KANAZAWA, JAPAN—With Radio Frequency Identification electronic door lock systems making significant inroads in the key U.S. market in the past few years, the three leading producers of RFID systems—KABA Hospitality, Onity and VingCard Elsafe—report that the number of installations is growing outside the U.S. as well, particularly in Asia and Western Europe.
In Japan, for example, an RFID system has been installed as part of a recent renovation at the 254-room Hotel Nikko in this historic city on the Sea of Japan, 211 miles from Tokyo.
“Instead of traditional magnetic stripe technology, RFID has rapidly become the global standard for contact-less key cards, where the guest places the key card close to the door lock reader or simply touches the reader with the card,” Onity hospitality product manager Steve Switzer told HOTEL BUSINESS®.
The change over from magnetic stripe to RFID was received well by guests at the Hotel Nikko Kanazawa, noted Takuya Maeda, director of the rooms department. “During the week, our guests are mostly business travelers, who tend to embrace new technology generally. So they liked the idea of RFID,” Maeda said.
Leisure travelers may have been more resistant, but only slightly. “For first-time guests, we make sure that the front desk person checking them in explains the RFID system when giving them their key cards. It makes them feel more comfortable with it and eases any confusion,” he explained.
For elderly guests or international travelers who seem uncertain because of language difficulties, a member of the front desk team will accompany guests up to their room to demonstrate how the system works. A message on the back of the key card also reminds guests—in both Japanese and English—to simply “keep the card on the door lock sensor for one second.”
At 30 stories high and a central position in Kanazawa’s downtown, the luxury Hotel Nikko is not only the tallest building in the city, but the tallest hotel in the area. “Given our position in the local market, it makes sense that we have not only the latest electronic door lock system, but the most effective high-speed Internet access, and other guest-facing technologies,” explained director of marketing Noritaka Okajima. “In a market like Kanazawa, this is a form of competitive advantage.” The Hotel Nikko International brand is part of JAL Hotels, which in turn is part of Japan Air Lines.
An advantage guests might not appreciate at first is that RFID cards, unlike the magnetic stripe key cards they replace, won’t lose their effectiveness if placed in close proximity to an item like a cell phone. “Most everyone here carries a mobile phone and if it’s too close to a magnetic stripe card, it can de-magnetize the key card, which means the guest has to go back to the front desk to get the card re-programmed. That’s no longer a concern with RFID,” Maeda said.
Another advantage of RFID systems would mostly be apparent to front desk staff members. Earlier generations of electronic card keys would be harder to program at check in, causing time-consuming delays and occasional inaccuracies. Improvements in programming technology—along with the advances in the RFID technology itself—make these problems a non-issue. With little training, front desk clerks can quickly master programming the RFID cards.
Lastly, RFID technology doesn’t mean sacrificing any of the back-of-house auditing functionality hotel managers have come to rely on to provide added security. “Like the old magnetic stripe system, we can track whose key card was used to enter any guestroom—whether belonging to a guest or employee—or for that matter, used to enter any locked area back-of-house,” explained Maeda.
As in the U.S., the jump in number of RFID installations in international markets includes both new construction and renovations as in the most recent upgrade at the Hotel Nikko Kanazawa. New construction has been constrained in many markets because of the lack of available financing. “But we’re seeing owners increasingly decide to upgrade to RFID as part of cap ex improvement programs,” noted Alastair Cush, director of product marketing for KABA Hospitality, which markets both ILCO and Saflok electronic dock lock systems.
Hotel operators can look forward to further advances in RFID technology. Dominic Locascio, key accounts director for VingCard Elsafe, anticipates RFID systems adopting Near Field Communication technology. “This will allow people to use their mobile phones as room keys, allowing them to bypass the front desk and go right to their room,” Locascio.
