IHG has received the prestigious Hotel Visionary Award for Guest Experience at the 2025 Hospitality Technology Forum. The recognition celebrates IHG’s innovative work in delivering a seamless, contactless digital checkout across its global portfolio.

This award-winning initiative, developed in partnership with Hapi, addressed one of IHG’s most pressing challenges: modernizing guest interactions at scale while reducing front desk congestion and giving travelers the mobile experience they expect.

With more than 6,000 properties worldwide, IHG faced the complexity of multiple PMS platforms, legacy configurations, and diverse regional requirements. Traditional processes and outdated integrations made real-time digital checkout nearly impossible, while strict tax and legal standards for guest folios in markets like Germany and the UK added further hurdles in those regions.

Making guest journeys smoother with Hapi

To overcome these challenges, IHG partnered with Hapi, the hospitality industry’s data connectivity platform. Leveraging Hapi’s modern, cloud-native architecture, IHG was able to bridge multiple individual hotel systems and deliver a consistent, brand-enhancing digital checkout experience to thousands of properties, across both web and mobile.

Behind the digital checkout experience

1. Real-time PMS connectivity through Hapi’s kiosk APIs, allowing guests to initiate and complete checkout directly from IHG’s mobile app or website.
2. Intelligent business rules to ensure digital checkout was only offered when folios were finalized and within valid checkout windows.
3. Updated PMS interface settings (including OWS) across thousands of hotels, helping each property support reliable, real-time digital interactions.

4. Future-proof scalability across multiple PMS platforms with no changes required to IHG’s mobile app.

The project officially launched in January 2024 and has already rolled out to more than 3,600 properties, with expansion continuing across additional systems and regions throughout 2025.

IHG: A hands-on partner

IHG played a critical role in shaping the architecture of this solution. The brand coordinated internal efforts to adjust PMS interface settings across thousands of hotels, aligned the rollout with brand standards, and ensured the experience met guest expectations in complex international markets.

Results that speak volumes

The impact of IHG’s digital checkout initiative has been transformative:

• 90% success rate for digital checkouts since launch, with recent months achieving up to 97%.
• 3,600+ hotels live with digital checkout capability powered by Hapi.
• No additional development required on IHG’s mobile app or website.
• Fully compliant folios delivered in markets with strict legal standards.
• Operational relief for hotel staff, with reduced lobby congestion and fewer manual checkout tasks during peak periods.

Guests who choose to can now enjoy a smooth, contactless checkout experience that eliminates the need to wait in line. Front-desk teams benefit from streamlined operations. Enterprise IT leaders gain a scalable framework for future innovations.

Positive reception across the portfolio

Feedback from frontline staff and corporate leaders has been overwhelmingly positive:

• Front desk teams report shorter lobby lines and fewer guest complaints during checkout.
• Operations leaders praise the consistent experience and minimal disruption at the property level.
• IT leaders value the cross-PMS design that eliminated the need for costly customization or redevelopment of IHG’s mobile app.

Setting a new standard

IHG has elevated the hospitality experience by simplifying one of the industry’s most complex processes: checkout. In partnership with Hapi, the company connected property systems and introduced real‑time digital capabilities, creating a seamless experience for guests and consistent operations across its global portfolio. Congratulations to the IHG team for this accomplishment and well-deserved recognition!

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