Hilton Guests to Use Their Smartphone as Room Key

Hilton Worldwide today announced its guests will have choice and control over their entire hotel stay with the ability to check-in and choose their exact room from digital floor plans, as well as customize their stay by purchasing upgrades and making special requests for items to be delivered to their room, on their mobile devices, tablets and computers.

Guests also will be able to check-out using these personal technology devices. By the end of 2014, digital check-in and room selection will be available at more than 4,000 Hilton Worldwide properties across 11 brands in 80-plus countries via members’ Hilton HHonors accounts.

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The company piloted an initial version of digital check-in more than five years ago, and in 2012 it launched Conrad Concierge, a hospitality software application that enables guests to customize their hotel experience through their tablets or smartphones.

Going forward, Hilton anticipates delivering further digital advancements to guests every six to eight weeks.

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Next year, the company will begin to equip its hotel rooms with the technology for doors to be unlocked with guests’ smartphones, enabling them to go straight to their rooms upon arrival.

For now, once they arrive on property, guests simply pick up their room key from the front desk, a streamlined process since the guest’s payment information and other details are already verified through their Hilton HHonors account prior to arrival.