Do guests need to download an app for online check-in?

No. Duve's online check-in is web-based. Guests receive a link via email or SMS before arrival, open it in their phone's browser, and complete check-in without downloading anything. This distinction matters more than most vendors admit. Hospitality apps that require a download see adoption rates between 5% and 15%. Web-based check-in, which requires zero installation, sees adoption rates between 60% and 80% across Duve's 1,050+ properties. The difference is friction. A guest arriving at midnight does not want to search the App Store, download an app, create an account, and then check in. They want to tap a link and be done.

What information is collected during online check-in?

The information collected depends on the hotel's requirements and local regulations. At minimum, most properties collect: guest name confirmation, estimated arrival time, and passport or ID details (required by law in many countries for police registration). Additional fields can include: billing preferences, special requests, marketing consent, and digital signature on the registration card. For properties in the EU, GDPR compliance is built into the process: guests see exactly what data is collected and why, consent is explicit, and data handling follows EU data protection standards. The hotel controls which fields are mandatory and which are optional. Duve supports up to 16 configurable check-in steps that can be toggled on or off and filtered by booking source. Most guests complete the entire check-in in under two minutes.

How does contactless check-in affect the guest experience?

It depends on the implementation. Done poorly, contactless check-in feels like the hotel replaced a human interaction with a form. Done well, it removes the administrative friction (paperwork, credit card swipe, key encoding) while preserving the human interaction for what actually matters: a genuine welcome. The best implementations work like this: the guest completes paperwork on their phone before arrival. When they walk through the door, the front desk already has their information. The interaction shifts from 'Can I see your passport and credit card?' to 'Welcome back, your room is ready, and the restaurant is open until 10.' Online check-in does not replace the front desk. It gives your team the time to actually greet the guest who walks through the door.

What is the ROI of implementing contactless check-in?

ROI varies by property size and implementation scope, but the main value drivers are measurable. First, time savings: online check-in reduces front desk processing time from 5 to 8 minutes per guest to under 90 seconds for the in-person handoff. For a 200-room hotel at 80% occupancy, that saves roughly 3 to 4 staff hours per day. Second, upsell revenue: pre-arrival upsell offers (room upgrades, late checkout, F&B packages) sent during the check-in process convert at 8 to 12% on average across Duve's portfolio. Sofitel Fiji generated EUR 25,000 in upsells in two months. Merrill House achieved 400% ROI on their overall programme. Third, guest satisfaction: properties that implement online check-in consistently see review score improvements, particularly on comments about arrival experience. The caveat: ROI depends on adoption. A contactless check-in system that only 20% of guests use delivers 20% of the potential value.

Online Check-in for Hotels: Contactless Guest Registration Before Arrival

Q: Does contactless check-in work with all PMS systems?

No single platform covers every PMS on the market. The question worth asking is not whether a vendor claims universal coverage, but whether the integration with your specific PMS is confirmed, tested, and two-way. Duve integrates with over 50 PMS systems, including Opera Cloud, Mews, Apaleo, Protel, Clock, and most major chain and independent property management systems. The integration is not surface-level: Duve pulls reservation data, pushes registration card information back to the PMS, and syncs guest profiles in both directions. For chains running Opera Cloud across multiple properties, the integration works at the property level without requiring corporate IT involvement. Setup typically takes one to two weeks, not months.

On average, hotel check-in takes 8 minutes per guest — but with Duve’s online check-in, your guests arrive ready to relax. No queues, no paperwork, no hassle. Just smooth arrivals and happier teams.

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Contactless Online Check-In

With Duve’s hotel online check-in guests can complete a full registration from any browser before arrival, no app required. The secure pre-arrival check-in link reaches the guest by email, SMS, or WhatsApp, then guides them through ID capture, digital registration card signing, and a secure card hold, before writing every field back to the property’s PMS automatically.

And, the data from online check-in is used to support targeted upsells (room upgrades, late checkout, spa, and more) meaning not only is it supporting your front desk but enhancing ancillary conversion in one motion.

For front office managers, the practical effect is fewer paper forms at 11pm, shorter lobby lines at peak arrival, and a clean guest database without manual re-keying.

Duve’s online check-in software for hotels runs across 150+ PMS integrations and 1,000+ properties in 70 countries, with a clean handoff to the mobile key flow the moment the room is ready.

Great Way to Communicate With Our Guests

Communicate, contactless check in, customizing the guest experience with the Guidebook. Easy to update property specifics, communicate with the guest thru sms and email.

Guest Ambassador

Hilton, US

Amazing Tool For Guests and Hoteliers

Easy communication with guests, amazing upsell opportunities which can be defined by ourselves, great tool for pre check-in for guests

Interim GM

Boutiques, Germany

Amazing Guest Journey

Super friendly to use, improving significantly the guest journey and the communication with the guests and in addition saving a lot of time by check in online and other modules

Luxury Hotels, Italy

Streamline Processes, Maximize Revenue

From document scanning and e-signature collection to loyalty enrollment, upsell offers, and payment collection—Duve’s Online Check-In supports it all in a unified, guest-friendly experience.

Coordinate Arrivals with Precision

Easily manage arrival times and methods to offer the right check-in options automatically. From early check-in to transportation services, Duve turns every arrival into a seamless experience.

Build Guest Profiles Before Check-In

Gather key guest data—including preferences, purpose of travel, and more—during online check-in to segment guests and personalize stays.

Offer a Flexible, Frictionless On-Site Check-In

Whether fully contactless or tablet-assisted, Duve’s on-site check-in options adapt to your workflow—keeping queues short, staff efficient, and guest satisfaction high.

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Frequently asked questions

Woman sitting on the couch holding coffee and a laptop

Duve integrates with over 50 PMS systems, including Opera Cloud, Mews, Apaleo, Protel, Clock, and most major chain and independent property management systems. The integration is not surface-level: Duve pulls reservation data, pushes registration card information back to the PMS, and syncs guest profiles in both directions. For chains running Opera Cloud across multiple properties, the integration works at the property level without requiring corporate IT involvement. Setup typically takes one to two weeks, not months. If your PMS is not on the list, ask. New integrations are added regularly based on customer demand, and the team can confirm compatibility before you commit.

No. Guests get a link by email or SMS before arrival, open it in their phone's browser, and check in without installing anything. That's what drives adoption: app-based check-in tools see 5 to 15% uptake, Duve's web-based flow sees 60 to 80% across our 1,050+ properties. After check-in, the same web app becomes the guest's directory, upsell channel, and messaging line for the rest of the stay, without taking up space on their phone.

At minimum: guest name confirmation, estimated arrival time, and ID or passport details (required by law in many countries for police registration). You control which of Duve's 16 configurable check-in steps are mandatory, optional, or hidden, and can filter by booking source. Add billing preferences, special requests, marketing consent, and e-signature on the registration card as needed. In the EU, consent and data handling are built to GDPR standards from the start. Most guests finish the whole flow in under two minutes.

It removes the paperwork, not the welcome. Guests complete registration on their phone before arrival, so when they walk in, the front desk already has their details. The conversation shifts from "can I see your passport and card" to "welcome back, your room's ready, the restaurant's open until 10." Staff get the time back to actually look up and greet the guest in front of them. Properties running Duve consistently see that shift show up in review scores, especially in comments about arrival experience.

Three measurable levers. Time: front desk processing drops from 5 to 8 minutes per guest to under 90 seconds for the in-person handoff, roughly 3 to 4 staff hours a day saved at a 200-room hotel running 80% occupancy. Revenue: pre-arrival upsells (room upgrades, late checkout, F&B) sent during check-in convert at 8 to 12% on average across Duve's portfolio; Sofitel Fiji generated €25,000 in upsells in two months, Merrill House hit 400% ROI on the full program. Satisfaction: properties consistently see review-score gains on arrival experience after rollout. The one caveat: ROI tracks adoption. A tool 20% of guests use delivers 20% of the value, which is why web-based, no-download flows outperform app-based ones.