Guests skip check-in and access room with their phone

For frequent travellers who like to stay at their favourite chain of hotels on their annual multi trip travel insurance getaways, there are some changes on the way which could help prevent frustrating delays and queues at reception.

The 50 Aloft hotels which are dotted around the world, many close to sporting facilities making golf travel insurance holidays a popular choice, have just completed a trial of a new way to check in.

For holidaymakers holding a Starwood Preferred Guest Loyalty Card, there is now the option to skip check-in, bypassing reception and instead accessing their room simply by swiping their card. The innovative scheme is managed thanks to chips lodged in the individual loyalty cards and by the end of 2011, the company aims to have the system in place at six of its top hotels.

Guests are sent a text message ahead of their stay, providing them with details of their room number, which provides the option for guests to simply access their accommodation without completing a lengthy check-in process ahead of their journey.

For those arriving on holiday on their golf travel insurance, eager to get out onto the greens, or short of time to make an important meeting, event or occasion, the technology could prove very popular. Following the pilot scheme, the company is considering introducing the technology as standard in all of its new premises and extending the roll-out to include more of its hotels worldwide.

Starwood owns the Aloft chain of hotels and for those who visit frequently on their annual multi trip travel insurance, the easy check in facility is likely to prove a popular choice.

However, Aloft are not the only firm looking to experiment with new methods of check-in, as Holiday Inn is currently piloting a system which allows guests to access their rooms via their mobile phones.