Skip The Front Desk - Without PMS Integration

Skip The Front Desk - Without PMS Integration

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Mobile key allows hotels to send keys prior to arrival, enabling our clients to offer a "Skip The Front Desk" scenario to its guests.  You can initiate the Skip-The-Front-Desk process by sending Pre-Arrival Emails via OpenKey HOST. 

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How does it work?

1. To send Pre-Arrival Emails manually, log into OpenKey HOST and click on the COMMUNICATIONS tab of OpenKey HOST.  

2. Click EMAIL FORM to expand the tab and show the fields required to send a Pre-Arrival email. Sending this email will allow guests to enter or update the phone number on the reservation, ensuring their mobile number will be used for the key.

3. Fill in the required information and click SEND EMAIL.

The email is now sent!  You can view the guest information in the EMAIL SENT section of the page.

 You can also upload your daily arrivals into OpenKey.  Click the button below for additional information.

Click below to view samples of the different Email Flows available within OpenKey HOST. 

Guests are encouraged to download the app prior to arrival, but they will not have access to their guest room or any common access areas until a Hotel Team Member issues their mobile key.

OpenKey HOST - Anytime a guest submits pre-arrival confirmation, the Front Desk will receive a notification via email. At this point, the Hotel Team Member can review the guest's reservation to determine if they qualify for Skip The Desk. 

*We suggest the Management Team create and enforce a list of rules to determine eligibility for this option.  Be sure to address payment verification requirements, if you require the guest to have booked directly versus through an OTA like Expedia or Booking.com, if you require the guest to have stayed at the property previously, etc.*

If the guest is eligible for Skip the Front Desk, proceed through the regular check-in process via the hotel's PMS.  Then in OpenKey HOST, click the ADD GUEST button next to the guest's stay information.  *HINT: Even if the guest did not fill out the pre-arrival check-in form, you can still add the guest from the Communications tab as long as their mobile number is known.

ADD GUEST AFTER PRE-ARRIVAL CHECK-IN FORM IS COMPLETED:

ADD GUEST BEFORE PRE-ARRIVAL CHECK-IN IS COMPLETED:

*As a reminder, you can still issue plastic keys along with mobile, as long as you follow the proper procedure laid out by your lock manufacturer.  Find out more about how to issue both mobile keys and plastic keys for the same reservation here.*

 

The benefit of using OpenKey's pre-arrival email is two-fold:

1. It gives guests an opportunity to verify or add their mobile phone number and send it back to OpenKey.  If their phone number in the reservation is incorrect or missing entirely and Automated Key Delivery is enabled, the mobile key will automatically be issued to the phone number they provide even if it hasn't been updated in the PMS.
   
2. The average consumer needs to view a message 5-9 times before they absorb it.  OpenKey's pre-arrival email gives your guests one more opportunity for the message that mobile key is available to sink in.