Robot as a staff member and smartphone in a key place: hotels are becoming smarter

Open the door with your smartphone, check your mobile and skip queues at reception and human encounters: Hotels in Israel are becoming smart and will help you save quite a bit of time during the peak tourist season.

And there is also a robot that will bring you towels to the room

Yinon Ben Shoshan

26/06/2022

Sunday, 26 June 2022, 12:21 Updated: 12:45

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Open the door with the smartphone (Photo: ShutterStock)

When tourism and technology meet:

At the height of the busy period in hotels we want to spend as little time as possible in long lines at the reception - and just get to the room and throw away our luggage.

Usually our choice is limited to choosing the type of room, but in recent years technological elements have been added that can make the distance from home a little easier and help you do most of the operations independently and simply.

It may sound like something futuristic, but the Israeli tourist, unsurprisingly, is late in recognizing technology that has been around for many years overseas.

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Forget the card

Instead of looking for the ticket to a room that is lost all the time anyway - many hotels allow you to use your smartphone as a key (yes, as a touch payment), and even check in, including payment, without the need for a human encounter from hotel to departure.

Similarly, Apple together with the hotel chain Hyatt, already allow to receive the card directly to the wallet in the device.

And what is happening to us?

The VERT hotel chain (formerly Crowne Plaza) has introduced several technological elements in the past year that we encountered mainly during vacations abroad. All you have to do is download the chain's app (GuestApp), connect via the link sent to your mobile - and register. After the registration process , Which also requires a short pass at the reception when arriving at the hotel to find out the room number, you can click on the "Press to open the door" button - and enter the room.

You can do everything from your mobile: the VERT Hotel app (Photo: Walla! Technology, screenshot)

The update on the possibility of check-in is received by mobile about a day before arrival via SMS.

You can also order additional services in the chain's app, such as room service, ordering towels for the room, pampering packages (extra charge), chat with a representative from the hotel and view information about the gym, swimming pool and restaurant.

Another person who uses the app services for the guests' use is

, which provides a solution to the sucks answer: "Your room is not ready yet."

With the app, which is available on both Android and iPhone, you can receive a remote update as soon as the room is ready - in addition to an SMS message.

The Dan Hotels chain's app (Photo: screenshot)

It is also possible to perform various activities during your stay at the hotel, including check-in and check-out, opening the door to the room (in some of the chain hotels), upgrading the room and making various payments, as well as booking a table for a meal.

Not getting along with technology?

Prior to arrival, a service representative from the hotel will contact you and assist you in the process, if you wish.

During the registration, a deposit through a credit card in the amount of NIS 50 is required.

The check-in process, like the arrival process, takes a few minutes.

In the chain's hotels that allow the door to be opened via mobile, the guest also does not have to hand in the keys at the reception.

Instead of looking for the ticket to a room that is lost anyway, you can open the door with the phone (Photo: ShutterStock)

The Isrotel hotel chain also recently launched a similar service - a system that directs all guest inquiries at the chain's hotels to a national service center that works with service personnel in the field using a mobile interface.

Guests can contact with their requests by dialing from the room, from the smartphone or by sending a text message (WhatsApp and SMS).

In addition, Isrotel also allows digital check-in, using a dedicated app that allows, among other things, to open calls and requests to the hotel.

Apple, together with the Hyatt hotel chain, already allows you to receive the card directly to the wallet on the device. (Photo: Apple)

No need for a tip, I'm a robot

Fattal Hotels has an app that accompanies the guest from the booking stage until the end of their vacation at the hotel.

The app allows immediate communication with the hotel via WhatsApp on any issue, question or requirement - and receive an immediate answer from the guest service center (also questions about parking arrangements or sheets and towels).

The app sends a link before the guest arrives that allows check-in before arriving at the hotel, and in some hotels, it is also possible to open a door through the app.

And if you think this is the future, some Fattal hotels have come up with an intriguing technological solution in recent months - ideal for the past Corona - a smart hotel robot that knows how to bring a towel or soap to guests, order an elevator, and is considered a staff member like all other employees.

The Fattal Network Robot (PR)

Only in Israel: technology is growing slowly

There are many reasons why the State of Israel is lagging behind in the matter of the transition to this not-very-new-technology.

One of them is the relatively limited deployment in hotels around the country that allow consumers to save time.

And most of us are just waiting for the long queues to move (great freedom, after all).

Second, despite the large investment in the development and implementation of hotel technologies and related applications, it seems that hotel chains are not doing enough to promote and inform these services to guests.

And Israelis like Israelis, as is well known, are quite afraid of new and unfamiliar things even though they can save them time - and at the busiest times of the year.

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