Hotel Tech-in is our regular feature that takes a closer look at emerging technology in the hospitality industry.
When it comes to digital check-ins, the hotel industry is in “an interesting time,” Branigan Mulcahy, CEO and co-founder of guest experience platform Virdee, told Hotel Dive.
Hotel guests want the check-in process to be as seamless as possible. Digital check-in solutions are a great way to achieve that — if they’re handled properly, Mulcahy said.
Early rollouts of digital keys were often clunky, he noted, requiring users to download, and then navigate, time-consuming apps. But digitizing the check-in process, when done right, can benefit both hotels and their guests.
Hotel Dive sat down with Mulcahy to discuss the latest in digital check-in technologies and Virdee's recent tie-up with the growing Great Wolf Lodge resort brand.
Adapting to properties’ needs
Implementing digital check-in systems is never a simple process, said Mulcahy. But Great Wolf Lodge — a family-oriented resort brand with on-property waterparks — had specific needs to solve for.
“Our goal is to make the arrival experience as easy, convenient and stress-free as possible,” Ramki Srinivasan, chief digital and information officer at Great Wolf Lodge, said in a statement.
Virdee, founded in 2020, worked with the brand to develop kiosks that families can use for self check-in. When check-in is complete, the kiosk dispenses wristbands that serve as room keys, waterpark passes and cashless payment devices for food and beverage purchases.
The system is also able to text guests who arrive early to enjoy the waterpark when their room is ready.
The solution, which is now live at 22 Great Wolf Lodge properties, has reduced congestion during peak arrival times, enhanced guest satisfaction and empowered the front desk team “to focus on hospitality rather than transaction processing,” Srinivasan said.
Mulcahy said his goal with Virdee is “to make the digital guest experience, and the digital check-in process, as easy as ordering an Uber.”
The future of digital check-in
Tech-powered hotel amenities have been shown to boost guest satisfaction, according to a July J.D. Power report.
Digital check-in options, specifically, are quickly evolving, Mulcahy said. More hotel tech providers, he predicted, will soon enable the integration of digital keys into Apple Wallets.
Hyatt Hotels, he noted, has already done this, enabling guests to enter their rooms through a simple tap of their iPhone or Apple Watch — something that requires far fewer steps than downloading an app specific to a hotel brand or company.
“I think this type of technology is going to absolutely become ubiquitous,” Mulcahy said, noting that the digital key “is more about the ‘how’ than the ‘what.’”
In the meantime, there’s still much to streamline at the front desk.
“When you check in at a front desk, a lot of that time spent is very transactional and very impersonal,” Mulcahy said. “I want to take all of that and move it into software as much as possible, and give everybody the freedom back to interact more effectively on property.”
