Hilton Brand Begins Mobile Room Selection Technology

Guests of Hilton Hotels Corp. establishments may now select their rooms and book them through the brand’s mobile app, and they could soon be able to unlock room doors via smartphone or tablet, bypassing the front desk completely.

Hilton’s e-check-in service allows any member of the hotel brand’s free Hilton Honors program to pull up the digital floorplan of a hotel, reserve a room up to 48 hours before check-in, and even request specific amenities to be delivered to the room prior to his or her arrival, all through the mobile app.

Brands that now offer the feature include Embassy Suites by Hilton, DoubleTree Suites by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites by Hilton and Hampton Inn by Hilton.

“It’s going really well,” said Justin Smith, general manager of the Hampton Inn by Hilton in Rogers. “If they’re a fitness buff, they can get a room near the fitness center. If it’s grandparents who will be there with their grandchildren, they can get one near the pool.

“They can see the layout of the hotel. If they want a room facing out, or a room near the elevator, [the app feature] puts it in their hands,” he said. 

In addition to the added level of customization, Smith touted the increased convenience afforded by the app.

Primarily, the app speeds up the check-in process. Hilton added a module to Hampton Inn’s system that created an e-check-in dashboard, where staff can keep track of booked rooms and potentially have a key ready for an e-check-in guest before his or her arrival.

If a guest books a dirty room, staff can watch and let the guest know when the room is ready, via the app.

Amenities, upgrades and other services will no longer require a call to the front desk, Smith said. “A lot can be done within the app, so you don’t have to call the hotel and then try to remember who you talked to. It’s a neat system.”

The service has not yet caught on with a wide range of consumers, but users are trickling in, he said.

Bryan Rose, general manager of the Hilton Garden Inn in Bentonville, reports similar participation with the app.

It has been available for a couple of months now, and the 133-room hotel has about five to 15 people using e-check-in daily, Rose said.

The guests who have tried the service have been satisfied customers, Rose said. “People that have used it seem to enjoy their stay just a little better.

“You’re able to book a seat on [airplane] flights, why not be able to pick your own hotel room?” he said.

The room selection feature launch is the first phase of Hilton’s e-check-in rollout that will also include a mobile-enabled room key, which allows users to unlock their hotel room doors through mobile devices. 

The system, an add-on to the hotels’ existing locks, is in beta testing now at select locations, with specific focus on cyber security, according to Hilton. 

Although local hotel managers have not been given a specific timeline for the mobile room key launch, a press release from Hilton says the feature will be implemented sometime next year in about 4,000 hotels.