“Keys” to Success in the Hotel Business
You probably thought hotel keys had reached their technological peak. No longer must we deal with the primitive annoyance of using a piece of metal to unlock a door.
This is the 21st century for Pete’s sake. Where a simple credit card sized piece of plastic has replaced the traditional key. Well, despite its modern simplicity, the hotel keycard has recently become subject to an even more futuristic change.
Yes, one of the latest innovations in day-to-day hotel business is changing the basic mechanism of how guests access their rooms. Instead of having one keycard per stay, some hotels are offering cards that can be used for multiple visits, even eliminating the need for guests to check in at the front desk!
Another way hotels are changing the keycard is by eliminating it. Some hotels are now allowing guests to use their cell-phones as keys. When held up to the lock, the phone uses a series of tones to allow the guest to enter, further simplifying the process.
Some hotels blame the fact that keycards can be easily demagnetized and rendered useless as a reason for the change, other reasons include simply improving customer service. Either way this innovation will definitely make staying in hotels more streamlined, efficient process. It also opens the door for speculations as to what the next innovation will be in hotel simplicity.
For the full story see what the Wall-Street Journal has to say about the latest in hotel key technology.
