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Technology has been a vital component of the Starwood’s Aloft DNA from day one, when the “first” Aloft hotel made its debut in virtual reality on Second Life.
Aloft Hotels feature intuitive, high-tech features throughout their public spaces and guest rooms, ensuring guests are always plugged in and connected. Guest rooms provide a calm oasis that is combination high-tech office and entertainment centre, thanks to the plug & play, a one-stop connectivity solution that links multiple electronic gadgets at once such as PDAs, cell phones, mp3 players and laptops, to a 42” flat-panel HDTV-ready television for optimal sound and viewing.
Now, after a very successful pilot in the Aloft Harlem at the start of this year, the brand will roll out its pioneering automatic check-in programme using RFID technology at five more hotels with Aloft London being the first property outside the US to adopt this innovation.
“Aloft guests never settle for a traditional hotel experience, and they’ve embraced the Smart Check-In revolution with tremendous enthusiasm,” said Brian McGuinness, Senior Vice President, Specialty Select Brands for Starwood. “For our associates, freedom from traditional check-in procedures means they can spend more time engaging with guests and enhancing the social atmosphere that’s made Aloft such a huge hit.”
Running on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, Smart Check-In caters to a new generation of guests on the go who are more interested in high-tech than high-touch service. The programme works in three steps:
- Select Starwood Preferred Guest® (SPG) members who opt to participate in the programme receive a new enhanced SPG / Aloft-branded RFID key card.
- On the day of a planned stay, a text message is sent to the guest’s mobile device with their room number.
- Once at the hotel, guests can skip the check-in line and go straight to their room, where their key card will unlock the door – giving guests control of their check-in experience in the palms of their hands.
“We’re actually handling the transaction for you,” says McGuinness. “Technology is allowing us to do that.”
The SPG / Aloft-branded RFID key card may eventually act as an all-access pass throughout the Aloft stay, allowing guests to purchase cocktails and bites at the hotel’s buzzing w xyz® bar, sundries at the re:stock retail kiosk and snacks at re:fuel by aloftSM , the Aloft brand’s deli-style, grab-and-go pantry. The pilot programme partner is VingCard Elsafe, a cutting-edge security technology leader for the hospitality industry.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
