Unity App Mobile Key

Turning 6 disconnected backend systems into one seamless in-app guest experience.

Client: Hard Rock

Methods

User journeys & technical flows
Wireframes, designs, & prototyping
Stakeholder presentations & vendor collaboration

Impact

Aligned 6 technical teams around a single, user-first journey
Replaced wait times and frustration with a smooth, mobile-first check-in process
Successfully deployed in Hollywood, FL- scaling to more Hard Rock locations

The Ask

Hard Rock wanted to introduce a new mobile check-in and digital room key functionality into its app.

The goal: eliminate front desk bottlenecks and empower guests to check in, verify identity, and unlock their room- all from their phones.

The Challenge

Behind the scenes, delivering this “tap-and-go” moment meant orchestrating five disparate backend systems, three of which were owned by external vendors. The experience had to feel effortless to guests, but aligning six teams required deep coordination, systems thinking, and crystal-clear UX flows.

To deliver a unified user journey, we first had to make sense of the complexity. I co-led working sessions with each platform team to untangle responsibilities, clarify handoffs, and align everyone around a single, user-first flow.

My Role

I led the end-to-end UX design across six platform touchpoints—from aligning engineering requirements to designing the guest flow. This included:

Mapping backend handoffs to ensure technical precision
Designing the full mobile experience: check-in, ID verification, room key access
Collaborating with vendors to integrate SDKs, APIs, and logic flows
Driving alignment with clients, product, engineering, and external partners

So many cooks in the kitchen…

(The backend platforms and the teams involved)

Internal GALE Design Team

Collectively, we organized the teams and the experience, aligning the backend technologies across platforms and bringing the key to life.

Virtual Checkin Platform

This third-party vendor’s system interacted closely with the PMS to facilitate the virtual checkin and checkout of the user.

Hard Rock App

Our development team built the key within the Hard Rock Unity app. This was the primary touch point for the user’s experience and where all of the backend systems had to connect to.

ID Verification System

A popular security vendor provided their SDK that uses facial recognition technology via the phone’s camera to verify the user's identity.

Property Management System

A PMS is where a user’s reservation was stored and managed. From reserving a room, to checking in, to checking out, the PMS keeps track of the user’s status during their stay.

Mobile Key API

The last vendor provided us with the actual digital key functionality that a user could open from their phone to unlock the door’s lock mechanism.

Best way to align teams?

Technical Flow 🤝 User Journey

The Ultimate Flow

To unite all six systems, I created a “Happy Path” doc that layered both technical infrastructure and the guest journey into a single unified flow. This became our source of truth, aligning teams on:

API communication timing
Messaging moments for the user across their timeline
Emotional states and UX opportunities from check-in to checkout

This model helped bridge the gap between engineering and design-ensuring both systems and guests were supported.

Explore Happy Path

Edge Case Flows

(Because things go wrong…)

❌ Checkin / Checkout Error

Error within virtual checkin/checkout platform that prevents user from completing task.

Open Edge Case
💁‍♀️ 'IRL' User

The user chooses not to participate in the digital key experience, but backend systems will continue to run.

Open Edge Case
⏳ Room Not Ready

User has checked in virtually and verified their ID, but the PMS has not assigned a ready room yet.

Open Edge Case
🕒 Late Checkout Request

User contacts front desk to request late checkout, meaning all systems must update to new time parameter.

Open Edge Case