Cellphones may soon replace hotel key cards
December 21, 2009 by Valerie HelmbreckPosted in: Budgets and spending, Gadgets, Green technology, Software, Special Report, Travel and entertainment, cell phone, e-commerce, mobile technology, smartphones
One of the biggest hassles of travel has to be keeping track of those pesky hotel key cards and then trying to remember which way to fit the darned things in the wide variety of door locks. But that may soon change.
New technology’s been introduced and will soon be test marketed in Las Vegas hotels that allows guests to use their cell phones — any cell phone model at all — to unlock their hotel room door.
This new system doesn’t use the much-touted, but slow-to-develop Near-Field Communication (a technology that would let guests receive an encrypted message on their mobile devices, which then signals the locking system to unlock the door).
Instead, a French company called Openways has come up with a simple system in which a computer generates a unique series of tones (that sounds kind of like those digitized cell phone ringtones used early this decade) that is then sent to the mobile device.
When the tone is played outside the designated guestroom, a microphone incorporated in the locking system IDs the tone and unlocks the door.
The key advantages to this technology:
- It works with any of the 4 billion cell phone used worldwide
- The technology’s also compatible with any cell phone carrier
- Phones need no new software or hardware to operate the system (however, Openways is developing an iPhone app that would allow users to store the tone in advance, without needing network to recall it. This way, guests could check into their hotel online, get a key tone and go directly to their room, bypassing tedious check-in)
- The system uses highly secure encryption technology
- It integrates easily with all major lock technologies, and
- Organizations that want to “go green” will appreciate the absence of plastic.
The Openways key solution is just one of the new technologies that will soon be hitting hotels around the world. There’s plenty of software currently being designed that will allow hotel guests to manage their stays via mobile apps.
While these will make it easier for guests to do everything from checking in to ordering room service via a handheld device (one that the guest either owns or is loaned for their stay), they’ll also allow hotels to collect, store and analyze the most minute data on visitors.
Management will be able to assemble details on guest behavior and preferences, allowing them to more efficiently order supplies, schedule staff, customize stays and up-sell their guests specialized services.
To read more about the technology developments that are hitting the hotel industry, click here.
FinanceTechNews.com delivers the latest Finance news once a week to the inboxes of over 150,000 Finance professionals.
Click here to sign up and start your FREE subscription to FinanceTechNews!
Tags: applications, hotel, key card, marketing, Openways, replace, technology
December 22nd, 2009 at 10:27 am
whats green about using a cellphone when its charged using the same fossil fuel to generate electricity?
December 22nd, 2009 at 11:43 am
Thoughts:
1) If I am too drunk/inebriated/nontechie to figure out how to use a door slide card with just 4 possible combinations, how will I remember what keys to press to recall the tones?
2) So, let’s go use the pool. I’ll just slip my phone into my trunks…
December 22nd, 2009 at 11:59 am
What about security. Seems like another person nearby could record the tones when you are opening your door.
December 22nd, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Is this a loud, audible tone? If it is then that means I will hear my neighbors opening their doors at all hours of the day of night. Convenient to use but may turn in to an annoyance quickly.
December 22nd, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Yes, the “biggest hassle of travel” is keeping track of the one key that I get at a hotel. I’d rather have to fumble with a cell phone trying to figure out why the door isn’t unlocking and having to call tech support at 2AM.
December 22nd, 2009 at 12:06 pm
[...] and with news that the federal government is banning flight delays, I stopped short when I read this techology pitch: One of the biggest hassles of travel has to be keeping track of those pesky hotel key cards and [...]
December 22nd, 2009 at 12:11 pm
This is the dumbest idea a nerdy dork who never have to travel for work idea I have ever heard of. Like Al says, am I supposed to leave my phone on the chair by the pool so some one can snag it or do it ruin my phone by jumping into the water with it? You do know that phone carries alot more important information than my room lock code. What about family vacations, multiple cell phones open tha same door? What about kids? Don’t get carried away with your dorkiness. I don’t even like the slide cards, because if there is an electrical problem the doors don’t open. Old fashioned keys are still the best, but not as secure as electric cards. But cellphones, not everyone wants an I-Phone or Blackberry. Great now more things to increase my memory use, since I am a road warrior. So is Tiger going to have to carry spare cell phones to slip to the waitresses when he wants to have a secret liason?
December 22nd, 2009 at 12:12 pm
I would think these tones should be easy enough to emulate to by pass the security features… Wouldn’t this be opening up huge hole in hotel security.
December 22nd, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Funny. I think that they will end up issuing the plastic AND the phones for a while, so they can immediately offer the “speed check-in” afforded by the phones.
December 22nd, 2009 at 12:54 pm
a problem in many casino’s is that you cannot get service and your phone is always searching and that burns out your battery, so if you go to your room and your cell battery is dead, hmmm are they going to have to put a charger on the door too?
December 22nd, 2009 at 1:25 pm
This is clearly a case of iphone insanity. What if you have poor cellular reception? what if the battery dies? Sometimes new is not necessarily better. I also see security holes here.
December 22nd, 2009 at 1:46 pm
I hope the right people read the comments here. There are a lot of good reasons not to move forward with this idea – one of the biggest being the possibility of someone coming up with a listening device that records a tone sequence. All it would take to gain entry would be to replay the tone. Anything that is broadcast can be intercepted and compromised. This is not a feature I would ever use.
December 22nd, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Ted is spot on. This *IS* a perfect example of dork technology.
Yet another lesson in how to make a simple process cumbersome, error-prone and user-UNfriendly.
Just because something is possible does NOT make it smart.
Besides, many hotel guests won’t HAVE cell phones….I certainly don’t carry one when I’m vacationing with family.
December 22nd, 2009 at 5:12 pm
This is just a great way for hotels to capture your cell phone number.
December 22nd, 2009 at 6:09 pm
[...] There’s an App for that — your iPhone is your Hotel Room Key. [...]
December 23rd, 2009 at 2:46 am
OpenWays uses the the principle of Crypto Acoustic Credential (TM).
Each sound is uniquen encrypted and becomes obsolete as soosn as it is plaid.
This means that even if the a bad guy records the sounds, the replay will not work to open the lock.
Finally it is not loud as it makes no more noise than what you hear when someone talks to you in the phone. The use of the loud speaker is not required.
Finally, the OpenWays 4 founders have all over 15 years of expertise in security.
December 24th, 2009 at 5:03 am
Simply want to say your article is stunning. The lucidity in your post is simply impressive and i can assume you are an expert on this field. Well with your permission allow me to grab your rss feed to keep up to date with incoming post. Thanks a million and please keep up the delightful work
December 28th, 2009 at 10:22 am
I think all of the points above are very valid. If what Pascal says is true then I assume the hotel is “constantly” sending new tones to you…at the very least every time you unlock the door you need a new tone.
To Rachel’s point, does this mean we will start to receive marketing calls/texts on our cell phones?
December 28th, 2009 at 10:22 am
I think all of the points above are very valid. If what Pascal says is true then I assume the hotel is “constantly” sending new tones to you…at the very least every time you unlock the door you need a new tone.
To Rachel’s point, does this mean we will start to receive marketing calls/texts on our cell phones?
Don’t forget to take your phone with you when you go for ice!!
December 28th, 2009 at 11:06 am
What happens when the phone battery dies and the reason the person was going to their room was to recharge it? I would rather them use voice recognition, retna scans or even thumb printing. Of course there would be personal privacy issues, but guess what, the moment you touch the door knob, they have your prints anyway. Heck, let’s all just spit on a scensor and use DNA to open the door.
December 28th, 2009 at 11:50 am
I’m in R&D for a major lock manufacturer and I’m laughing at this idea right now.
Good attempt to remove cost from the lock, but nitch market at best.
December 29th, 2009 at 6:06 am
Hi Pat,
Your are exactly right the OpenWays solutions delivers a new unique sound everytime.
Sounds can be obtained real time or securely stored in the phone.
They have a time limit for usage and extra security valodation can be required (Ie PIN code or Voice biometric validation by talking to your phone).
In all cases the abolute advantage of the solution is to be compatible with all the cell phone on the planet (Over 4 billion cell phones in service to day). The solution is agnostic to both the carriers and the Operating System of the handset.
BR
Pascal
December 29th, 2009 at 6:12 am
Dear Troy,
I respect your opinion.
The major world manufacturers are working at embedding the OpenWays solution as we speak.
It must be for a reason.
Equally major end user Key Accounts are making the OpenWays solution a new standard. Major RFP’s will include the need for being OpenWays compatible.
I assume we have not talk with you yet. Sorry for that.
We remain at your disposal to give you more specific details: pmetivier@openways.com.
BR
Pascal
December 29th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
After seeing yor replies to some of the obvious concerns above, Im no longer laughing, as it sounds like you have a well thought out system. Perhaps it is worth a serious look. We don’t typically play in the hotel market, but rather government and military, so to imagine our customers using this type of system would present an entirely new set of challenges(phones not allowed everywhere on base, ect..). To a swanky high tech hotel or even a college campus, this may be a unique and attractive solution. Even such, I don’t see prox or mag being completely replaced by this technology, but rather your solution offered as a novel second option. I’m interested to see how you market it. Will the lock take other credentials as well as the sound byte?
December 30th, 2009 at 9:02 am
How does the hotel know that the guest has actually arrived without waiting for a housekeeping inspection or sending a human to check the room? An online lock system could potentially notify the hotel’s PMS of lock access via an interface but what about in a stand-alone lock environment?
What are the integration requirements for PMS/CRS/Profile Management/lock systems and Openways?
In the case of room shares can multiple phones be used simultaneously?
December 31st, 2009 at 5:23 am
Dear Kevin
The OpenWays server notifies the PMS as soons as the guest releases the key from its phone.
If multiple guests and multiple phones each phone key release is tracked individually. This information can be sent to the PMS as well.
Interfaces:
The Openways solution is designed to leverage existing interfaces. In particular, it leverages the interfaces initially developped for KIOSK applications.
To futher illustrate, OpenWays formed a strategic alliance with MICROS FIDELIO to futher inhance interfaces for a complete Hospitality mobile strategy offering with a full suite of mobile services.
As for electronic locking systems, OpenWays is compatible with the major e-lock providers.
The OpenWays solution is sold through a network of integarting partners that include the lock providers, the PMS/CRS companies and the KIOSK providers.
Best regards and Happy New Year
Pascal
January 7th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
Dear Troy,
Sorry for this late answer.
Yes the lock or access control reader continues to handle the other form of credential.
Also and more interesting the Crypto Acoustic Credential principle allows for transporting and delivering to the lock/reader third parties credential encrypted data string.
I am at you disposal for further details: pmetivier@openways.com
Best regards
Pascal
January 10th, 2010 at 3:59 am
I look forward to reading your posts. Thanks for all the work!
January 19th, 2010 at 11:34 am
Hey…I came across your blog on Bing and I like its content…I will definetely visit again
February 20th, 2010 at 11:14 am
I think this is an awesome advancement for hotel room access. It will save time for both hotel employees and guests. With so many hotels moving to the self checkin-in kiosks, the phone key will eliminate the potential problem of the kiosk running out of key cards. It is also a great way to reduce costs and thus prices guests pay.
In comparison to traditional key card lock systems will this system be expensive for hotels to implement at first?
February 22nd, 2010 at 7:21 am
Dear Maire,
The OpenWays system can be added to existing lock with a simple retrofit kit or can be built in from the lock factory in case of new locks. OpenWays works with the major lock manufacturers.
The add on cost to the lock is modest. Also the business model is mostly driven by a “pay as you check guests in” concept. In addition to an obvious added value service to guests the ROI calculation models are very positive (Both in EBITA and Cash flow lift).
Thank you again for your interest.
Best regards
Pascal
March 2nd, 2010 at 1:44 am
well, why don’t we just get rid of front desk staff and add another astronomical number to the unemployment line? yes, there probably are some genuine benefits to this process. however, being that i have been a member of the service industry, in some fashion, my entire working career, i personally view it as another way to eliminate actual SERVICE from the service industry. to not be able to put a name w/the face of a guest checking in? very impersonal. also, maybe it’s because i work the 3rd shift, but what are these check-in hassles that people are speaking of? the hotel that i am currently employed at has a speedy check-in process that is followed, usually, to a tee. it literally takes less than 2 MINUTES to check-in. w/the exception of when you have 30 military men and women come in at once. what happens when you have a group of high schoolers come in w/a block of 45 rooms? what happens when there is an outage or some kind of glitch in the system that shorts the locks out and i have 60 people in the middle of 4th of july weekend that can’t get into their rooms and have to wait for some kind of tech support? do they still issue key cards as a back up? what then? someone earlier in the thread said something along the lines of “just b/c the technology is there and is capable, doesn’t mean it should be done”. i couldn’t agree more. there’s security issues all around, convenient or not.