• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, May 18, 2016

A lot of brands talk about improving the “user experience” and create “frictionless” or “effortless” marketing lifestyles, but OpenKey has made it its unique selling proposition.

In fact, the inspiration for the product came out of reducing the amount of effort consumers have when they check into hotels.

Instead of waiting in a queue to interact with the front desk and get what most likely is an electronic card key, OpenKey simply turns the user’s phone into their hotel room key.

The idea for the marketing technology solution, the startup brand’s Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Brian Shedd told attendees during a panel discussion at OMMA Marketing Tech came from its largest investor, one of 12 of the largest real estate investment trusts in the hotel industry, who was just sick and tired of waiting in check-in lines.

“The offerings in the mobile key space were very friendly to the brand and not very friendly to the consumer,” Shedd said, adding: “Believe it or not, owners of hotel brands are much more closely aligned with you and I than the brand.”

The solution was enabling hotel patrons to activate their room key via an app on their phone, “pre-arrival.”

“You can sign in and skip the desk completely,” he said, adding that it “eliminates that whole front desk issue.”

The innovation has improved another user experience, too, he said. Not just the consumer’s, but the hotel staff’s.

“It frees the front desk agents up to do a far better job of serving you as a customer,” he said, giving them more time to focus on attending to hotel patron needs.