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Case study · Cafés & private loungesAmmar's Cafe in Jeddah runs a private rooftop lounge, the Private Hall, reserved for VIP members. Instead of a host with a guest list, the door is security-managed and opens when a member presents their Wally Membership card from Apple Wallet or Google Wallet.
Ammar's Cafe is a coffee shop in Jeddah with something most cafés do not have: a private rooftop lounge, the Private Hall, reserved for VIP members. Exclusivity only works if the door holds. A host checking names is slow and awkward, and plastic VIP cards get shared, lost and copied.
The café put the membership in the wallet. Each VIP member holds a black Wally Membership pass with the Private Hall title in Arabic, their name and a masked member ID. The rooftop door is security-managed with a Wally NFC reader: present the card, the reader validates it, the door opens.
Membership is administered from the Wally dashboard. New members receive their pass by link, renewals update the existing pass, and a lapsed or revoked membership stops working at the door the moment it is changed.
Ammar's Cafe approves a VIP member in the Wally dashboard and sends the pass by link or QR code.
The member adds the black Private Hall card to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. No app, no account.
At the entrance the member presents the card to the reader. The reader validates the membership and releases the door.
Renewals, upgrades and revocations are made in the dashboard and reach the pass and the door instantly.
Figures reported by Ammar's Cafe after launch, compared with the previous programme.
The member holds their phone to the reader at the rooftop entrance. The door unlocks for valid passes only.
The lounge is reserved for members holding the card. Walk-ins stay on the main floor.
Membership changes push to the pass and the door at once, with no cards to collect or reprint.
A members-only lounge is only as exclusive as its door. Moving the check from a host to a reader made the rule enforceable and the welcome warmer.
A black, Arabic-first pass in the wallet is something members show friends. Design does part of the marketing.
The value of a VIP tier depends on lapsed members not getting in. Instant revocation is what plastic could never do.
Door taps show who uses the lounge and how often, which is the list to invite to tastings and launches first.
“Members show their phone and the door opens. It feels exclusive without anyone standing there checking names.”
Five decisions from the Ammar's Cafe programme that transfer to any cafés & private lounges operator.
Put the membership check on the door, not on a person. Staff should greet, not screen.
Design the pass in your members' first language. It is the object they will show off.
Mask identifiers on the card face and verify by tap plus name.
Treat revocation as a feature: publish clear renewal dates and let the door enforce them.
Use access events to segment members by engagement before sending invitations or offers.
The door is security-managed with a Wally NFC reader. When a member presents their membership card from Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, the reader validates it against the live membership list and releases the door.
The pass is updated or revoked from the dashboard and the door stops accepting it immediately. There is no plastic card to retrieve.
Yes. The Ammar's Cafe card carries the lounge name in Arabic as its main element. Wally passes support Arabic and right-to-left layouts on both wallets.
No. The card lives in the wallet and the member simply holds their phone to the reader.
Yes. Wally readers integrate with electric locks and access controllers, so the same approach works for members' clubs, gyms, coworking spaces and hotel lounges.
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