The traditional hotel business center may be dead. In its place, lodging properties of all sizes and serving all markets are installing self-service units and kiosks that provide convenience and consistency for guests and reliability and lower costs for hotel operators.

“Before the kiosk business center was introduced to the industry, hotels needed staffed business centers that are costly to operate and are very seldom able to turn a profit,” says Robert Basulto, president & CEO of Keylink Solutions, a Las Vegas-based provider of automated business center systems to the hotel industry. “Some convention hotels may be able to do well when a big group is in the house, but otherwise they generally operate at a loss.”

Keylink provides systems to hotels ranging from Internet kiosks and 24/7 automated business centers to airline check-in kiosks and 24/7 UPS and FedEx shipping stations. It is a preferred supplier for several hotel chains, including Best Western and most recently, Radisson Hotels.

Keylink has a large presence in the Las Vegas market, where its systems are installed in a number of big casino-hotels, such as Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, Luxor and MGM Grand. Keylink's largest installation is at Mandalay Bay and its sister property, The Hotel, where 22 PC workstations are located at 11 custom kiosks and three automated business centers. An in-progress installation at the Venetian and Pallazzo complex will top that total with 32 PC units.

An automated business center provides several other key advantages, says Basulto. Most automated systems have a variety of language options (Keylink's are available in up to eight). Security is another consideration. In staff-operated business centers, an employee typically needs to sweep the PCs periodically so guests can't access websites viewed by previous users. The Keylink system automatically clears each PC's system after each usage, removing viruses, spyware and potentially offensive content. The company also provides round-the-clock live phone support for its systems.

Also, Keylink's business models can be tailored to the needs of the hotel. In one model, the company installs and maintains the systems at no cost to the hotel, with Keylink and the property sharing revenues. In other cases, hotels that want to offer the services free to their guests can purchase the system and pay Keylink an annual fee for upkeep.

“Some hotels take an approach that combines the free and guest-pay models,” says Basulto. “They'll provide free printing of airline boarding passes, for instance, but charge guests for other business center services.”

Keylink recently expanded its offerings to include an all-in-one shipping and mailing station that enables guests to ship via UPS, FedEx or U.S. Postal Service, print in color or black and white and fax documents, in addition to using a PC.

Future system enhancements may feature web-based teleconferencing, says Basulto.