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Savvy travelers get
Hilton check-in at airport
The arrangement is
the first in the nation
Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa and the Honolulu Airport have partnered to become the first hotel and airport in the United States to offer self-service kiosks that will allow Hilton guests to check in before they claim their baggage.
"These kiosks are an exciting addition to an array of high-tech services we already provide our guests at Hilton Hawaiian Village," said Peter Schall, managing director of Hilton Hawaiian Village. "With high-speed Internet access scheduled to be in place in all of our of guest rooms by the end of the month, wireless Internet access in many of our meeting and public areas, and an impressive array of technology-based services throughout the resort, even the most tech-savvy guest can stay connected at the village."
Hilton is installing four kiosks at the airport, two each in baggage-claim areas G and H, which serve United, Continental, Northwest and American airlines. Three kiosks also are being installed in the main lobby of the Hilton Hawaiian Village. The hotel's parent is on target to install 100 kiosk in 45 hotels by the end of the year.
The move is part of an ongoing electronic wave in the hotel industry where chains are increasingly using high-tech lures to attract higher-spending and business visitors. Last week, Radisson Hotels & Resorts began allowing guests to check in via the Internet up to a week before arrival.
Hilton's techno-spree is just one more way to help Hawaii court the high-spending travel market and help visitors leave their worries behind so that they can spend more time and money in the state's hotels, restaurants and attractions, said Marsha Wienert, tourism liaison for the state of Hawaii.
The kiosks function much like airline self-service kiosks for e-tickets. After inserting a credit card for identification, guests can follow on-screen instructions and use the touch screens to check into the hotel. Guests also can change or upgrade reservations, and can use the kiosk to check out.
"What Hilton has done puts them in a position to really offer client service," Wienert said. "My guess is a lot of the other hotels in the state will want to do similar things."
Travel trends have raised the expectations of higher-spending visitors and have caused them to expect state-of the-art amenities and ease of travel, said Kathryn Potter, president of the American Hotel & Lodging Association.
"Hotels across the spectrum ... are trying to do everything that they can to increase service for their guests and to offer amenities that will make guests choose their brand over another," Potter said.
More properties are offering high-speed Internet access, personal music and movie players, cell phone rentals and technologically enhanced reservation systems and check-in and check-out services, Potter said.
"Once a brand comes out with something, others wait to see if it is taken well by the public and if it is, it becomes the standard," she said.
