IntercontinentalHotelsGroup

MobileKey: Will Your Next Hotel Key Be Your Cell Phone?

First there was the key, then there was the key card, but the latest way to open the door of a hotel room might be through your cell phone. Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) has announced the pilot of a mobile-based front desk bypass solution that gives guests at the Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago O'Hare Rosemont and the Holiday Inn Express Houston Downtown the option to skip the front desk and open their room through the use of a cell phone key. Guests will have the option to "enroll" for MobileKey through an email sent before their check-in date. The day of arrival the guest receives a text message with the room number and a secured link to retrieve the room key. Check out the video demonstration above to see how it works. Each CAC "aural" key produced is encrypted, unique and becomes obsolete from the moment it is used for optimum security.

OpenWays, the company that created the MoblieKey technology, uses the principle of Crypto Acoustic Credential (CAC™) and text messaging (SMS) to securely deliver an encrypted tone or "credential" to the right user anywhere in the world. The solution is compatible with the latest smartphones (including the new Apple iPhone 4 and 3GS, the Google Android-based phones, Blackberries, etc.) and every other cell phone and carrier worldwide as well as all the major electronic-locking systems and access-control systems. More information on the program is available on the IHG Innovation Center blog. It will be interesting to see how well the program is received. While it seems radical now and many have concerns about security and ease of use, I wouldn't be surprised to see this or a similar system become a standard option for many hotels within the next few years.

Tags: hotel innovations, hotel key, hotel keycards, ihg, IntercontinentalHotelsGroup, mobilekey

InterContinental Hotels In China Offer Traditional Chinese Medicine Spa Experiences

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Spas

Travelers in China looking to experience a bit of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) can enjoy two Signature TCM spa treatments at the InterContinental Hotels & Resorts in Greater China. The treatments were created by Eu Yan Sang, a leader in the TCM industry and are inspired by the basic TCM principles of Yin and Yang - complementary opposites within a greater whole, creating a dynamic balance of all things. Eu Yan Sang created a range of pre-packed herbs selected based on the principle of Yin and Yang for relaxing and energizing which the spa then mixes with either oil or water during its treatments.

The relaxing Yin ritual includes fragrances like geranium, lotus and peppermint. A body scrub is enhanced with herbs like wolfberry bark (di gu pi), coix seed (yi yi ren), ampelopsis (bai lian) and sea salt (hai yan). The oil for the relaxing massage includes geranium, lavender, marjoram, rosemary, sweet almond and grape seed (Mi Die Xiang / Xun Yi Cao / Tian Xing Ren You /Ma Yu Lan / Pu Tao Zi You). A body wrap of lotus leaves and pearl powder helps release water retention and a relaxing tea caps off the experience.

The Yang ritual is designed for energy. It starts with an exfoliation with energizing herbs like garden balsam stem (tou gu cao), mulberry twig (sang zhi), acorus rhizome (shi chang pu) and clove (ding xiang). The body wrap uses salvia root (dan shen), atractylodes rhizome (cang zhu), sappan wood (su mu) and tangerine peel (chen pi) to boost circulation and improve the flow of energy. The massage oil for this ritual is full of invigorating herbs such as black pepper, lemongrass, rosemary, lemon, sweet almond and grape seed (Mi Die Xiang/ Ning Meng/ Hei Hu Jiao/ Tian Xing Ren you/ Ning Meng Xiang Cao/ Pu Tao Zi You). To complete the experience a tea that includes red ginseng root (hong shen xu), licorice root (gan cao) and dried ginger (gan jiang) and patchouli (huo xiang) powers up the system.

Both treatments can be found at a variety of Intercontinental Hotels in China.

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Tags: china, intercontinental, intercontinental hotels group, IntercontinentalHotelsGroup, spa, spa experience, spa ritual, SpaExperience, SpaRitual, traditional chinese medicine, TraditionalChineseMedicine, yang, yin