Marriott hotel chain is hoping that embracing new technology will give it an edge with travelers. The hotel chain plans to install doors in their rooms that you can unlock with your phone. They are also working on allowing customers to log in to their Netflix accounts from their room TVs, and they may also offer wireless charging. Currently guests can book their stays and get a notification via their iOS, Android and Windows phone when their room is ready, but hopefully by the end of this year the app will also let customers in 20 hotels bypass the front desk entirely. Instead of checking in and getting room keys, guests can get a code that will allow them to unlock their room using the bluetooth radio chips inside their phones. Currently Starwood Hotels already offer this at a few of their properties.
Some of the other technologies that Marriott are adding include the ability to order food from the Marriott mobile app from your room, at the pool and in the bar. That will come later this year. The hotel chain are considering adding wireless power (the ability to charge a device just by setting it on or near a charging pad as opposed to plugging it in) to some of their lobbies.