Choosing contactless hotel technology? Ask these 10 critical questions about security, integrations, and guest experience to find the right platform for your hotel.
Delivering warm, memorable hospitality is more challenging than ever in a world where many guests arrive late, prefer to self-check-in, or skip the front desk altogether. That’s why contactless hotel technology has surged from a pandemic necessity to a long-term expectation; guests want convenience, but hoteliers know speed should never come at the cost of service.
Yet “going contactless” can mean many things, and not every system will suit your operations, brand standards, or security needs. The smartest investments start with asking the right questions, questions that cut through sales pitches to uncover whether a provider can support the kind of experience your property is known for.
Below are 10 questions to guide your search for the best contactless hotel technology. These aren’t just about ticking tech boxes, they’re about protecting the guest journey, allowing operational fit, and future-proofing your investment.
Too many “contactless” solutions stop at an app download, which can alienate guests who either don’t want to install one or are short on storage space. According to news from WeBee and Hotel Industry, modern travellers prefer using mobile web or QR-based options over downloading an app for short stays.
You want a partner that lets guests choose between app-based and browser-based flows, without sacrificing your brand’s hallmark greeting. Alliants supports both, so whether a guest taps in from their phone browser or through your app, staff still receive the prompts they need to deliver that signature welcome moment. Giving guests multiple access options can increase adoption rates, reduce front desk wait times, and save on staffing costs without reducing service quality.
A clunky or slow ID upload process can ruin the first impression. Worse, if security isn’t airtight, you risk noncompliance and potential breaches. Regulations vary: the EU’s GDPR requires strict consent and encryption protocols, while markets like Singapore and the UAE have additional ID retention rules.
Alliants’ ID capture encrypts data to fintech-level standards and aligns with regional compliance requirements worldwide. The process takes seconds, reducing abandonment rates while protecting sensitive guest data. Fast, compliant ID checks reduce manual verification time for staff and lower operational costs by preventing compliance fines or data breach expenses.
One of the most common fears around contactless guest experience is losing the “personal touch.” But the truth is, the right tech should help staff appear at just the right time.
For example, if a returning guest checks in online, your team could still greet them by name at the elevator or have their preferred wine ready in the room. Alliants facilitates this by integrating with your PMS and triggering VIP alerts or service prompts, turning what could have been a transactional stay into a memorable one. This not only protects guest satisfaction scores but also supports repeat bookings and loyalty program engagement, directly impacting revenue.
When you mix genuine personal touches with the ease of modern tech, the contactless guest experience can feel every bit as warm and welcoming as a face-to-face greeting.
Requiring an app for digital keys is a proven drop-off point. A 2023 Hospitality Net study found digital key adoption rates jumped 35% when hotels offered a mobile-web option. Guests traveling for a single night or on business often won’t bother downloading an app for such a short stay.
Alliants offers both web-based and app-based key provisioning, guaranteeing convenience for the guest and operational consistency for you. Eliminating the app download barrier can motivate adoption, reducing key card production costs and front desk workload.
Travelers rarely travel alone, and group dynamics do matter. Guests need the ability to share keys securely with family, colleagues, or friends without creating operational headaches or security risks.
Alliants lets guests share access with approved parties through secure verification, while allowing operators to revoke, monitor, or limit access instantly. The focus is about striking the right balance between guest autonomy and property control.
Lock hardware can be a major investment, and switching providers can be costly. That’s why it’s vital to know which integrations are already supported and how flexible the vendor is with future needs.
Alliants works with leading providers like SALTO and ASSA ABLOY, maintaining integrations in-house so you’re not dependent on third-party middle layers. If you adopt a new lock vendor, Alliants will explore and execute direct integration rather than patching a workaround that could limit functionality. A future-ready integration approach reduces the risk of costly hardware overhauls when updating or expanding properties.
Payments are one of the most sensitive points in the guest journey. From pre-authorization before arrival to settling folios after departure, PCI compliance is just the starting point. Tokenization certifies that card numbers are replaced with unique, non-sensitive identifiers, which means your team never stores or handles actual card data.
The stakes are certainly high; a 2023 Worldpay report found that 43% of hospitality guests worry about payment data theft during travel.
Alliants uses PCI-compliant tokenization end-to-end, giving guests peace of mind and protecting you from costly breaches or compliance failures. Reducing payment data risk protects against potential breach costs, which IBM’s 2023 Data Breach Report estimates at an average of $4.45M for hospitality.
Your property should control payment gateway choices, not your tech vendor. Market leaders like Adyen, Stripe, and FreedomPay each have strengths, and switching shouldn’t involve costly downtime or hidden fees.
Alliants supports major gateways out of the box and can transition without manual, weeks-long processes, so if your finance team decides to renegotiate rates or move to a different provider, the tech won’t stand in your way.
Chargebacks are expensive, not just in lost revenue but in processing time and penalties. According to studies, hospitality saw a major increase in fraudulent chargebacks over the last two years. An Ethoca report published in October 2023 predicted a 42% increase in global chargeback volume by 2026 compared to 2023.
Alliants tackles this through intelligent pre-authorization, layered guest verification, and automated fraud tagging. This helps identify high-risk transactions before they hit your books, allowing you to take preventive action. Catching fraudulent activity early prevents revenue loss and minimises chargeback-related fees, which have the potential to reach hundreds of dollars per case.
The hospitality tech stack isn’t static; new partners, tools, and guest engagement methods emerge constantly. Vendors that can’t adapt will eventually slow you down.
Alliants has built dozens of custom integration bridges for clients, from PMS connections to niche guest engagement tools. It’s a simple philosophy: your technology should fit your operations, not force your operations to fit the technology. The best contactless hotel technology providers are the ones that adapt as your needs change, not the ones that limit your choices.
Any vendor can show you a polished demo and promise “future-ready” features. The reality is that you need a solution that works with your daily workflows, protects your guests, and adapts to your brand’s standards, not just today, but for years to come.
Asking deeper, operations-focused questions uncovers hidden costs, exposes integration limits, and reveals whether a provider has real hospitality DNA or is just selling software.
With Alliants, you get more than a tech vendor, you get a partner built by people who’ve managed hotels, responded to late-night guest requests, and balanced budgets while elevating service. We believe contactless should never mean cold, and every digital interaction should still feel like genuine hospitality. From hotel guest messaging integration to payments, keys, and ID verification, our goal is to make technology enhance, not replace, the moments that matter.
