High-tech hospitality: from metal room keys in real mailboxes to room key cards programmed to expire on departure dates.

• Author: Wheeler, Cindy
• Position: ADVICE HOSPITALITY

GROWING UP IN THE hospitality industry in the '70s, I had a "cool" job working at a downtown Indianapolis hotel. From the "Amazing Kreskin" who said I was "better than he was" because I knew his room number when he walked up to the front desk (front desk associates always know celebrity room numbers) to Elvis Presley who booked three entire floors, the hotel business was fun and somewhat simplistic back in those days.

We used a rack with room cards representing the guest rooms. Reservations were received from around the country by Teletype machine. Paper reservations were filed alphabetically by hand. The front desk used metal room keys that were filed in real mailboxes. Guest names were manually and legibly written at check-in enabling the hotel telephone operator to direct guest phone calls to the appropriate room via a switchboard with plugs. Room charges were posted using an NCR machine. There were fax machines, though they were seldom used. Answering machines, voice mail and cell phones were nonexistent, as were CDs, DVDs, iPods, HDTV and TiVo. Computers were rare and the World Wide Web meant nothing. The most sophisticated piece of electronic equipment in a hotel room would have been the television.

Fast forward to 2006. High-tech hospitality and service is the name of the game today. Business travelers and professional meeting planners have high expectations. Hoteliers are responding to these expectations with high-tech products and services. The option of checking into a hotel via computer is already available at many hotels. Video check-out is an industry standard. Room key cards are programmed to expire on departure dates. Free highspeed wireless...