“Unmanned hotels” to lose front desk staff
A new project to develop “unmanned hotels” in Japan may soon eliminate the burdensome task of checking in at the front desk. A consortium of five companies, including the trading company Itochu and consumer credit provider Orico, are working to develop a network of hotels that rely on an online reservation and payment system, RFID-enabled Orico credit cards that serve as keys, and RFID-enabled door entry locks.
When hotel guests reserve a room online with their RFID-enabled credit card, a “key” is assigned to the card. Since the credit card is the key, guests can bypass the check-in process and proceed directly to the room at the allotted time. The door lock recognizes the IC chip embedded in the credit card, opening for the guest upon arrival. The system eliminates the need for front desk staff to remain on duty.
Other companies involved in the project are Kesaka System, who are developing the entry locks, as well as Espace Construction and Miyabi Estex, who are handling construction and development.
Japanese law requires hotels to maintain staffed front desks, so the unmanned hotels will not be completely staff-free. However, the hotels are expected to require only half the ordinary number of personnel.
A dozen or so of these hotels are scheduled to begin operations nationwide in 2008.
[Source: Nikkei Net]
[…] 5 - “Unmanned hotels” to lose front desk staff “…a network of hotels that rely on an online reservation and payment system, RFID-enabled Orico credit cards that serve as keys, and RFID-enabled door entry locks.” Oh, so hackable. Another William Gibson trope made real. (tags: cyberpunk keys RFID payment booking reservation online unmanned automated hotels Japan) […]
[…] In Japan, a consortium of five companies are working to remove human front desk staff in the whole hotel business. Because humans are quite a burden — they file sick and maternity leaves, they’re fond of office politics, they love to gossip about semen stains on the bedsheets of staying celebrities — they’re being replaced with a neat little thing called RFID. When hotel guests reserve a room online with their RFID-enabled credit card, a “key” is assigned to the card. Since the credit card is the key, guests can bypass the check-in process and proceed directly to the room at the allotted time. The door lock recognizes the IC chip embedded in the credit card, opening for the guest upon arrival. The system eliminates the need for front desk staff to remain on duty. […]
The hotel I work for is known and loved because of our staff. Our front desk prides itself on being courteous and friendly to all of our guests, making each and every one of them feel like they are home, even though they live hundreds of miles away.
The fact that credit cards will be keys is enough to make me laugh. Most traveling businessmen (the reason most non-resort hotels mainly exist) use the same credit card that their companies give them every time they stay in a hotel, buy food, clothing, needed office supplies, etc. And after many months of heavy use, the cards become un-swipe-able, and they even literally fall apart. This would make it extremely difficult for the traveling businessman to get into his room after a long day’s work.
With all the talk these days over unemployment rates skyrocketing, I’m amazed this concept was even thought of. How can they say hotel staffing would be reduced by about half so cavalierly? Doesn’t anyone care that these people, who have put a lot of time and effort into being so gracious and accommodating to every person they see, will suddenly be “let go” from their job because there is now a MACHINE that can do everything they can?!?
In this fast-paced, high-tech world where employees are fired via text message, and families sit around playing on the internet, communicating with each other through instant messengers instead of voices, I can not help feeling disgusted. With each passing day, the human race is relying more and more on technology than it is on each other. If the world wants to someday have that “ideal future” where no one has to work because there are robots to do everything, the economy is going to have to adjust to the fact that no one will be buying anything due to no one having jobs. And for some odd reason, I have a serious problem believing the economy will simply be “okay” with this concept.
This is an utterly ridiculous idea, and I propose we buy MANY of the huge ACME magnets featured in Wyle E. Coyote cartoons, and fry the computer in every front desk machine installed! Who’s with me? Viva la front desk employees!! ;)
[…] I just read an article over at Pink Tentacle about what some might call a leap forward in the hotel industry. Unmanned hotels are a concept being developed by a team of five companies in Japan hoping to eliminate the tough process of checking into a hotel at the front desk. This is how it would work according to Pink Tentacle: […]
I say leave the front desks manned, it wouldn’t be a hotel without a friendly smile when you arrive, especially after being stuck in your car all day.