Imagine a hotel where you do
not have to wait at the reception to get your key after a long and exhausting
day. Imagine a hotel where you can simply enter the reception and walk to your
room. Today, it becomes possible in more and more hotels, thanks to the direct
check-in and keyless technology.
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Direct check in the first step
to an automated check in. How does it work? First, guests need to download the
hotel application and during the 24 hours before arrival, they register and
check in online. After this key step, two solutions are available depending on
the hotel; in the Premiere Classe hotel in France for example, guests have to
stop at the entrance to get their keycard from the kiosk. Same service is
available in the US in Mariott and Intercontinental hotels. In the B&B
hotels, clients register on the hotel application and on the arrival day, they get
a message on their smartphone with their room number and access code, no key is
needed at all!
Some hotels go further in the
keyless technology, using smartphones’ Bluetooth to unlock the rooms’ doors. It
is the case of the Starwood Hotels and Resorts, which was the first chain to
launch this technology in November, 5th 2014 in three Starwood
brands: Aloft, Element and W. Keyless technology is also coming by the end of
2015 in Hilton Group hotels. After downloading the hotel application and
registering online, guests receive a notification approximatively 24 hours
before arrival. Once at the hotel, they just have to walk to their room and
hand their phone with activated Bluetooth on the room door. The door will open!
It is a true gain of time for
guests who do not want to queue at the reception and it definitely enhance the
experience, adding a touch of comfort and novelty to the stay!
It looks like the
implementation of direct check-in and keyless rooms is more suitable for
business guests, and frequent travelers as they are less looking for human
interaction whereas leisure guests are more likely to enjoy a chat with the
receptionist to know more about the hotel and the destination. But using this
technology or not is always a choice, as hotels keep receptionists available
for traditional checks-in. Nevertheless, by bypassing the desk for some
customers, the time allocated to check-in can increase for the other customers
and receptionists will be more available for other tasks.
For hotels, implementing
direct checks-in and keyless technology is clearly a competitive advantage, as
we can imagine that the benefits for the guests will attract more customers to
the hotel. Moreover, it only works for direct channels bookings (brand.com,
brand apps, call centers, etc.), thus it enhances direct booking which are
preferred by hotels and increases loyalty. Furthermore, companies like
Starwood, intend not to stop here and keep on developing new technologies to
optimize the direct check-in. Starwood plans to use its keyless system via the
Apple Watch, that has just been launched, and upgrading at the same time the
technology to offer not only a room key but a personalized warm welcome to its
guests when they first enter their room. Again, the objective is to gain a
competitive advantage compare to the other hotels and to increase customer
satisfaction and loyalty by customizing their residents’ stay.
Nevertheless, this new
technology has limits: it is currently available only for special guests that
are members of the fidelity program for example. Indeed, if we take the example
of the Starwoods hotels, keyless rooms can only be booked by the Starwood
Preferred Guest (SPG). Moreover, the costs of adapting the lock on every door
will be very high, meaning that this technology will probably not be available
in the close future for small and independent hotels running on a limited
budget. Finally, there is always the risk of a bug in the system, which will
force the guests to go to the reception anyway.
We think that this kind of
technology helps the hospitality industry to move forward. The sector, which is
traditionally slow to innovate, can take advantage of the information and
communication technologies to improve its services. Both industries are indeed
a real match since they are dealing with intangible products and services that
are directed to people. In our opinion the keyless system is a way to enhance
the customer relationship management by using devices and technologies used by
the targeted guests. The strategy is therefore consistent and such technologies
will probably spread in the medium term.
Florence Autier & Marie Lallement
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