Bypass the Front Desk with a Cell Phone
Jackie Binion | 17 October 2006 |
If you have a phone, you can bypass checking in to a hotel and go straight to your room. Don’t believe it? While this scenario is not widely available, it will be soon.
European hotels are testing a system made by VingCard that enables door locks on rooms to be accessible by NFC enabled phones. The Near Field Communication phones can communicate with the door locks for a contactless entry. Although this form of entry is in pilot form now, it will be in the U.S. soon. VingCard will demo the system at the International Hotel/Motel and Restaurant show in New York.
How does this technology work?
Guests make a reservation and at some point in the process are offered an NFC room key option. Before check-in, the hotel will assign the guest a room. An SMS message (Short Message Service or text message) will be sent to the guest’s phone with room assignment and an encrypted file containing the room key.
Now guests can bypass the front desk and go straight to their room. How will this affect travelers’ need for personal service? Please submit your thoughts in the Comments field, below.
Check out Contactless News for the full story.
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