Keyless entry systems have been slower to take off than the hype would suggest, at least for hotels – and for many properties, despite its advantages for the mobile-savvy guest, it’s one more layer of technology for the hotel to manage. “Make sure that it’s right for you and not because someone else is doing it,” advises Amitava Chatterjee, managing director of Deloitte Digital. HOTELS spoke with Chatterjee recently about implementing and managing the systems.
HOTELS: Why do you think keyless entry hasn’t been more widely adopted?
Amitava Chatterjee: One aspect is what’s under control of the hotel, and the other aspect is in the guest’s hand. Especially when you’re talking about a large hotel chain with thousands and thousands of properties, hundreds of thousands of rooms in their system, it becomes a little challenging to implement (keyless entry) if you don’t have standards and consistency in how interfaces are set up and things like that. At the hotel side alone, the permutations and combinations for ensuring interoperability becomes pretty complicated…
The other challenge is the devices. You’ve got so many different kinds of platforms, you’ve got two major computing platforms, and (you must ensure) that you have the appropriate technology implemented into the apps onto those phones to be able to take advantage of the technology.
It’s not just mobile operating systems alone, it’s hardware as well.
H: Is it just easier to have an old key or plastic key card?
AC: With a keycard, you have control over the access mechanism, and you’ve eliminated a bunch of variables. It’s tailored to your environment, and the interface is for you. It’s more management at the local level, as opposed to at the corporate level, to ensure the sanctity of interfaces and platforms.
H: Investing in new technology can sometimes be a struggle for owners. Do you think certain hotel brands lend themselves more to keyless entry than others?
AC: Like everything else, it boils down to ROI, brand positioning and what message are you trying to convey in the marketplace. If you’re over-indexing on the technology aspect, you’re giving up something else. That might be furniture, fixtures, pillows – there are tradeoffs, right?
There’s also the question of adoption. Look at what’s your client demographic mix. Is it a lot of millennials? It is Gen Z? Is it people who aren’t as comfortable using their phones, or is it the hub of their lives? I think there’s a whole slew of questions to give consideration to before diving into any technology, really. This is no different.
H: How are these systems typically received by guests?
AC: At the end of the day, it’s about choices. It’s about giving your guests a smorgasbord of choices from which to choose. And then you’re basically making life a little easier for them because you’re looking at it from their viewpoint. You’ve given them the opportunity to interact with you in a manner of their choosing.
For someone like me, who stays in hotels 125 to 150 times a year, I just want to get to my room in the fastest manner possible. And if I remembered my loyalty member and password and I had everything set up and I remember to ask for keyless entry at check-in online, I’d probably do it. But more often than not, I never have time. I barely have time to find a good seat on the plane. For me personally, I’d much rather have the ability to order room service while I’m on the way to the hotel. It’s just about choices.
H: What are some key points to remember in terms of implementing and managing these systems, especially with security in mind?
AC: Everyone is taking about security… The guests on that property are essentially isolated, there are firewalls installed, PCI-compliance, GDPR, no one has passwords on a sticky note under the desk. You’ve got all the table stakes and there’s a concern in the key lock systems. Those are appropriate concerns. The challenges are real. Companies need to really figure out how they are going to implement the safeguards.
H: Any other points to remember or keep in mind when considering keyless entry?
AC: I mentioned multiple versions of PMS and multiple versions of key lock systems. If you’re operating in an environment that is not homogenous and you’ve got all these variations, guess what? It also becomes hard to secure those environments because then you’re going around looking at individual scenarios, individual situations, and figuring out how to shore them up – as opposed to if you have got a standard cookie-cutter technology on property. Then it’s one set of rules that applies to all.
So consistency and standardization really becomes to your benefit. There are fewer variables for you to grapple with. That’s a really good point for security.
H: Regarding standardization, do you think the hotel industry is getting any closer to that, making some traction?
AC: There are standards in certain systems like central reservations and PMS or sales and catering. There are standards. Where it becomes challenging is in the one-off property technology. In a global situation, if you’ve got a global footprint, you’re not going to have a single vendor who is going to have the global footprint that can allow you to go with them. If I say hypothetically you should go with brand A, brand A is really strong in one market but weak in another market. Then it’s about making decisions. So in this market you probably need to go with brand B because they have a support infrastructure we need. And in that case, you diluted standard but you’ve done it for a very logical reason.
If you can keep the standards to a minimum and you can plan for them and you can solve challenges for a minimum set of regional standards and also ensure that everything is version-controlled, like patches and upgrades, and they are all consistent, you are minimizing the variables.
It’s really about be prudent in your decision-making. Make sure that it’s right for you and not because someone else is doing it. That’s an important message. It’s got to be relevant.