In today’s age with technology, you can do almost everything with your smart phone and the latest thing that your device can do is unlock your hotel guest room.
Per this USA Today article, more and more hotels are going to mobile hotel keys.
Door lock vendors have developed the technology to let smartphones function as keys, and the hotel industry is starting to experiment with it.
The keys are activated through smartphone apps. When guests check in through the app, the hotel sends them their room numbers and enables the phones to act as virtual keys. Sensors in the door can detect and verify the phone through technology such as Bluetooth LE. There’s no need to wait in line at the front desk.
“We’re eliminating keys,” Phil Dumas, president of UniKey, which is partnering with Miwa Lock to offer keyless entry, said at this week’s HITEC hospitality technology conference. “You can completely bypass the front desk.”
Starwood Hotels and Resorts is testing out virtual keys on iPhones and Androids at the Aloft Harlem in New York and Aloft Cupertino in California. The company plans to roll it out to other hotel brands next year.
InterContinental Hotels Group and Marriott are not testing mobile keys, but they have introduced mobile check-in, which lets guests bypass the front desk if they choose. Marriott offers both mobile check-in and checkout at 500 Marriott hotels and plans to expand it to other brands.
Hotel Tonight, the last-minute hotel room booking mobile app, said this week it would offer mobile check-in and “keyless entry” powered by Brivo Labs on Android devices. The technology won’t work unless the hotels install compatible hardware on their door locks. Hotel Tonight says it is in talks with major global hotel brands to adopt the technology.
Bottom Line
I think it’s only a matter of time before all the major hotel companies go to mobile keys. However, I wouldn’t want to be locked out of my room if my phone battery died.
Are you a fan of mobile keys or do you still prefer the old fashion key card?
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I have the ability to lock and unlock my house on my iPhone.
I can also see if my garage doors are open and operate them from my iPhone.
I am installing cameras and connecting to my security system next.
I work in Mississippi and live in Connecticut so this makes my life much easier.
The new responsibility is to keep my phone charged. The old responsibility was not to lose my key. No different really but I do have a small booster pack on my key ring so even if the phone dies, I always can charge enough to do what I need.
Makes sense to me but my wife doesn’t like it.
CB
As of now I totally prefer key cards for a simple reason: don’t have a smartphone.
A complete change of the system without backup would mean that the guest is expected to have the necessary tools. Though, if he checks in using the app, he obviously has that 😉
I think it would be great if for some time doors would work with both.
And maybe in a year or two I will convert, too 😉