Hilton Worldwide has launched a digital check-in service that lets Hilton HHonors members use their smartphone to check-in/out and choose their preferred room.
Guests staying at a Hilton property will be able to check-in and then select their exact room from a digital floor plan of the hotel.
They will also be able to customise their stay by "purchasing upgrades and making special requests for items to be delivered to their room, on their mobile devices, tablets and computers".
Hilton HHonors members can select their room from 0600 the day before a booked stay by signing into their account on their mobile device, tablet or computer. Photos of rooms are available to aid selection.
The technology is being rolled-out globally over the next few months.
By the end of the summer, Hilton HHonors members will be able to check-in and choose their room online or via the Apple and Android HHonors apps across the following US brands — Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites and Home2 Suites.
The functionality will also be available at Doubletree by Hilton and Embassy Suites Hotels properties in the US this autumn.
By the end of this year, room selection, either from digital floor plans or lists, will be available globally for over 650,000 rooms at more than 4,000 hotels across Hilton's portfolio of 11 brands.
Christopher J Nassetta, Hilton Worldwide's president and CEO, said: "Travellers can use their smartphones as boarding passes to get to their seats on an airplane, so it is only natural that they will want to use them as a way to enter their hotel rooms.
"We have spent the past few years testing a number of different options to make this vision a reality, and we are developing proprietary technology that is safe and reliable for our guests to use, and cost-effective for our hotels to install."
Digital check-out, currently available at all US hotels, will be rolled-out globally by the end of 2016. This renders a visit to the front desk when leaving unnecessary.
And, Hilton next year plans to introduce technology that enables smartphones to be used as room keys. All US hotels across four of its brands will have this capability by the end of 2015.
By the end of 2016, the majority of Hilton's rooms will have this functionality, the hotel said in a statement.
Nassetta added: "For nearly a century, our guests have counted on us to consistently deliver exceptional experiences around the world, and in today's digitally connected culture, that means providing them with more choice and control over their hotel stay through technology.
"The tremendous scale of our world-class operating platform enables us to quickly and nimbly introduce exciting enhancements for our guests at all of our hotels worldwide."
Last month, Hilton launched its new four and five-star Curio brand (see news, June 2).
Graham Smith
