Twenty years ago Sheraton introduced its check-in kiosks. I won a contest (60,000 Starwood points) to name the machines: Sheraton SpeedCheck. These type of machines have gained the most traction in Las Vegas, where check-in lines to see a staff member are interminably long.

In some ways I feel like the kiosk has been passed by. Mobile apps have replaced them, although that only works for keyless-enabled rooms otherwise you still need to see an agent or a machine. And keyless hasn’t fully caught on. Some people use them, but it hasn’t gained broadest acceptance. Many people still want a key rather than relying solely on their phone.

When Marriott first rolled out mobile check-in with keyless, they took a multi-million dollar hit. They weren’t validating credit cards properly, and people used gift cards with $1 available. They got their room key, and let the hotel at the end of their stay, with hotels unable to charge them. Marriott had to reimburse the hotels, as I understand it.

Baymont Inns seems to have a new take on the labor-saving strategy. They’ve got an outsourced front desk. Instead of having to hire American staffers to work on property, they supplement their employees with kiosks that give you a live person in India. The agent will interact with you just like they were across the desk.

Here’s video from the Baymont by Wyndham Bonita Springs Naples North:

And here’s a virtual front desk kiosk at a Ramada Inn.

@aavgo

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♬ original sound – aavgo

In a sense it reminds me of United’s airport customer service that’s no longer on location at the airport. This does a better job distributing workload – instead of having staff waiting around for customers to need them, they take calls from wherever there’s a flight disruption. That saves money and also serves customers better.

Here, the outsourcing component provides further savings, so makes sense at the lower-end of the hotel market.