Mobile Keys Change from a Feature to a Platform Strategy
For years, the hotel industry pushed mobile keys as a way to make check-in easier, but they didn’t catch on as quickly as expected. Many deployments saw mobile access as a separate feature instead of as part of a connected guest journey.
Canary Technologies’ purchase of OpenKey shows that the company is changing its strategy from isolation to integration. The move shows that mobile access works best when it is part of larger digital workflows.
Source: MarTech Series/Website
The Role of OpenKey in the Evolution of Mobile Access
OpenKey started in 2014, when hotels were first trying out smartphone-based room access. Early adopters found technical problems like locks that didn’t work together, integrations that weren’t always reliable, and problems with teaching guests how to use the system.
OpenKey gained a lot of operational experience and built a lot of hardware partnerships despite these problems. That foundation now makes it easier for Canary to provide reliable mobile access to a lot of people.
Canary’s Vision for a Platform-Centric Guest Experience
Canary has grown from a service that lets guests send messages and check in online to a full guest management platform. It doesn’t replace the main hotel systems; instead, it connects the existing infrastructure to workflows that guests can see.
This method lets hotels update how they interact with guests without messing up their PMS or CRS systems. Canary grew over time to include upsells, digital authorizations, mobile tipping, and messaging powered by AI.
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Why Lock Compatibility Matters for Adoption
Hardware fragmentation has been a big problem for mobile key adoption for a long time. Many hotels have lock systems that are mixed or old, which makes upgrades expensive and hard to do.
OpenKey’s wide range of lock compatibility means that you don’t have to replace all of your hardware. This makes it easier for different types of hotels with different types of ownership to offer mobile access.
Embedding Mobile Access Into the Guest Journey
The acquisition changes the way people think about mobile keys as a natural part of digital check-in and identity verification. Guests can check in, verify their credentials, and get into their rooms without having to use more than 1 system or app.
The experience is smooth and easy for the guest. From the hotel’s point of view, it makes things run more smoothly and makes support less complicated.
How Hospitality Technology Affects Competition
Lock makers often make mobile keys work best with their own hardware systems. Standalone access providers have a lot of technical knowledge, but they depend on other companies for more general guest workflows.
Canary’s integrated model puts it in a growing group of experience platforms that come with built-in access. This puts the company in opposition to point-solution approaches that are not well-organized.
A Wider Signal for Digital Hospitality
The purchase is part of a larger trend in the hospitality technology industry toward consolidation. More and more, mature point solutions are being added to platforms that can provide complete experiences.
Canary’s success will depend on how well it can smoothly add OpenKey to its ecosystem. If done right, the deal makes a mobile-first model for modern hotel operations even stronger.
