The iPhone Hotel: Check In, Tune Out, Room Service
3:30 am, October 13th, 2008, Nicole Martinelli
A California Inn is dubbing itself the world’s first “iPhone hotel.” When guests check into the Malibu Beach Inn, they’re asked if they have an iPhone or iPod Touch. If guests have got the gear, hotel staff loads an app called “Hotel Evolution” from Hollywood software firm Runtriz, to the device. If they don’t, they’re given a 16gb iPod Touch (with the application pre-loaded) to use during their stay.
Guests punch in room number plus security code for access to hotel services: order room service, set a wake up call, request dry cleaning, extra blankets or replace forgotten toothbrushes, check your messages or set your room to “Do Not Disturb.” Shopping, eating and cavorting info for the area is on tap, too. Cost to the hotel is about $10 per room, no word on whether the cost is passed on to guests.
Feeling a bit like an over-Botoxed actress on this one, I’d like to get excited, you know, move some facial muscles, but just can’t.
First, because the usual hotel Flintstone phone service, paper “do not disturb” sign and flesh-and-bones concierge do just fine most of the time. And the fact that most people travel with electronic gear — cell phone, mp3 player, pda, computer, watch — means that stuff like the wake-up call function isn’t all that necessary. The idea of a loaner iPod Touch is cool but you just know it’d be left in a cab, stolen, get stepped on or something. Then what?
It’ll be more interesting if it were to catch on and be widely available abroad, where lost-in-translation mishaps are the order of the day or for foreigners in the U.S. in a bunch of other languages to avoid that problem of not understanding what was just mumbled at you from across the counter.
So, what do you think, is the iPhone Hotel future perfect or conditional?
Via Washington Post
Posted by Nicole Martinelli in Software, iPhone 3G, iPod, iPod Touch | Comment on this article
it’s a nifty idea that will probably catch on. but one caveat. if you have a phone or touch, say no anyway, cause there is a strong chance that this is not App Store software and thus they will have to jailbreak your device to load it and if something happens it’s not worth the hassle to get your phone etc fixed.
charlituna, on October 13th, 2008 at 5:51 am
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iPhone Hotel - Beginning of A New Era | iPhone3G India, on October 13th, 2008 at 9:16 am
As if they’d jailbreak your phone to install the app – that’d be highly illegal and get them in Apple’s bad books. It’ll be ad hoc authorisation.
Anyway, this sounds like a good idea. I hope more hotels take this sort of initiative.
Daniel Beardsall, on October 13th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
From the looks of it, it’s a web app. No jailbreaking. Sounds like it’s a great idea! Imagine booking a spa appointment while having dinner. Way better than a phone if you ask me.
TeknoJohn, on October 14th, 2008 at 8:51 am
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As others have said this is a BAD idea. See all the comotion it causes? Steve the Nazi locks down the phone and then there’s talk about ordering room service from your iPhone potentially being *ILLEGAL*??
F— the iPhone. I love the hotel concept, if it was device-agnostic.
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Iván Fanego » Blog Archive » Runtriz: todos los servicios de un hotel en tu mano, on February 1st, 2009 at 10:38 am
interesting!
meltem, on February 13th, 2009 at 12:21 pm