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Smartphone App To Be Used As Hotel Room Keys
An anonymous reader writes Starwood Hotels and Resorts has became the first chain to let guests unlock doors with their phones at 10 Aloft, Element and W hotels. They hope to expand the program to 140 more properties in those brands by the middle of next year. From the article: "The technology's developer says that it uses its own encrypted secure channel to ensure thieves cannot abuse the innovation. But one expert had reservations. "Nothing is 100% secure, and once this technology is in widespread use it will make a very tasty target for hackers," said Prof Alan Woodward from the University of Surrey's department of computing.
Also means much less chance of leaving the card in the room
But now having a dead phone after a late night of drinking/whatever just got a whole lot more annoying.
It doesn't matter. The current card security system is as about as insecure as it could possibly get and still have a door in the frame.
After an incident at a hotel a few years ago where our door lock failed and ruined our stay... and a subsequent discussion with their maintenance man about how the card systems work I had a suspicion and tried my card on the room across the hall. Low and behold my card would work on any room in the building. Since then I've made a habit of testing my card on random, seemingly vacant rooms at other hotels. To my surprise I've had it actually work several times.
Now I deadbolt it when I'm in the room, and don't leaving anything valuable in there at all. I even keep my suitcase in the trunk when I leave if I have my car there. The hotel I had my honeymoon in didn't have a deadbolt or chain. Sure enough, the morning after our wedding cleanign tried to come in. Lucky for me I'm super paranoid so she just ended up slamming the door into the mini-fridge I'd slid in front of the door the previous night. Before I even had my pants on she was down there with their security manager trying to force the door open. I yelled "Go talk to the front desk before you break into my room morons" before forcing the door shut with my foot and holding it. They weren't happy. I now carry a wedge shaped piece of oak with me to any hotel.
Shows how much you know about locks and chains.
</locksmith>
I don't have a smartphone, by choice.
Seriously, though. Doing everything with that easily lost/stolen/dead battery phone just sounds like a bad idea to me. Monoculture, anyone?