In short, no. The magnetic strip on a hotel keycard (or on a credit card, for that matter) requires a considerably more intense magnetic field to erase or damage it than will ever be generated by an ordinary smartphone.
Key cards may become inoperable when the magnetic stripe is demagnetized through exposure to magnets. Name tags, signs, and purse and wallet closures, and mobile phones are all potential sources of magnet exposure.
If you accidentally keep a hotel key, the best thing to do is contact the hotel as soon as possible. Depending on the policy of the particular establishment, they may ask you to return it in person or mail it back.
Open the hotel or resort app and sign in to your account. Open your reservation. Tap Add to Apple Wallet. Follow the instructions on the screen to add your hotel room key.
Bottom line: Don't be afraid to return your room key when you check out of the hotel. You're not at financial risk by doing so and the cards can be wiped clean and reused. Want more travel news, tips and deals?
Hotel Key Card Myths
The most common myths about key cards are related to the information stored on them. For example, many people believe that the cards contain sensitive user data, such as personal or financial information. The fact is, the majority of hotel key cards store only room numbers and dates of stay.
Maximize safety and security. Select a room located between the 4th and 6th floor. Avoid rooms above the sixth floor–the maximum height that fire-department ladders can reach. Some fire departments overseas, and even some within the United States, do not have the equipment to reach hotel floors above the 6th floor.
Hotel card sleeves are exactly what it sounds like. It's a sleeve that holds and protects your hotel key card.
Generally speaking, hotel keycards contain very little information and essentially nothing about your personal identity or payment details.
A new study has found that hackers can use a used hotel key card to create a master key that gains entry into any room in the building without detection.
You can leave the card keys in the room, or at the front desk when you leave. BUT, to be sure that there are not charges added to your bill that may not be correct, it is always wise to ask for a final bill as you leave.
The technology inside a proximity card is the same as an RFID card, however, whilst operating on a different radio frequency and with read-only functionality, it cannot be written to or encrypted for secure access. Only the unique serial number is used to link the card to the room.
Phones do create a magnetic field, but thankfully, it isn't strong enough to demagnetize credit or debit cards. The small magnet in the phone's speaker is the main culprit of generatingthe magnetic field.
Normally a cellphone or magnet on a purse will not demagnetize the room key. The mattresses are the same throughout the hotel, most times even in the suites but not always some suites may have special beds.
There are four primary bands used by cell phone carriers—850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz and 1,900 MHz. The 865 to 868 MHz portion of the spectrum was carved out for radio frequency identification so that it would not cause interference with other systems, and so other systems would not affect RFID.
You add a home key to Apple Wallet with the Home app on your iPhone. When you have a home key on your iPhone or Apple Watch, just place your device near the lock to unlock it. You can use the Home app to share access with other people.
Hotel key cards work by using various technologies such as RFID and magnetic stripe. The information encodes inside the key card can only be read by RFID readers or magnetic readers.
At most hotels it's not a major problem to not return your room key to the hotel. However, lots of hotels reuse or recycle room key cards so it's always a good practice to leave the key card in your hotel room or to return it to the front desk at the end of your stay.
All hotels have a backdoor or way to open all the rooms' safes in the event a guest forgets the newly set code or loses the safe key (for older safes), illustrating that no hotel safe is 100 percent secure.
Most times you can just stop by the front desk to let the receptionist know you're leaving. They'll review your charges and ask if you'd like a receipt of the final bill. If you don't have time for an in-person checkout, some hotels have a mobile app that notifies the hotel with a single tap.
Most cards are magnetic strip swipe cards, and can become demagnetized. The most common reason for a room key to get demagnetized is the use of cell phones. I have seen many a guest carrying their cards in the same hand as their cell phones. Receive a call and it will be demagnetized.
One of those common worries is the possibility of being spied on in your hotel room. A recent study suggests that roughly 11% of travelers surveyed report finding a hidden camera in their Airbnb lodgings! Luckily, security experts assure us that guests of trusted U.S. hotel chains have little to worry about.
Next time you are booking a hotel room, you should make sure it isn't any higher than the fourth floor. A travel risk expert has revealed the best way to stay safe at a hotel – and rooms below the second floor are advised against as well.
You also don't want to be on the ground floor, according to former soldier and current tourist risk expert Lloyd Figgins. Figgins explains that the third floor of the hotel is the safest "bet" for two safety reasons.