Holiday Inn Express Installs ILCO Contactless 790 Lock

"We chose to work with ILCO's 790 contactless electronic locks because we wanted a state-of-the-art system in our new hotel," says Cheryl Ann Grigg, general manager, Holiday Inn Express Hotels & Suites.

In addition to the 790 locks, this Holiday Inn Express also uses ILCO's stand-alone Next Generation FDU (front desk unit) to accelerate the check-in process. The Next Generation FDU completes front desk tasks quickly and offers most of the features found in sophisticated PC-based systems. The unit encodes keycards, tracks system and access control data, programs locks, and manages and audits locks.

Grigg includes the RFID encoders and readers, and not having to swipe keycards, on her list of most useful features. Staff and guests appreciate the RFID keycards, which don't have to be inserted into a lock a certain, way thus avoiding complication for guests when entering their room. Instead, the RFID keycards are simply presented to the lock. The RFID keycards are not susceptible to demagnetizing and are also available in fobs and wristband forms.

She also appreciates the easy programming and auditing of locks. Using contactless credentials and read-write technology, management can track employee movements by auditing staff keycards. The locks can be audited via staff smartcards. Security personnel only need an audit keycard to interrogate a lock. And staff members automatically bring back audit information without maintenance staff making a special trip to download lock information.