Smartphones to be used as hotel room keys
The key card could become a thing of the past after a hotel chain announced it would allow guests to access their rooms using their smartphones.
By Nick Collins
The iPhone, BlackBerry and Android phones would be compatable Photo: AP
The technology, to be trialled at two hotels next month, would mean that guests could choose to avoid the hassle of checking in at the front desk.
Instead, they would download an application to their mobile device that would enable them to open their door simply by holding their phone to a sensor.
Testing will take place for at least 60 days at the Holiday Inn Chicago O'Hare Rosemont and the Holiday Inn Express Houston Downtown Convention Center, starting next month.
Bryson Koehler, an executive at InterContinental Hotels group, told USA Today: "The holy grail item for us is to simplify the room-key hand-off moment at the hotel.
"We don't need to burden people with additional items; it just clutters up their lives. The beauty of the smart phone is that they've already got it."
He said the technology would be compatible with most smartphones, including the iPhone, BlackBerry and Android phone.
If the trial is successful, it could be extended across the company's hotel network with sensors fitted to about one in five of each hotel's rooms.
[ via Telegraph ]
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