Hilton Taps HotelKey for Property Management Tech at All Its Hotels

Hilton is outsourcing its property management system to the tech company HotelKey, replacing legacy systems at all 7,000 of the hotels under its brand. 

There are now 1,200 Hilton hotels using the HotelKey system, and about 50 are being added each week. The plan is that all hotels will use the cloud-based system by 2026. 

For the past few decades, Hilton's hotels and resorts have been using an on-premise system developed in-house called OnQ. The customized tech provided by HotelKey, which primarily includes the property management system and corresponding training software on the same platform, is being called Property Engagement Platform.

It's time for a change so Hilton can reach its next goals for tech innovation and guest service, said Michael Leidinger, chief information officer.

“This was part of our broader program to renovate all of our technology and our platforms,” Leidinger said. 

Hilton started the integration at its lower-chain-scale brands — such as Hampton, Hilton Garden Inn, and Tru — which make up the biggest footprint in terms of the number of properties. The first hotel to get the HotelKey system was a Hampton Inn in Baltimore in December 2020. 

Much of the following two years went toward planning and pilots in conjunction with slow integration at about 500 hotels. In 2023,