Marriott testing facial recognition check-in at China hotels
Guests at Marriott International hotels in China may soon be able to check-in with a quick selfie.
The world’s largest hotel chain is collaborating with China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba to develop a front desk facial recognition feature.
Automated facial recognition check-ins will be trialled at two China hotels beginning later this month.
Guests are required to scan their IDs, take a photo and input contact details on an automated machine.
When the personal and booking data is verified room key cards are automatically dispensed from a machine.
The new tech will cut down check-in times to about one minute from the average three minutes currently.
It will be tested first at two Marriott hotels in Hangzhou and Sanya.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
Have your say Cancel reply
Subscribe/Login to Travel Mole Newsletter
Travel Mole Newsletter is a subscriber only travel trade news publication. If you are receiving this message, simply enter your email address to sign in or register if you are not. In order to display the B2B travel content that meets your business needs, we need to know who are and what are your business needs. ITR is free to our subscribers.

































Airbnb eyes a loyalty program but details remain under wraps
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Air Mauritius reduces frequencies to Europe and Asia for the holiday season
Major rail disruptions around and in Berlin until early 2026