ASSA ABLOY Pilot Project with NFC Phones Shows Great Potential for Mobile Keys

ASSA ABLOY, Nordic Choice Hotels, Giesecke & Devrient, TeliaSonera and VingCard Elsafe have completed a joint pilot project to replace hotel room keys with NFC-enabled mobile phones. During an eight-month long pilot at the Clarion Hotel Stockholm in Sweden, about 30 hotel loyalty guests checked in to the hotel via a mobile key application.

After the check-in, the hotel key was sent directly to the mobile phone. Upon arrival, the room could be directly accessed without the need to wait in line at the hotel reception. The check-out was also managed through the mobile key service.

A survey was conducted with the participating loyalty guests. It showed that not having to wait in line at the reception to check in and check out was highly appreciated by all participants. Almost all of the guests said that it saved time not having to check in at the reception, more than half said they saved 10 minutes or more. Almost all of the loyalty guests would use mobile keys for their hotel stays if NFC-compatible cell phones were available today and their phone supported the service.

“The pilot has been a success. A broad majority of the guests claim that the service made their hotel stay more pleasant. This shows that technology that helps people save time will be appreciated and used. The pilot also confirms that using mobile keys to open all kinds of doors will be one of the most popular NFC applications,” said Daniel Berg, vice president and general manager, ASSA ABLOY Mobile Keys.

The hotel loyalty guests stayed at the hotel frequently during the pilot period which meant that they used the application repeatedly. This gave the guests the familiarity with the service needed to give valuable feedback on the user experience. When asked what other NFC applications they believed in, most of the guests replied paying for food, drink and hotel services. A majority also believed in getting information about the hotel and the hotel services such as map, room service menus, the spa and gym and information about restaurants, bars and public transport available via the NFC service.

“Mobile keys are a great way to enhance the guest experience and add value to hotel loyalty applications, also it is environmentally friendly,” said Marcus Majewski, general manager, Clarion Hotel Stockholm. “We get a closer relationship with our guests and can add information on promotions and events. The survey shows that 60 percent are positive to getting information about hotel offerings using the service.”

“The pilot has verified user’s interest in these types of services and the potential and suitability of using the SIM card to securely store important information as the hotel key. With this real life implementation, based on standards developed during the last years, we have jointly taken important steps towards commercial NFC based services and solutions,” said Johan Wickman, head of innovation management at TeliaSonera Mobility Services.