According to the article, Starwood plans to launch the use of virtual keys at two of its Aloft brand hotels by the end of the quarter. “We believe this will become the new standard for how people will want to enter a hotel,” says Frits van Paasschen, Starwood’s CEO. “It may be a novelty at first, but we think it will become table stakes for managing a hotel.”
The hope is that this technology will allow guests to bypass check-in and use a virtual key accessible through a Starwood app. It will be compatible with the iPhone 4s model (or newer), and Androids running 4.3 (or newer). [wsj.com]