Hotel Check-In via the MAX Messenger
Starting this fall, hotel guests in Russia will be able to check in without filling out paper forms. A Digital ID is becoming a universal way to verify a person's identity.
From September 1, 2026, Russian hotels and other accommodation providers with more than 50 rooms must allow guests to check in using a Digital ID in the MAX messenger. Smaller properties with 50 rooms or fewer, which may need more time to adapt, will be required to support the same option beginning September 1, 2028. Guests will still be able to use a traditional passport or driver's license, as the Digital ID will serve as an additional method of identity verification rather than a replacement.
MAX Messenger Replaces a Passport at Check-In
Guests will open the "Tsifrovoy ID" (Digital ID) section in the MAX messenger, select their passport details, and present a barcode to the hotel employee. After the barcode is scanned, the information will automatically populate the registration form. The feature will be available to adult citizens, including those checking in with children. The technology has already been tested at selected hotels in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Sochi. In practice, the pilot showed that the service significantly reduces check-in time and eliminates the need to complete registration forms by hand.
Software Updates and Staff Training
The Digital ID service is being adopted in a growing number of everyday interactions that require proof of identity, age, or eligibility for benefits. The hotel industry was selected as one of the first large-scale deployment areas because guest registration routinely involves document verification and the processing of substantial volumes of personal data. MAX developers already describe the Digital ID as an electronic way to access passport and driver's license information, verify a person's age, and confirm eligibility for benefits. Over time, the Digital ID is expected to integrate directly with hotel property management information systems.
That integration would automate not only identity verification but also document completion, submission of mandatory guest registration data, issuance of digital room keys, and remote check-in. At the same time, hotels will need to update their software, deploy barcode scanning equipment, train employees, and comply with data protection requirements. If those requirements are successfully met, the digital tools developed for the project could also be offered internationally as ready-to-deploy platform solutions. Within Russia, the same Digital ID technology is also expected to expand into additional sectors.
Backed by Major Cities
In 2023, the President of Russia signed Decree No. 695, allowing citizens, in cases defined by the government, to present information from official documents through a mobile application instead of paper originals. Based on that decree, the government subsequently approved specific scenarios for using digital documents. In 2025, it also adopted rules governing the use of mobile applications for that purpose. The Ministry of Economic Development later drafted regulations allowing hotel guests to present a Digital ID instead of a conventional passport.
In April of this year, selected hotels in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Sochi began accepting barcodes generated from the "Tsifrovoy ID" section of the MAX messenger. In June, the government adopted Resolution No. 674, establishing the deadlines by which hotels must begin accepting Digital IDs.
Large Hotels Will Speed Up Guest Service
Over the next several years, the Digital ID is likely to be integrated gradually with hotel platforms, reservation systems, and remote check-in services. The greatest impact is expected at large hotel chains, where high guest volumes make every minute spent serving each customer especially important.
The project's success will depend on the reliability of the MAX messenger infrastructure, the quality of its integration with hotel systems, and public confidence in digital identity documents. Developers need to anticipate potential issues and resolve them before guests encounter them. Meanwhile, hotel operators will need to explain that while hotels are required to accept the Digital ID, citizens are not required to rely on it, and conventional identity documents will remain valid.
