Fairmont Hotels & Resorts today said it will install self-service checkin kiosks in a yet-to-be determined number of its North American properties. The Toronto-based luxury hotel operator this week will launch its first kiosk at its hometown Fairmont Royal York, with others to follow by year-end.
A spokesperson said Fairmont initially will focus kiosk efforts at city-center properties, with the potential to expand to North American resorts. Fairmont's senior vice president of sales & marketing Jeff Senior said in a statement that the kiosk functionality is geared largely toward corporate travelers, which the company said account for about 50 percent of its business.
Through the addition of kiosks, Fairmont joins Hilton Hotels Corp., Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Marriott International, among others, which in the past year have added automated checkin terminals at various properties
(BTN, April 18).
In addition to allowing travelers to check in, check out, receive room keys and enroll in Fairmont's loyalty program, the company said the kiosks boast several other features, such as guest room selection, which allows travelers to "select a hotel room of their liking from a graphical map" and group travel functionality that gives meeting planners the opportunity to show customized messages and updated meeting agendas to attendees. Fairmont said it partnered with IBM to develop and implement the kiosk technology.
The company by year-end plans to allow guests to use the kiosk to check in and print boarding passes on Air Canada flights. A spokesperson said that Fairmont would consider other airline partners as kiosks become more prevalent.
Hilton Hotels Corp. later this year also will enable checkin on an unidentified airline through its kiosks, president Matt Hart yesterday told
BTN.