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Many hotel chains are racing to replace the plastic room key with digital options, including Apple Wallet and Google Wallet apps. Plastic hotel key cards have had a rough few years. During the pandemic, touch was taboo, so touchless trends accelerated. And cybersecurity concerns have mounted around hotel key technology. Earlier this year, researchers found a vulnerability in plastic hotel keys that could render up to three million keys easy prey for hackers and take years to fix.

Cybersecurity and safety issues have prompted many hotel chains to accelerate plans to transform hotel room door locks. While major U.S. chains have had the digital key capability for years, Google Wallet and Apple Wallet are jumping in by offering hotels the ability to save guests’ room keys to their wallets, enabling them to access their rooms by simply tapping the back of their phones against a reader near the door handle.   

Hilton Hotels has its Honors app, which allows guests to check in and use a room key through their smartphone. The 119-room Harpeth Hotel in Franklin, Tennessee, is a Hilton property, and guests can check in digitally and store keys in their Google or Apple wallet app.

“The benefit to the digital check-in is that your phone is the key,” said Kimberly Elder, director of sales for the Harpeth Hotel, adding that many guests still prefer the plastic key cards.

Eli Fuchs, regional director of operations at Valor Hospitality Partners, which has Hilton and Holiday Inn Express hotels in its portfolio, says digital is the next wave in hotel room door technology.

“Traditional hotel room keys are staring down the end of their existence,” Fuchs says.

However, some security experts caution that even the newer lock methods aren’t foolproof.

“Keyless systems can introduce entirely new threat vectors for hotel security operations to manage,” said Lee Clark, cyber threat intelligence production manager at Retail and Hospitality Information Sharing and Analysis Center (RH-ISAC).

While Clark says these threats can be mitigated through security control policies and configurations, such as multifactor authentication (MFA), these introduce extra steps that harried guests may not always want to jump through.

Clark says it’s unlikely that all hotels will replace all key cards with digital keys any time soon because some guests may prefer a key card or may not have a personal device compatible with digital lock systems, along with the expense.

“Transitioning to digital and keyless lock systems carries a significant cost in equipment, installation, maintenance, and security,” Clark said.

Hotel chains begin to require digital key systems

And human habits keep getting in the way, too.

For instance,  data from J.D. Power’s research on hotels found that only 14% of total branded hotel guests used digital keys during their hotel stay. Even guests who downloaded the brand’s app to their phones used the plastic key card.

According to J.D. Power data, among guests who have the app for the hotel company/brand, 30% use a digital key, and 70% use a plastic card most of the time.  

On the other hand, many hotels simply haven’t installed locks capable of digital entry.

“Several large hotel chains, whose apps are most likely to support digital keys, are beginning to require that hotel franchise owner to install new door locks as part of updated brand standards,” said Andrea Stokes, hospitality practice lead at J.D. Power.

Despite the slow adoption of digital options by customers, J.D. Power data does show that keyless customers feel safer than those using plastic cards.

“Guests using ‘digital key’ provide significantly more positive ratings for safety of the hotel compared to those who did not use digital keys,” Stokes said.

Chad Spensky, CEO of Allthenticate, which develops smartphone access capability and credential management, compares the plastic key card to passwords, which cybersecurity specialists view as low-tech and dated.

“We all still use passwords, despite the glaring security holes and clunky user experience. In the same way, key cards are likely here to stay,” Spensky said.  

He says the real promise of digital cards is less about security and more about convenience.

“While the card implementations are no more secure than their plastic counterparts, their user experience is far superior,” Spensky said. If given a choice between shuffling around a bunch of plastic cards or having your smartphone, “the phone is a clear winner.”    

 The consumer convenience factor is pushing hotel chains forward in their quest for digital keys. While digital keys offer an additional attack surface, they also allow for quick course correction.

One of the biggest problems with keycards, Spensky says, is that when a vulnerability is discovered there is no easy way to patch the vulnerability, “With smartphones  patches can be pushed out almost instantly over the air,” he said.

Don’t count out the plastic key card yet

Mehmet Erdem, professor, and chair of the department of resort, gaming, and golf management at the University of Las Vegas’s William F. Harrah College of Hospitality, warns that no system is foolproof and that people shouldn’t let digital entry give them a false sense of security.

“Everything can be hacked, everything can be breached,” Erdem said. “If someone has the intention to hack, it will happen.”

Erdem says not to count the plastic key card out yet. There are magnetic key cards that require a swipe and the newer radio frequency identification (RFID) cards that simply require proximity or can be loaded onto a phone. Erdem says RFID technology is improving, which makes plastic keys more versatile.

“RFID is not outdated,”  Erdem said, adding that it allows people who want less interaction to download the app, get the key, activate it, and go to the room.

“Because of sustainability and cost, hotels will push for mobile app,” Erdem said, but he added that some people will always prefer the physical plastic key. The advantage of the digital version of a plastic key, he said, comes down to human nature. “People forget their wallets, people forget their ID, but they don’t forget their phone.”

But in Las Vegas, where people routinely head to their hotel rooms flush with winnings from the blackjack tables and slots, there is an old-fashioned, low-tech option that makes the door discussion moot.

“There’s always the safe in the room, the guests should use that if they have something very valuable,” Erdem said.

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How TikTok’s rise sparked a short-form video race

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How TikTok’s rise sparked a short-form video race

TikTok’s grip on the short-form video market is tightening, and the world’s biggest tech platforms are racing to catch up.

Since launching globally in 2016, ByteDance-owned TikTok has amassed over 1.12 billion monthly active users worldwide, according to Backlinko. American users spend an average of 108 minutes per day on the app, according to Apptoptia.

TikTok’s success has reshaped the social media landscape, forcing competitors like Meta and Google to pivot their strategies around short-form video. But so far, experts say that none have matched TikTok’s algorithmic precision.

“It is the center of the internet for young people,” said Jasmine Enberg, vice president and principal analyst at Emarketer. “It’s where they go for entertainment, news, trends, even shopping. TikTok sets the tone for everyone else.”

Platforms like Meta‘s Instagram Reels and Google’s YouTube Shorts have expanded aggressively, launching new features, creator tools and even considering separate apps just to compete. Microsoft-owned LinkedIn, traditionally a professional networking site, is the latest to experiment with TikTok-style feeds. But with TikTok continuing to evolve, adding features like e-commerce integrations and longer videos, the question remains whether rivals can keep up.

“I’m scrolling every single day. I doom scroll all the time,” said TikTok content creator Alyssa McKay.

But there may a dark side to this growth.

As short-form content consumption soars, experts warn about shrinking attention spans and rising mental-health concerns, particularly among younger users. Researchers like Dr. Yann Poncin, associate professor at the Child Study Center at Yale University, point to disrupted sleep patterns and increased anxiety levels tied to endless scrolling habits.

“Infinite scrolling and short-form video are designed to capture your attention in short bursts,” Dr. Poncin said. “In the past, entertainment was about taking you on a journey through a show or story. Now, it’s about locking you in for just a few seconds, just enough to feed you the next thing the algorithm knows you’ll like.”

Despite sky-high engagement, monetizing short videos remains an uphill battle. Unlike long-form YouTube content, where ads can be inserted throughout, short clips offer limited space for advertisers. Creators, too, are feeling the squeeze.

“It’s never been easier to go viral,” said Enberg. “But it’s never been harder to turn that virality into a sustainable business.”

Last year, TikTok generated an estimated $23.6 billion in ad revenues, according to Oberlo, but even with this growth, many creators still make just a few dollars per million views. YouTube Shorts pays roughly four cents per 1,000 views, which is less than its long-form counterpart. Meanwhile, Instagram has leaned into brand partnerships and emerging tools like “Trial Reels,” which allow creators to experiment with content by initially sharing videos only with non-followers, giving them a low-risk way to test new formats or ideas before deciding whether to share with their full audience. But Meta told CNBC that monetizing Reels remains a work in progress.

While lawmakers scrutinize TikTok’s Chinese ownership and explore potential bans, competitors see a window of opportunity. Meta and YouTube are poised to capture up to 50% of reallocated ad dollars if TikTok faces restrictions in the U.S., according to eMarketer.

Watch the video to understand how TikTok’s rise sparked a short form video race.

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Elon Musk’s xAI Holdings in talks to raise $20 billion, Bloomberg News reports

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Elon Musk's xAI Holdings in talks to raise  billion, Bloomberg News reports

The X logo appears on a phone, and the xAI logo is displayed on a laptop in Krakow, Poland, on April 1, 2025. (Photo by Klaudia Radecka/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Elon Musk‘s xAI Holdings is in discussions with investors to raise about $20 billion, Bloomberg News reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The funding would value the company at over $120 billion, according to the report.

Musk was looking to assign “proper value” to xAI, sources told CNBC’s David Faber earlier this month. The remarks were made during a call with xAI investors, sources familiar with the matter told Faber. The Tesla CEO at that time didn’t explicitly mention any upcoming funding round, but the sources suggested xAI was preparing for a substantial capital raise in the near future.

The funding amount could be more than $20 billion as the exact figure had not been decided, the Bloomberg report added.

Artificial intelligence startup xAI didn’t immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment outside of U.S. business hours.

Faber Report: Elon Musk held call with current xAI investors, sources say

The AI firm last month acquired X in an all-stock deal that valued xAI at $80 billion and the social media platform at $33 billion.

“xAI and X’s futures are intertwined. Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent,” Musk said on X, announcing the deal. “This combination will unlock immense potential by blending xAI’s advanced AI capability and expertise with X’s massive reach.”

Read the full Bloomberg story here.

— CNBC’s Samantha Subin contributed to this report.

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Alphabet jumps 3% as search, advertising units show resilient growth

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Alphabet jumps 3% as search, advertising units show resilient growth

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai during the Google I/O developers conference in Mountain View, California, on May 10, 2023.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Alphabet‘s stock gained 3% Friday after signaling strong growth in its search and advertising businesses amid a competitive artificial intelligence environment and uncertain macro backdrop.

GOOGL‘s pace of GenAI product roll-out is accelerating with multiple encouraging signals,” wrote Morgan Stanley‘s Brian Nowak. “Macro uncertainty still exists but we remain [overweight] given GOOGL’s still strong relative position and improving pace of GenAI enabled product roll-out.”

The search giant posted earnings of $2.81 per share on $90.23 billion in revenues. That topped the $89.12 billion in sales and $2.01 in EPS expected by LSEG analysts. Revenues grew 12% year-over-year and ahead of the 10% anticipated by Wall Street.

Net income rose 46% to $34.54 billion, or $2.81 per share. That’s up from $23.66 billion, or $1.89 per share, in the year-ago period. Alphabet said the figure included $8 billion in unrealized gains on its nonmarketable equity securities connected to its investment in a private company.

Adjusted earnings, excluding that gain, were $2.27 per share, according to LSEG, and topped analyst expectations.

Read more CNBC tech news

Alphabet shares have pulled back about 16% this year as it battles volatility spurred by mounting trade war fears and worries that President Donald Trump‘s tariffs could crush the global economy. That would make it more difficult for Alphabet to potentially acquire infrastructure for data centers powering AI models as it faces off against competitors such as OpenAI and Anthropic to develop largely language models.

During Thursday’s call with investors, Alphabet suggested that it’s too soon to tally the total impact of tariffs. However, Google’s business chief Philipp Schindler said that ending the de minimis trade exemption in May, which created a loophole benefitting many Chinese e-commerce retailers, could create a “slight headwind” for the company’s ads business, specifically in the Asia-Pacific region. The loophole allows shipments under $800 to come into the U.S. duty-free.

Despite this backdrop, Alphabet showed steady growth in its advertising and search business, reporting $66.89 billion in revenues for its advertising unit. That reflected 8.5% growth from the year-ago period. The company reported $8.93 billion in advertising revenue for its YouTube business, shy of an $8.97 billion estimate from StreetAccount.

Alphabet’s “Search and other” unit rose 9.8% to $50.7 billion, up from $46.16 billion last year. The company said that its AI Overviews tool used in its Google search results page has accumulated 1.5 billion monthly users from a billion in October.

Bank of America analyst Justin Post said that Wall Street is underestimating the upside potential and “monetization ramp” from this tool and cloud demand fueled by AI.

“The strong 1Q search performance, along with constructive comments on Gemini [large language model] performance and [AI Overviews] adoption could help alleviate some investor concerns on AI competition,” Post wrote in a note.

WATCH: Gemini delivering well for Google, says Check Capital’s Chris Ballard

Gemini delivering well for Google, says Check Capital's Chris Ballard

CNBC’s Jennifer Elias contributed to this report.

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