From scheduling money transfers to managing household appliances, smartphones are becoming more and more integrated into every nook and cranny of daily life. And now all devices are set to take the place of yet another dwindling piece of technology, hotel keys. As soon as next year, Hilton Hotels & Resorts plans on giving guests the opportunity to unlock their hotel doors via smartphone rather than traditional plastic key cards.
Hilton has announced that the new technology will be able to work with both Apple and Android devices. In addition to serving as a hotel key, smartphones will connect with customers’ “HHonors” accounts, as well as allow guests to check in and out while skipping a visit to the front desk.
Though Hilton has been tight-lipped as to how the new technology will work, they have already established that it will eventually be implemented at all of their hotels around the globe. As reported by rushhourdaily.com Tech, CEO Christopher J. Nassetta explained that Hilton “is developing proprietary technology that is safe and reliable for our guests to use and cost-effective for our hotels to install.”
Safety is the biggest concern the company faces as it unveils its new keyless technology. Smartphones face constant attack from hackers looking to steal and abuse personal information, and these do-all devices practically carry a user’s life around in their pocket.
“Developments like these further increase the value attackers see in going after smartphones. Given the physical security implications, I’d caution against being an early adopter of these types of systems,” said Roel Schouwenberg, principal security researcher at Kaspersky Lab.
Image Credit: via Tim/Flickr
