Hotels use wallet passes for 3 things: a reservation pass that holds the stay details and updates when they change, a loyalty card with tier and points, and offers guests can use on property. A digital room key is a separate product built on NFC and lock integration, and Pushwoosh doesn’t issue it. The first 3 work with standard passes.
In Pushwoosh, passes share 1 guest profile with push, email and SMS, so you can run wallet passes for hotels inside your pre-arrival and post-stay journeys.
What hotels put in the wallet
Direct bookings are the business case. OTA commissions typically run 15 to 25% of the booking value (vendor estimate, smartorder.ai). Loyalty is how the big chains fight back: 52% of Marriott’s room nights worldwide were booked by Bonvoy members (Marriott investor call, Q4 2021).
| Pass | Apple type | Google type | Shows | Updated when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reservation | Generic | Generic | Hotel, dates, booking number, room once assigned | Booking changes, room assigned |
| Loyalty card | Store Card | Loyalty | Member number, tier, points | Each stay, tier change |
| On-property offer | Coupon | Offer | Spa, restaurant or late checkout offer, expiry | Redeemed or expired |
IHG, for example, lets One Rewards members add their member card and their upcoming stay to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet (IHG, 2022, own app).
Reservation pass with live updates
The reservation pass carries what guests look for on arrival day: address, dates, booking number, check-in time. When your property management system assigns a room or the booking changes, it sends the new values through the API and the pass updates.
Add a change message to the room field on Apple (“Your room is %@”) so the assignment shows on the lock screen. On Google, Generic passes don’t get Google’s automatic update notification, so add your own notification text to the API update or send the room number by push or SMS.
Set the hotel as a location and the pass can appear on the lock screen as the guest pulls up.
Loyalty card
The loyalty card keeps tier and points in view between stays, which is exactly when guests decide where to book next. Update points after checkout and the tier when it changes.
On Google, use the Loyalty type if you want update notifications. On Apple, put change messages on tier and points.
On-property offers by location
A spa or restaurant offer works best while the guest is actually on site. Issue it as a coupon pass with the hotel location and a short expiry, and it can surface on the lock screen during the stay. A lunch offer seen at noon in the lobby beats one read in an email 2 days earlier.
Only issue it to guests who opted in to marketing. GDPR Recital 32 is clear that silence, pre-ticked boxes or inactivity don’t count as consent, so ask separately from the booking confirmation.
Room keys: why they’re NFC, not a standard pass
Guests search for hotel digital keys, so let’s be precise. A wallet room key opens the door with an NFC tap. It needs NFC-enabled locks, integration with the lock system and a partnership with Apple or Google. Hyatt has offered room keys in Apple Wallet since 2021, and Hilton’s Digital Key app has been downloaded more than 12.3 million times (Hilton, 2024). Both are integrated with the hotel’s door locks.
A standard wallet pass is a barcode card. It can carry the reservation and the room number, but it can’t open a door. Pushwoosh issues standard passes, not NFC room keys. If a digital key is on your roadmap, treat it as a project with your lock vendor and platform partner, and use standard passes for everything around the stay.
Journeys around the stay
-
Booking confirmed
Email with the reservation pass and the loyalty card.
-
Day before arrival
Room and check-in time update on the pass. Push or SMS with directions.
-
On property
A spa or restaurant coupon for opted-in guests, with location relevance.
-
After checkout
Points update on the loyalty card. Email with a direct-booking offer for next time.
Pass notifications stay about the pass. Apple and Google don’t allow anything else. Direct-booking promotions go by email, push or SMS.
Grow direct bookings with Pushwoosh
Pushwoosh issues native Apple and Google Wallet reservation passes, loyalty cards and on-property coupons by User ID, and runs pre-arrival, in-stay and post-stay journeys by push, email and SMS from the same platform.
You won’t win direct bookings by outbidding the OTAs. You win them by staying in the guest’s wallet after they check out.
