More Hotels Turn to Self-Service

Apr 05, 05 | 7:42 am

Hotels have been testing the waters of self-service check-in for more than a year, and they are now embracing it on a wide scale.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation plans to install the machines at more than 100 of its properties in North America and the Caribbean by the end of the year. The kiosks allow guests to swipe a credit card, select certain room options and obtain card keys to their rooms, or to check out and print receipts at the end of their stays.

Starwood Hotels and Resorts, which has check-in kiosks at 10 of its Sheraton hotels, plans to install them at another 100 Sheraton properties this year (about half of its hotels in North America). Holiday Inn Hotels announced that it was testing lobby check-in kiosks and that it hoped to begin rolling them out in July. It is the first midprice hotel group to offer the feature.

The Hilton Hotel Corporation has kiosks in 44 of its hotels, and recently announced plans to install them at its Embassy Suites properties.

Hilton is also testing online check-in, now available only to elite members of its HHonors program. But Radisson Hotels & Resorts offers Web check-in to all of its guests, enabling customers to check in at Radisson.com up to seven days before they arrive.

"All they have to do is walk into the hotel and show their ID and we will hand them their key packet and they're ready to go," said Kris Lambrecht, director of Radisson's Web check-in program.

Source: The New York Times