier to provide access to accompanying friends and family, depending on the hotel’s setup and access-control configuration.
That can be especially useful for families, groups and shared stays, where coordinating a single physical key card can quickly become inconvenient.
It is another example of how digital access can address a very practical part of the hotel experience.
Beyond the room door
Digital access can also extend beyond the guest room.
Depending on the property’s access-control infrastructure, the same credential can also open other controlled areas of a hotel, such as elevators, parking, lounges, spas, or pools.
This turns the digital key from a replacement for one plastic card into a broader access layer across the property.
For hotel operators, that distinction matters. The goal is not simply to digitize one physical object. It is to connect access to the property's wider digital infrastructure.
Hoteza and LEGIC: building the connection
The collaboration between Hoteza and LEGIC brings together two parts of this experience.
LEGIC provides the credential technology that enables secure digital access, while Hoteza connects that capability with the broader hotel guest journey.
The partnership reflects an increasingly important direction in hospitality technology: integrations are becoming just as important as individual products.
A guest does not experience a PMS, payment platform, messaging system, check-in system, or access-control system separately. They experience one hotel.
That means the behind-the-scenes technology needs to work together.
At LEGIC connect26, Rafael’s pitch demonstrated what that can look like in practice: a guest completes the necessary steps before arrival, receives a digital key in their wallet, arrives at the property, and goes directly to their room. From there, the same connected journey can continue through hotel services, communication, entertainment, and check-out.
Watch the full Hoteza × LEGIC demonstration
The best way to understand the experience is to see it in action.
In his Partner Pitch Perfect presentation at LEGIC connect26, Rafael walks through the Hoteza and LEGIC solution, demonstrates the digital wallet key, and explains how digital access fits into the wider guest journey.
In the video, Rafael explains how Hoteza connects online check-in, pre-arrival communication, digital room access, in-stay services, and check-out into one guest journey.
Watch the full video on YouTube to see the Hoteza Digital Wallet Key in action with Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, and discover how Hoteza and LEGIC are working together to create a more connected, frictionless hotel experience.
