Are Hotel Keycards A Thing Of The Past?

Ever had that embarrassing moment when you can't find your hotel key card after a long night of drinking and socialising? Perhaps you left it on the table by th...

By Harry Fielder

CEO & Co-Founder

Harry is our fearless leader aka CEO at Umi. He's half developer, half marketer so his key role is turning our clients business goals into robust software and creative marketing solutions. When not in the office you'll find him out and about sharing his knowledge and insights to the masses at a multitude of events. In his free time he's still about the tech and most likely tinkering away with his custom PC. Side note: he's quite tall.

Ever had that embarrassing moment when you can't find your hotel key card after a long night of drinking and socialising? Perhaps you left it on the table by the bar or inside that tapas restaurant by the beach. Either way, no one wants to have that awkward conversation with the night manager to let you into your own hotel room at 10 past midnight.

However, perhaps next time you're on holiday it may be worth accidentally taking your hotel card and slipping it into your pocket to keep as a memento, as soon they may become part of  hotelier history. New Bluetooth technology has already begun being introduced to hotel chains such as the Hilton and Louvre to help simplify hotel room access.

Instead of physical cards guests can now simply use the Bluetooth capability on his/her smart phone to unlock their hotel rooms. This new technology is set to revolutionise the way customers enter and exit their hotel rooms, with guests simply receiving a notification to his/her mobile device when their hotel room is ready. Users will then be able to walk up to his/her hotel room and select an unlock button to enter.

This new technology is set to be rolled out throughout the UK in the next 5 years with large brands such as the Hilton already offering similar functionality currently to their honours members who simply have to download a smartphone app to enter their hotel room.

Pierre-Frédéric Roulot, chief executive at Louvre Hotels Group, said: "This app will prevent check-in and check-out areas from getting too busy. And employees will be able to spend more time welcoming guests and making their stay even more pleasant."

Let's just hope you don't leave your mobile phone instead!