Whenever I check into a hotel I invariably have a chat with the check-in staff.
Maybe there is an event or market going on nearby, or perhaps they can recommend a local restaurant, or nearby wine bar.
It is all part of the hospitality industry, but it is human interaction that officials in Dubai are apparently keen to kill off.
Dubai is rolling out a citywide, contactless hotel check-in system that will allow guests to skip the front desk entirely after completing a one-time digital and biometric registration, news hub Travel Mole reports.
Officials are describing the move as "a new global benchmark for convenience and innovation in hospitality".
It will probably also save hotels money on staff, but don't mention that.
Announced by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council, the initiative enables travellers staying at hotels and holiday homes to complete check-in formalities before arrival using their mobile phones.
Once fully implemented across the city, guests will be able to bypass in-person check-in completely, streamlining arrivals and reducing wait times but making each stay more impersonal.
The system, developed by the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) and offered through several independent technology providers, allows guests to upload identification documents and biometric data a single time.
That information remains securely stored and valid until the ID document expires. For future stays, guests would only need a quick authentication, such as facial recognition, to access their accommodations.
Maybe there is an event or market going on nearby, or perhaps they can recommend a local restaurant, or nearby wine bar.
It is all part of the hospitality industry, but it is human interaction that officials in Dubai are apparently keen to kill off.
Dubai is rolling out a citywide, contactless hotel check-in system that will allow guests to skip the front desk entirely after completing a one-time digital and biometric registration, news hub Travel Mole reports.
Officials are describing the move as "a new global benchmark for convenience and innovation in hospitality".
It will probably also save hotels money on staff, but don't mention that.
Announced by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council, the initiative enables travellers staying at hotels and holiday homes to complete check-in formalities before arrival using their mobile phones.
Once fully implemented across the city, guests will be able to bypass in-person check-in completely, streamlining arrivals and reducing wait times but making each stay more impersonal.
The system, developed by the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) and offered through several independent technology providers, allows guests to upload identification documents and biometric data a single time.
That information remains securely stored and valid until the ID document expires. For future stays, guests would only need a quick authentication, such as facial recognition, to access their accommodations.
Officials say the initiative directly supports the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33. That aims to strengthen the Emirate’s position as a leading global hub for business and leisure while accelerating digital transformation and smart city development.
Nearly a quarter of Dubai’s visitors are repeat travellers, and authorities see the new check-in process as a way to enhance loyalty by making return visits faster and more seamless.
“By leveraging cutting-edge solutions, we are not only enhancing the visitor journey, but also strategically positioning Dubai for sustained tourism growth,” Sheikh Hamdan said.
He added that the program reflects the city’s ambition to create a smart, secure and frictionless urban environment.
Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of DET, described the rollout as a milestone for Dubai’s hospitality sector. He said it highlights the impact of collaboration between public and private sectors and supports the broader goal of expanding tourism’s contribution to the emirate’s economy.
Dubai is home to 820 hotels and hotel apartments and welcomed 15.7 million international overnight visitors in the first 10 months of 2025.
“By leveraging cutting-edge solutions, we are not only enhancing the visitor journey, but also strategically positioning Dubai for sustained tourism growth,” Sheikh Hamdan said.
He added that the program reflects the city’s ambition to create a smart, secure and frictionless urban environment.
Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of DET, described the rollout as a milestone for Dubai’s hospitality sector. He said it highlights the impact of collaboration between public and private sectors and supports the broader goal of expanding tourism’s contribution to the emirate’s economy.
Dubai is home to 820 hotels and hotel apartments and welcomed 15.7 million international overnight visitors in the first 10 months of 2025.
This may well work for certain segments—especially business travel, transit stays, or highly transactional visits where efficiency outweighs emotional engagement. In those cases, frictionless check-in can improve satisfaction for the trip, and possibly for the city as a whole.
ReplyDeleteBut from a hospitality and brand-loyalty perspective, this is a dangerous tradeoff.
What research on Memorable Tourism Experiences (MTEs) consistently shows is that revisit intention and brand loyalty are driven by anticipation, involvement, local culture, and meaning, not just convenience. Removing human interaction strips out several of those experiential drivers at the very first touchpoint.
Ironically, this may strengthen Dubai’s city-level brand loyalty (“Dubai is easy, efficient, futuristic”) while simultaneously commodifying individual hotels—turning them into interchangeable containers accessed by face scan. That’s fine only if the destination has enough non-commodified, varied stays to preserve differentiation downstream.
If every arrival feels the same, and every hotel experience is optimized for speed over story, loyalty shifts away from the hotel brand and toward the destination—or worse, toward the booking platform.
In short:
* Good for efficiency-driven travel
* Neutral to positive for the city brand
* Potentially devastating for hotel-level loyalty, differentiation, and repeat emotional attachment
Convenience scales. Meaning does not. And hospitality has always lived in the space between the two.