Next-Gen Tech Arrives at Hocking Hills & Maumee Bay Lodges

Next-Gen Tech Greets Guests at Select Ohio Lodges

Nestled in northern and central Ohio, Hocking Hills Lodge & Conference Center and Maumee Bay Lodge & Conference Center feature views you'd expect from Ohio state parks. But their newest feature may be a little unexpected—next-generation technology. In August 2023, Regency Hotel Management which manages these unique lodges partnered with Simpello™, a cloud-based de-centralized credentialing company, to offer seamless check-in options. This is the first phase of a multi-phase development in partnership with Simpello.

Here's how it will work. Before arrival, guests will be able to use the Great Ohio Lodges mobile app to pre-check. Guests will use the mobile app to provide identity credentials, a preferred form of payment before arrival and then be given a chance to review the terms and conditions for their stay and digitally sign them pre-arrival. On-site, guests will approach a kiosk near the front desk which will communicate with the Great Ohio Lodges app on their mobile device. The kiosk will recognize the facial token stored on their mobile device and locate their reservation. From there, they are only a few clicks away from checking into their room and enjoying their stay. Because the Great Ohio Lodges mobile app uses the Simpello™ patented frictionless identity platform, personal information transfers are secure. Once identification is detected, payment and check-in are completed with the app and the guests leave the kiosk, they're logged out and their personal information is cleared.

Privacy of guest information is a top priority for Regency Hotel Management and the Great Ohio Lodges, for good reason. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center’s 2021 annual report, more data breaches were reported in 2021 than in previous years. Breaches at unsecured businesses have been the leading cause of identity fraud. Major hotel chains have not been immune to these data breaches, as the Federal Trade Commission noted. Regency addresses these issues by ensuring all consented information is immediately cleared with Simpello™. This removes sensitive information from servers Regency needs to protect.

Founded in 2008, Simpello™ is a pioneer in secure, frictionless identity products. Simpello™ decentralizes data by having users present information with their phones. This reduces the need to hold personally identifiable information (PII) while improving business processes. Additionally, Simpello™ can be at a point of sale (POS) terminal, teller line, or anywhere users need secure and frictionless authentication. Thanks to this innovation, a new standard of security has been set. 

“The Simpello™ technology has redefined how we secure our guests’ personal information. The platform provides a personalized experience to guests while protecting their information. For the guest it’s like having a secure vault on their mobile device that allows guests to use their personal information for an enhanced stay. The result is a win for everyone!” - Jim Stark, Chief Technology Officer 

Guest engagement at the front desk kiosks had proven to us that the guests appreciate and will use this kiosk expedite the check in process.  Our next phase of development is a free standing mobile kiosk to be used with our conference groups to allow check-in and conference check-in where the conference is actually being held.  This will substantially improve the front desk queuing at busy times.  Allowing us to better serve our transient family guests at the front desk. As we finish this phase the last phase will be the implementation of a full mobile experience with mobile key and our Great Ohio Lodges mobile app will be our primary interface with our guests while they are at our properties.  

We see endless possibilities with future functionalities we can add with this partnership with Simpello to add frictionless transactions for food & beverage opportunities and guest satisfaction scores.

Now Hocking Hills and Maumee Bay guests can look forward to added convenience and security. Measures taken by Regency are in the best interest of those we serve. Implementing this next-generation technology is one more way to show guests how much their experience matters to us.