Remote baggage service, check-in win positive reviews from hoteliers

Hotel & Motel Management, Dec 13, 2004 by Dennis Blank

NATIONAL REPORT -- Trial runs of remote baggage handling and check-in kiosks in the last year are getting rave reviews from hotel-iers, who see these new amenities as a step up in their sales pitch to guests and meeting planners. A nationwide rollout could occur later by the end of the year when more hotels and airlines offer the service.

"The meeting planners we have surveyed so far are ecstatic about it," said Mark Moraveck, g.m. of the Orlando Marriott Downtown. "It makes everyone's life so much easier. If you have a guest that has a 2 p.m. meeting and his flight leaves at 6 p.m., he knows he doesn't have to leave the hotel until 4 p.m. because he doesn't have to worry about standing in line to check his bags. It certainly is a comfort for our guests, knowing their bags are already at the airport."

Moraveck is talking about a new service offered by Baggage Airline Guest Services, based in Orlando, which has a venue in his hotel lobby. Guests stop by the kiosk, which is located in the hotel, and an attendant checks their luggage and gives them a boarding pass. The standard fee is $10 a bag, and luggage is taken to the airport in a secure van and processed through security at the airport.

Moraveck said he learned after a few months that it was a "wonderful sales tool" to help entice more group business. He is offering the service to loyalty program members for free.

"This has become a huge convenience for our guests," said Christian Coffin, manager of the Doubletree Guest Suites Hotel in Boston, which agreed to do a trial run during the Democratic National Convention. A separate podium is set up in the lobby to handle the airport check-in.

"The airlines are very supportive, and it shortens the lines at the airport," Coffin said. "We were a test site and now we are working out a program with our sister properties and will be including them at some future point."

He said BAGS collects all the fees, and guests also can be billed through the hotel.

"It is not a revenue generator for the hotel," Coffin said.

As the service expands with more airlines, guests will use it more frequently, according to Coffin. He said he found that it was a strong selling tool for guests who did not want the hassle of lugging their bags to the airport.

Craig Mateer, president of BAGS, said the company has contracts with Delta, Song and American airlines. Continental, Northwest and United were expected to be tied in with the service by late November. In addition, other major hotel chains should also be using the services by the end of the year.

It has taken time, he said, because the airlines have their own special computer language to comply with federal security requirements on baggage handling. The company has partnered with ARINC, which furnishes the software, to link with the airlines and issue boarding passes.

"We are focused on a nationwide rollout with many of our airline partners and are rolling out our cruise ship model this fall," Mateer said.

His employees, who are required to have background checks, are essentially working as an arm of the Transportation Security Administration. Hotel employees cannot handle the bags following the check-in, and BAGS has to follow certain procedures as bags are moved in a locked van to airport security handling.

"The TSA required us to meticulously know where every bag is," Mateer said. "We have back-up after back-up to make sure that the airlines get every bag."

BAGS was launched as a remote passenger check-in service in 2003 at the Rosen Centre, a hotel near the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.

"It has become an additional amenity for our sales folks, and we hope to sell it to groups, especially when we participate in city-wide conferences." said Jason Parson, resident manager at the Rosen. "It operates similar to a skycap at the airport. Once you are done, you can go straight to the gate."

Hilton Hotels Corp. is expected to install 100 remote check-in kiosks at 45 hotels and airports by the end of the year after a successful rollout in the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa. Using kiosks at the Honolulu International Airport, Hawaiian Village guests were able to check into the hotel and get their room keys even before they claimed their baggage at the terminal.

Hilton also would like to use the kiosks at check-out, and they would be able to process credit cards and print receipts.

"This is the trend of the future," said Dieter Huckestein, president of hotel operations for Hilton. "Seasoned travelers, whether on business or vacation, value time and convenience."

hmm@advanstar.com