The long-held- promise of mobile technology linking with guestroom lock systems may finally be coming to fruition. At last fall's International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show in New York, OpenWays introduced new technology the firm says will eliminate the need for most guests to check in at the front desk to get keycards. The system will send messages to incoming, pre-registered guests' cell phones with their room numbers. The phone then becomes the keycard, providing access for the guests to their rooms. OpenWays says the system works with all four billion cell phones in service in the world today.

Electronic locking systems vendor Saflok was quick to jump on the technology, announcing a collaboration with OpenWays to create an interface between its locks and the “keys” delivered by OpenWays-enabled cell phones. Saflok says the system works with all of its card technologies and also interfaces with a hotel's PMS, CRS and CIS and can facilitate mobile bookings and confirmations, mobile upgrade offers and more.

According to Pascal Metivier, founder and CEO of OpenWays, the firm's system provides a number of advantages for hotel operators. First, of course, is convenience for guests, who won't need to stop at the front desk before going to their rooms.

“And it also eliminates the need for keycards, which is a green component of the system,” said Metivier during the Show. “There's also the opportunity to save labor. A 100-room hotel with 20-percent guest usage of OpenWays can probably eliminate one front desk person.”

Initial charge for the system is 50 cents per check-in, but Metivier says volume discounts can push the price down to a level that approaches the cost of keycards.

Also during the Show, OpenWays announced an integration with Micros Systems for the firm's Opera series of property management and customer relationship management systems.