Imagine arriving at a hotel and going straight to your room. That will happen soon at hotels across the country.
Starting Wednesday, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide will introduce SPG Keyless, a program that will allow guests to check into –and get into–their rooms through their smartphones via an app.
Starwood has been testing out the program at the Aloft Harlem in New York and the Aloft Cupertino in California. On Wednesday, the Stamford, Conn.-company will start rolling it out to Aloft, Element and W Hotels worldwide. SPG Keyless will make its debut in hotels in Beijing, Hong Kong, New York, Los Angeles, and Doha.
Hilton Worldwide also plans on letting guests get into their rooms with their phones. In the spring and summer of 2015, Hilton Honors members staying at U.S. properties at Hilton Hotels and Resorts, Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts, Conrad Hotels and Resorts and Canopy by Hilton brands will be able to use their smartphones as keys.
Many hotel companies have recently been experimenting with keyless lock technology as companies have fine-tuned their locks. Typically, the keys are activated through smartphone apps. When guests check in through the app, the hotel will send them their room number and activate the phone as a key though technology such as Bluetooth LE.
“It solves a pain point that no one has been able to solve in this space,” says Mark Vondrasek, senior vice president at Starwood.
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SOURCE: USA Today
Nancy Trejos
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