Wireless reservation, check-in, access control, check-out and payment

A method for providing automatic wireless hotel facility reservation and/or check-in and/or check-out and room access control in a system comprising a communication network interconnecting a telecommunication system adapted to communicate wirelessly with a wireless telecommunication device of a wireless terminal of a user and a computerized reservation/IT system associated with a facility, said computerized reservation/IT system including a means for electronic communication with a remotely operable door lock of the facility, said remotely operable door lock including a lock device and a first wireless device operationally associated with the lock device and adapted to communicate wirelessly with a second wireless device of the wireless terminal, said wireless terminal including the wireless telecommunication means arranged in communication with the second wireless communication device and arranged to communicate via the wireless telecommunication means to the computerized reservation/IT system a reservation and/or check-in request of a terminal user;

• the method comprising:
• automatically generating in the computerized reservation/IT system an electronic key upon receiving from the wireless terminal a hotel reservation and/or check-in request,
• automatically and wirelessly communicating a copy of the electronic key from the computerized reservation/IT system to the wireless terminal that originated the reservation and/or check-in request, and
• automatically and electronically communicating from the computerized reservation/IT system to the remotely operable door lock information corresponding to the electronic key, wherein the door lock is associated with a hotel room assigned to the user in response to the reservation and/or check-in request, and
• automatically and wirelessly obtaining by the remotely operable door lock, without the user of the wireless terminal having to press a button, a copy of the electronic key from the wireless terminal if the second wireless device and the first wireless device are mutually in-range,
• automatically actuating by the remotely operable door lock the lock device to enable the user to access the hotel room if the copy of the electronic key obtained from the wireless terminal corresponds to the information received from the computerized reservation/IT system,
• obtaining wirelessly by a third wireless device of a wireless monitoring unit in communication with the computerized reservation/IT system, a copy of the electronic key from the wireless terminal when the second wireless device and the third wireless device are mutually in-range,
• communicating the obtained copy of the electronic key from the wireless monitoring unit to the computerized reservation/IT system, and
• invalidating in the computerized reservation/IT system and any connected remotely operable door lock any information corresponding to the copy of the electronic key obtained by the wireless monitoring unit if a reservation period associated with the copy of the electronic key has expired.