Airport Hotels Circumvent Front Desks

<B>Airport Hotels Circumvent Front Desks</B>

By Chris Davis

The high volume of corporate meetings at airport hotels has resulted in such properties trying to capture greater market share by implementing services to further ease attendees' travel. Several hotels, for instance, are working with airports and airlines to speed checkin by avoiding the hotels' front desks or allowing for quicker departure by checking baggage at the hotels themselves.

"We're talking with one of the major airlines about installing baggage checkin at the hotel," said Don Boyd, director of sales and marketing at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott. "You'd be able to check out and get right on the plane." Airline personnel would work onsite at the hotel to check in and transport the baggage for security reasons, Boyd said. "They would be able to tell guests the gate for their flight right there. We think the concept would be very well-received." The hotel has been in talks for some time with the unnamed airline, because there's a litany of approval processes and security issues to consider for any program involving baggage and airplanes, but Boyd hopes the service will be in place by year-end.

Meanwhile, "Hotels are looking at things like allowing hotel checkin on the hotel shuttle," said Scott Norris, director of sales and marketing at the Tampa Airport Marriott, which is attached to the airport's terminal. Norris' hotel allows customers to use bellmen to take their baggage from the carousel to their rooms on arrival, and to the airline checkin counter on departure. "We know that the goal of travelers is to bypass the hotel front desk completely. It's a complex matter, but we are trying to find effective ways to meet that need."

Other properties are banking on external changes to allow meeting attendees to have smoother travel experiences. "We have mobile checkin on the shuttle to the hotel now," said Ed Carey, director of marketing at the Hyatt Harborside at Boston Logan.