I’m not sure why I keep finding hotel key cards. There are several hotels around where I work and I guess finding one or two a week isn’t that many considering the number of people who are guests. Mostly they’re on the sidewalk and try to put them in a prominent spot near where I find them to make it as easy as I can in case whoever dropped them retraces their steps searching for their card. I know they’re easily replaced, though, which can sometimes be a security issue, but at least they’re easier to replace than keys.
This one really got my attention though because it wants to be thrown away and replaced with an app. I don’t want to sound like a grumpy old guy but does everything have to be an app now? Most restaurants, even small, local ones where I get takeout push me to use their app for easier ordering. It’s a little easier than a standard phone call, or, for that matter, going to the restaurant itself, which I’m going to have to do anyway to pick up my order, but do I really need, or even want, an app for every single restaurant I order from? The answer is both no and also I should stop getting so much takeout food.
In addition I don’t want to sound like a grumpy, paranoid old guy but using an app on your phone as your hotel key seems like an even bigger security risk than a key card. Your phone can potentially be hacked. For that matter the app itself could be hacked, allowing someone access to every hotel room. Or private information about every guest without ever having to step inside the hotel. Someone who breaks into your hotel room isn’t likely to get into your email, your bank account, and who knows what else, but they will show up on the security cameras. An app connected to the credit card you used to pay for your hotel room could be a gateway for someone anywhere in the world access to a lot more than just your underwear and the Cokes you’ve got chilling in the ice bucket.
And finally I’ve seen more than one guitar player on stage fumble around for a pick then pull out a pocket knife and cut one out of their hotel key card. There are even multiple pick punches made just for that purpose—though I think the idea with a pick punch is to use old, discarded cards, not the one your hotel just gave you. Still that’s something you can’t do with an app.
When I was traveling all the time I always had a stray hotel keycard in my possession. I just saw a cute craft where a woman made a plastic resin tray with all of her keys from that year suspended inside. It was cute. I still like a physical key, but I have to admit that these are pretty handy.
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Somehow I’ve never kept a hotel keycard–I thought they had to be returned or the hotel would charge you a fine. Now that I think about it I guess that would be more trouble to them than it would be worth. And now it’s been so long since I’ve stayed in a hotel I don’t know what I’d do with my keycard.
As usual, I learn a lot from you, my non-discardable, irreplaceable friend.
Though I’ve seen you strum your uke with your hand, Ann, I know you always have your pick.
Using your phone as a room key is one of the dumbest things I’ve heard of. I’m also fed up with having to scan a QR code to get a menu. And the other day, I was doing a presentation at a high school and was forced to sign in by scanning a QR code and then filling in an online form! How do people without phones manage?!
How do people without phones manage? That’s an excellent question. Where I work we can ride the local buses for free. I used to be able to just swipe my employee ID card WHICH I STILL HAVE but earlier this year they changed to it to an app that I had to download to my phone. People without smartphones can pick up a special pass at an administrative office and use that but why not let us keep using our ID cards? There seem to be options for pepole without smartphones but those people, increasingly, are being treated like people who still had rotary phones after 2000.