{"id":70656,"date":"2021-11-18T14:00:01","date_gmt":"2021-11-18T14:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/?p=70656"},"modified":"2026-04-08T13:41:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T13:41:41","slug":"hilton-digital-key","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/hotels\/hilton-honors\/hilton-digital-key\/","title":{"rendered":"Hilton Adds Ways to Digitally Share Your Key, Introduces Advanced Room Upgrades"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hilton recently announced that it's adding a series of tech updates. The first gives guests the option to share their room key digitally through Digital Key Share. Hilton is also introducing new automated room upgrades for Hilton Honors elites.<\/p>\n<p>Let's see how these new features can amplify your Hilton experience.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"How_Hilton_Digital_Key_Share_Works\">How Hilton Digital Key Share Works<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img data-aspectratio=\"500\/260\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-70680 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Copy-of-Feature-Toni-31-e1637098072244-300x156.jpg\" alt=\"Hilton Adds Tech Updates for Digital Key & Automated Upgrades\" width=\"500\" height=\"260\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Copy-of-Feature-Toni-31-e1637098072244-300x156.jpg 300w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Copy-of-Feature-Toni-31-e1637098072244-1024x532.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Copy-of-Feature-Toni-31-e1637098072244-768x399.jpg 768w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Copy-of-Feature-Toni-31-e1637098072244.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The Digital Key Share feature is an update to the existing digital key feature. Previously, only one guest could have access to the digital key. Now, multiple guests staying in the room can turn their smartphones into a room key.<\/p>\n<p>To share and access the key, you can use the following process:<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"For_the_primary_room_guest\"><strong>For the primary room guest<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Open the Hilton app and select your Digital Key.<\/li>\n<li>At the Digital Key screen, choose the &#8220;Share Your Key&#8221; option.<\/li>\n<li>Select which room you will share.<\/li>\n<li>Choose the &#8220;Send invite&#8221; option and then select the way you'd like to share the key: SMS or email.<\/li>\n<li>Finally, send the key share invitation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img data-aspectratio=\"750\/260\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-70751 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/DKS-Sharing-Journey-300x104.png\" alt=\"Hilton Digital Key Share\" width=\"750\" height=\"260\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/DKS-Sharing-Journey-300x104.png 300w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/DKS-Sharing-Journey-1024x354.png 1024w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/DKS-Sharing-Journey.png 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"For_secondary_guests\"><strong>For secondary guests<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Open the Hilton app. If you don't have it, make sure to download it. You can download it <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/hilton-honors-book-hotels\/id635150066\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here for the Apple store<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.hilton.android.hhonors&hl=en_US&gl=US\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here for Google Play<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Log into your Hilton Honors account.<\/li>\n<li>Open the invitation you received via SMS or email and click on the link.<\/li>\n<li>The Hilton app will open and allow you to accept or reject the shared key invite.<\/li>\n<li>Clear the adaptive authentication and fraud check.<\/li>\n<li>Once the Digital Key is ready, you will be notified.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img data-aspectratio=\"750\/324\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-70750 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/DKS-Receiving-Key-300x130.png\" alt=\"Hilton Digital Key Share\" width=\"750\" height=\"324\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/DKS-Receiving-Key-300x130.png 300w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/DKS-Receiving-Key-1024x442.png 1024w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/DKS-Receiving-Key.png 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"New_Hilton_Automated_Upgrades_Process\">New Hilton Automated Upgrades Process<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Hilton is also updating the way upgrades for its elite members are processed, introducing automated upgrades. Instead of waiting until check-in to find out if you have been upgraded, you can now find out up to 72 hours before.<\/p>\n<p>But these upgrades are more of an opportunity to select an &#8220;enhanced&#8221; room in the app. In order to snag a suite upgrade, you'll still need to do it the old-fashioned way: make sure your social engineering skills are polished and ask the desk agent.<\/p>\n<p>Both Gold and Diamond elite status holders are eligible for early room upgrades. This makes planning ahead much easier, knowing for sure in advance that you have scored an upgrade.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_70682\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-aspectratio=\"500\/400\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"Copy-of-Feature-Toni-32-300x240\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-70682 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Copy-of-Feature-Toni-32-300x240.jpg\"  width=\"500\" height=\"400\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Copy-of-Feature-Toni-32-300x240.jpg 300w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Copy-of-Feature-Toni-32-1024x819.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Copy-of-Feature-Toni-32-325x260.jpg 325w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Copy-of-Feature-Toni-32.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><center><em>Suite at the Conrad Tokyo in Tokyo, Japan.<\/em><\/enter><\/figure>\n<h2><span id=\"Hilton_Cards_That_Offer_Free_Elite_Status\">Hilton Cards That Offer Free Elite Status<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a data-ccid=\"4048211\" href=\"\/blog\/link\/CR-HiltonHonorsAmericanExpressAspire\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\">Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card<\/a> \u2014 Cardholders receive complimentary Diamond Status<\/li>\n<li><a data-ccid=\"4048089\" href=\"\/blog\/link\/CR-HiltonHonorsAmericanExpressSurpassCard\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\">Hilton Honors American Express Surpass<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> Card<\/a> \u2014 Cardholders receive complimentary Gold Status<\/li>\n<li><a data-ccid=\"4028102\" href=\"\/blog\/link\/HiltonHonorsBusinessCardfromAmericanExpress\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\">The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card<\/a> \u2014 Cardholders receive complimentary Gold Status<\/li>\n<li><a data-ccid=\"4048112\" href=\"\/blog\/link\/CR-HiltonHonorsAmericanExpressCard\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\">Hilton Honors American Express Card<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 Cardholders receive automatic Silver Status<\/li>\n<li>Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Related content:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"\/hotels\/how-to-get-hotel-elite-status-for-free\/\">How to Get Hotel Elite Status for Free (or Almost Free).<\/a><\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Final_Thoughts\">Final Thoughts<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Digital Key Share option is a nice addition and will definitely make stays less complicated when multiple people are sharing a room. As for Hilton's automated upgrades in advance, it's yet to be seen how great &#8212; or not great &#8212; this option will be.<\/p>\n<p><em>What do you think of these new technological advances from Hilton?<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"ftoc\"><div id=\"toc_container\" class=\"toc_light_blue no_bullets\"><p class=\"toc_title\">Page Contents<\/p><ul class=\"toc_list\"><li><a href=\"#How_Hilton_Digital_Key_Share_Works\">How Hilton Digital Key Share Works<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#For_the_primary_room_guest\">For the primary room guest<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#For_secondary_guests\">For secondary guests<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"#New_Hilton_Automated_Upgrades_Process\">New Hilton Automated Upgrades Process<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Hilton_Cards_That_Offer_Free_Elite_Status\">Hilton Cards That Offer Free Elite Status<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Final_Thoughts\">Final Thoughts<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hilton recently announced that it would be introducing a series of system updates in an effort to enhance the overall experience for its guests. The first of these new features lets guests share a digital key to their room through Digital Key Share. Hilton is also rolling out advanced upgrades for elite members. Here&#8217;s what we know so far about how these perks will work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":70672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12069],"tags":[12622,12698,12628],"coauthors":[36400],"class_list":["post-70656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-elite-status","tag-hilton-honors","tag-travel-experience"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70656"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70656\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":255614,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70656\/revisions\/255614"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70656"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=70656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}