After a recent visit to the Hotel Angeleno in Los Angeles, I noticed something interesting. Instead of being offered a taxi, I was offered a Uber from the hotel. I found this interesting and wanted to know how it worked so I looked on their site.

Hotel Angeleno allows guests to “Request Uber at the Front Desk and have Uber charges directly billed to your room!  The first hotel In Los Angeles to feature this Uber Central service”

This hotel allows guests to request Ubers and then have them charged through a relatively new service called Uber Central.

UberCENTRAL works on any tablet and web browser, and is available beginning today in the US and Canada. Here are some of the unique features that UberCENTRAL offers:

• Multiple ride requests from a single account. Simply enter the customer’s name, phone number, pickup address, and destination, and an Uber will be on the way. Manage multiple rides at once and keep tabs on trips from one central place.
• No smartphone, no problem. Once the ride is requested, your customer receives an SMS with details about their trip and driver, including a link to a live map, to ensure a seamless pickup experience.
• Simple admin tools. Configure all of your business locations, and centralize billing and reporting.

Bottom Line

Whether you’re a fan of Uber or not, this technology is something I’ve never seen before. However, other type of businesses are using this. Some mentions include Bloomingdale’s (long day of shopping, they’ll get you a ride home), Sunset Porsche (if you car is being serviced, they’ll request you a Uber home), and even health care providers.

Back to Hotel Angeleno, it seems that the hotel is using this for their guests but then manually charging the guests. I could see how at upper scale properties, instead of a house car, the hotel could offer guests a Uber within a few miles. I think there’s a lot of potential here, and look forward to see how it’s gonna be rolled out to more hotels over the coming months.

Have you ever been to a business using Uber Central before? Let us know in the comments below!