In the News:Smartphones Replace Room Keys at Select Starwood Hotels

Got a smartphone? Never lose your hotel key, or even have to stop at the registration desk, again.

Travelers staying at select Starwood Hotels and Resorts will soon be able to unlock their hotel rooms with their smartphones.

The Aloft Harlem in New York and Aloft Cupertino in California will be the first to try the new technology, powered by Assa Abloy, a lock company in Sweden. The pilot program will begin within the next 60 days, says Brian McGuinness, senior vice president of Starwood's Specialty Select brands. If it goes well, guests will see the new technology roll out at three Starwood brands, Aloft, Element and W Hotels, by 2015.

Guests will first check in through their smartphones using Starwood's mobile app. They will then receive a text message with their room number and the virtual key so they can bypass the front desk. The technology operates through Bluetooth on any iPhone 4s or above and the Android 4.3 or newer.

Other hotel companies have experimented with letting people check in through their mobile phones. For instance, members of Marriott's Rewards program can check in through their mobile phones at 350 of its Marriott Hotels. They then pick up their key at a desk. Marriott will expand that program to 150 more hotels.

At Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts, guests can check in through their smartphones with Anywhere Check In. They then scan in their check-in code at a kiosk to retrieve their keys, bypassing the front desk.

Hilton Worldwide and Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, parent company of Radisson and Country Inns & Suites, are also experimenting with mobile check-in, but not virtual keys yet.

If all goes well, the company says it could have the feature in all of its hotels by next year.

But there are some challenges to adopting the technology, hotel executives say.

Thorsten Kirschke, president of the Americas for Carlson Rezidor, says adopting virtual keys can be expensive because it can involve changing a hotel's entire lock system. He also says there are unresolved security questions.

Kirk Kinsell, president of the Americas for InterContinental Hotels Group, parent company of Crowne Plaza, says that mobile check-in has been successful so far, but that there are still people who prefer to interact with the front desk.

McGuinness says the company is constantly working on making sure their lock systems are secure.

And for those who want to use traditional key cards, they will still be available, he says.

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