Old-fashioned room keys are exactly that nowadays-old fashioned. It seems like the check-in desk may be heading the same way. Increasingly hotels around the world are moving to electronic and kiosk check-in systems, as the New York Times recently reported. Luddites and the nostalgic will no doubt complain, but for the business traveller it is excellent news. After a long trip, few things irritate more than a 30-minute queue to get your hands on a room key. Widespread adoption of kiosks (like the ones in the airport) and electronic check-in services (by which you receive a numeric door code in an e-mail) will make checking-in far faster. Machines don't get paid by the hour, get distracted, nor impatient with guests (though users sometimes get frustrated with them). They are the future.
Presumably hotels will cheer the arrival of technology that reduces labour costs. Hotel workers' unions, however, might not be so happy. But letting technology-savvy customers use electronic check-in systems will free staff to help the customers who hold up queues-the ones who demand different rooms and who have endless lists of questions and complaints. It should also leave remaining hotel workers with more interesting-although perhaps more stressful-duties: they will only have to deal with the customers whom the computers can't satisfy.
In the longer term, the broader use of technology will differentiate hotels. Budget and mid-range ones will likely rely on electronic check-in systems (much like airlines), whereas fancier establishments will offer a wider range of options and a more personalised service. For example, staff with iPads are already in place at some hotels, ready to personally greet a set of guests as they walk through the door. Society as a whole will have to grapple with the idea of technology replacing service jobs. But for business travellers who just want to get to their rooms and hop into bed, anything that speeds up the process is progress.
Source: Gulliver on The Economist
