Product Details

A world’s first pilot is starting at the Clarion Hotel Stockholm in Sweden. ASSA ABLOY, Choice Hotels Scandinavia, TeliaSonera, VingCard Elsafe and Venyon, a fully owned subsidiary of Giesecke & Devrient, have joined forces to replace hotel room keys with NFC-enabled mobile phones. The technology makes it possible for hotel guests to check-in and out using their mobile phones.

What makes this product special?

The goal of the pilot is to get feedback from guests and employees using the NFC phones for a variety of services. Guests will be able to check in to the hotel and receive the hotel room key directly onto their mobile phones before arriving at the hotel. Guests can also access other services via their mobile, and on departure, the check-out process using the phone promises to be easy and stress-free.

The technology also increases security. If a mobile phone is lost, the access credentials can be revoked remotely and then reissued. This makes it impossible for unauthorized people to use a lost or stolen NFC mobile phone.

The pilot starts this week and will last for four months. The experience gained from the Clarion Hotel Stockholm pilot is planned to be enhanced and expanded over time to other hotels as well as to commercial and residential buildings.

Mobile-contactless services such as payment, ticketing and loyalty have enjoyed successful pilots and are now being made available to the commercial market. Following the success of those pilots there is now a new category of services – mobile keys that can be added to the mobile-contactless industry.

The five companies providing this service each brings its specific expertise to deliver a scalable and secure end-to-end solution created to improve the guest experience.

About NFC
NFC, Near Field Communication, is a short-range wireless communication technology standard that enables the exchange of data between devices over up to a 10 cm distance. Applications include contactless transactions such as payment and transit ticketing, keys, data transfers including electronic business cards, and access to online digital content.

About the trial at Clarion Stockholm
The selected hotel guests receive a Samsung mobile phone with NFC and relevant software. They book hotel rooms the usual way and receive booking confirmation on the mobile phone. The guests can check in on the mobile phone already before arrival at the hotel. When check-in is complete, a digital hotel room key is delivered to the mobile phone. On arrival at the hotel the guests skip the check-in line, go directly to their room and open the door by holding the mobile phone close to the door lock. When leaving the room, the doors lock automatically, the guests checkout from their mobile phones and the digital hotel room keys are deactivated.