I am very excited for this feature to be available on MEWS. My answers are below in blue:

• Do you have guest verification steps in place for your digital check-ins today? If so what are they? We do not currently allow digital check in at our MEWS properties due to lack of ID verification. We do utilize the mobile/digital check in process for two properties on another PMS. The process is simple: 1) Guest receives a personalized link from system a handful of times prior to arrival. 2) Guest confirms reservation details, payment method and provides both a selfie and photo of picture ID 3) Guest confirms acceptance of hotel terms and conditions (registration card) and provides drawn signature. Hotel is notified of completed mobile registration, is able to click icon to view signed/accepted terms and conditions as well as selfie and photo ID to accept or decline. Once accepted or declined, the ID verification information is no longer available. Signed T&C stored.
• Do you require verification for all guests completing a digital check-in or prefer a more targeted approach (i.e. specific nationalities, specific time of the year, etc.). All guests, no matter what. As our hotel policy states, “Guest name must match credit card used for reservation and valid photo id.”  If the credit card name is different, and the holder is not present, we need written consent and copy of photo ID.
• For repeat guests who are staying at the same property regularly, do you require their verification every time? Or is it stored on their profile, and they can skip this step? ID verification is required every time.
  • If so, does the verification expire after some time? Is that a set timeframe (i.e. after 3 months) or depends on the validity of the ID? or something else? Verification is singular to the reservation and is not accessible after confirming ID. 
• If there are multiple guests travelling together (companions), do you require verification from all of them or only from the main guest completing the digital check-in? Require only from the main guest checking in and/or card holder for the reservation.
• If you are using a 3rd party solution today, would you be ok to share any insights on who they are and what you really like about their solution vs would like to see improved?  We are not using a 3rd party solution with MEWS, but a solution that is currently available from another PMS used at our other properties. My wishlist is this: 1) Capture ID of main guest on reservation AND additional capture option for card holder. 2) Ability to store captured ID’s AND mobile/digital registration per reservation (would be incredibly helpful for credit card dispute cases), 3) ID validity screening (current solution just requires photo of ID, does not validate).

Thank you ​@JillMorgenthaler for sharing your insights. This is super helpful. I’m be logging off for a few months as I’m going on parental leave but I have passed on your feedback to my colleague who is taking over and we’ll make sure to keep this group in the loop as we progress on our journey for Digital Guest Verification! Wishing you a lovely holiday season.

Congratulations, Olivia! Wishing you the best and a wonderful holiday season! 

• Do you have guest verification steps in place for your digital check-ins today? If so what are they? Yes; upon arrival, Guests must still present their valid ID to the hotel’s Front Desk where it is verified against the information entered by the Guest through the Guest Portal.
• Do you require verification for all guests completing a digital check-in or prefer a more targeted approach (i.e. specific nationalities, specific time of the year, etc.). Yes; all Guests on reservations must provide valid photo ID defined as a valid Passport, valid State ID, valid State Driver’s License, or valid US Military ID.
• For repeat guests who are staying at the same property regularly, do you require their verification every time? Or is it stored on their profile, and they can skip this step? Their information is saved, but if the Staff member at the hotel’s Front Desk does not personally know/recognize the Guest, ID is verified upon arrival as it is for first-time Guests.
  • If so, does the verification expire after some time? Is that a set timeframe (i.e. after 3 months) or depends on the validity of the ID? or something else? No; this does not expire.
• If there are multiple guests travelling together (companions), do you require verification from all of them or only from the main guest completing the digital check-in? Yes; all Guests on reservations must provide valid photo ID as noted above.
• If you are using a 3rd party solution today, would you be ok to share any insights on who they are and what you really like about their solution vs would like to see improved? No; we are not using a third party service. 

Hi Everyone,

I hope you’re doing well. I’m taking over this topic while Olivia is on parental leave. Thank you for your feedback to Olivia’s questions. 

We’re still developing this complete capability and I appreciate the comments about needing an ID and guest image as part of the pre-arrival flow. We’re now in a position to offer the first phase of this capability where we can now capture an image of the guest during online check in. All the details are in our Community Beta group below and we’re keen to hear any feedback or suggestion you have from this. 

Please also feel free to share any comments or questions here and I’ll be happy to help.

Thank you,

James

Just saw this - our property was looking for a solution for this to integrate with Mews but great to hear its on the roadmap! 

Exciting!
Looking forward to seeing this enhancement in place.