HITEC: OpenWays Showcases Green Check-In Solution
OpenWays’ Mobile Key, together with Ariane Systems and KABA Saflok, will showcase a joint Mobile Key front-desk bypass solution at HITEC 2011. The 100% automated self-service check-in solution, which brings together Ariane System's Allegro check-in system and Saflok's RT next-generation RFID locking system with factory-installed OpenWays Mobile Key built in, that was recently commissioned in Scandinavia. The ambitious integrated solution was deployed first in Oslo, Norway, and will be showcased for the first time in the U.S. at HITEC, June 21 to 23 at the Austin (Texas) Convention Center in Booths 1834 and 107.
Thomas Westergaard, senior vice president Comfort Hotels at Nordic Choice Hotels, says the Mobile Key check-in process pushed the envelope even further for the brand to create an entirely new breed of hotel. “When we began to develop our new Comfort Xpress concept, we decided to start from scratch and totally abandon the traditional rules by which most hotels today operate, instead pioneering new technologies that are designed to increase cost-efficiency and guest convenience, while also promoting environmental responsibility," says Westergaard. "The airline industry automated the check-in process 10 years ago, and we feel it is time that the hotel industry follows suit.
"By maximizing the use of new technologies and offering increased self-service options, we are able to cater to the needs of our guests while making operational cost savings that can be passed along to them in the form of lower rates," he continues. "Offering this joint technology integration represents a smarter way to check-in, and we are proud to be setting a new standard.”
The OpenWays/Ariane/Saflok solution will continue to be deployed at several Nordic Choice properties throughout 2011 and 2012.
Environmental responsibility
Unlike other smart check-in solutions that require the sending of millions of expensive contactless-based loyalty cards (and therefore millions of pounds of plastic and carbon), OpenWays is truly sustainable. Plastic cards used by other proposed "smart check-in" programs are made of PVC, which is highly polluting and highly toxic when eventually disposed in waste treatment facilities. Mobile Keys, on the other hand, are made of only data and therefore are not harmful to the environment or end up in landfills.
Unlike other smart check-in solutions that require the sending of millions of expensive contactless-based loyalty cards (and therefore millions of pounds of plastic and carbon), OpenWays is truly sustainable. Plastic cards used by other proposed "smart check-in" programs are made of PVC, which is highly polluting and highly toxic when eventually disposed in waste treatment facilities. Mobile Keys, on the other hand, are made of only data and therefore are not harmful to the environment or end up in landfills.
OpenWays is 100% compatible with all cell phones and network technologies. It also:
- Aids in a hotel’s e-marketing efforts by providing a vehicle for continual communications with the guest before, during and after his/her stay
- Helps hotels to deploy value-added mobile applications, including loyalty programs, widgets, Web2Mobile, etc., with automatic hardware and carrier detection allowing for full content compatibility
- Interfaces with central-reservation systems, property-management systems and the major electronic-locking systems on the market today
- Supports the integration of pre-payment and post-payment solutions.
Currently, a number of major hotel chains are preparing for the deployment of the joint OpenWays/Ariane/Saflok solution in North America.
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