My War With Hotel Check-In Kiosks

As I've blogged before, I have the worst luck with the touch-screen check-in kiosks that are popping up in hotels. Whenever I see one, I try to use it--but I'm only able to leave with key in hand maybe 25 percent of the time. Otherwise, said kiosks are either out of order, or they give me an error message somewhere along the way.

Along with my PC World comrades, I'm in Las Vegas this week to attend the humongous Consumer Electronics Show. We're staying at the Sahara--which, despite being one of the last relics of Old Vegas on the Strip, is the first hotel here I've stayed in with kiosks. I ambled up to one and got most of the way through the check-in process before it choked and told me to see a real person.

Which is what I shoulda done in the first place--especially since there were no lines at the counter. I guess it's geekly instinct, but when given the opportunity to accomplish something by using a computer, I usually try to. Even though my experiences with hotel kiosks have been dismal and those with automated checkouts at grocery stores haven't been that much better.

Anyhow, every time I try to use a kiosk at a hotel and go away empty-handed, I wonder: Is it me? Or are these things simply not ready for prime time? If you've used 'em, I'd love to hear your experiences.

And as long as I'm talking CES, here's a quick plug: We'll be doing a ton of coverage the news here at the show over the next four days. Here's Denny Arar's report on Bill Gates' keynote last night, the official kickoff of the show; check out our CES Info Center and Today @ PC World blog for lots more stuff.

Comments

Almost makes me glad that I didn't go to this year's CES after all. It's so huge and overwhelming that I almost keeled over upon trying to decide what to cover.

Speaking of Bill Gates and plugs, check out this Tandy endorsement circa 1984:
http://www.vintagecomputing.com/index.php/archives/411

It too plugs PCW's keynote coverage, by the way.

RedWolf

January 07, 2008

11:18 AM PT