Digital hotel check-in
Digital Check-In Software for Hotels
Guests photograph their ID, complete the registration form and save a card for incidentals on their phone before they travel. When the required steps are in, check-in can complete in the PMS and access details go out on WhatsApp.
Arrival is where guest experience and staff workload collide. Moving ID capture, the passenger card and payment collection earlier fixes both — including late arrivals, remote cabins and groups landing together.
1 month free. No credit card. Keep it only if it delivers.
38 sec
Average request resolution
295 guest requests handled without extra staff
1,782
Automated messages delivered
WhatsApp, email and SMS at 72.3% delivery success
35% → 91%
Guest contact coverage
OTA contact gaps recovered before arrival
Measured at Sunday Morning Collection, Pyhä, Finland, running Butler AI with Mews. Full breakdown in the case study.
What arrival looks like without it
Groups arrive all at once
Fifteen guests off one transfer means fifteen forms at one desk, and everyone behind them waits.
Late arrivals need staffing
Keeping a desk covered at 02:00 for one arrival is expensive, and skipping it means the guest is stuck.
Data capture varies by shift
Different staff collect different fields, so records come back incomplete and need chasing afterwards.
Compliance is a scramble
Where guest registration is a legal requirement, incomplete or late capture creates real reporting gaps.
The welcome becomes admin
The first five minutes of a stay are spent on a clipboard rather than on hospitality.
The arrival bottleneck
"We've just arrived — how do we get in?"
It is the most ordinary message a hotel receives and the one that most reliably produces a queue. The guest has travelled all day, they are standing somewhere with luggage, and the answer they need is one line long.
The reason it takes fifteen minutes instead of one is that everything has been deferred to the desk: identity, the registration form, a card for incidentals, the room allocation. All of it is work that could have happened a week earlier from a sofa.
Moving that work before the journey does not just shorten check-in. It removes the reason the queue exists.
What the guest does
Four steps on a phone, before they travel
The request arrives on whichever channel the guest is reachable on — WhatsApp, email or SMS — or staff start it from chat. Nothing to install; it works in any mobile browser.
The guest photographs their ID. The passenger card is pre-filled from the scan and the booking. If the property requires a card for incidentals, it is saved without charging.
When those steps are in, Butler AI can complete check-in in Mews or Protel. On OPERA, the front office has the documents and details ready instead of re-keying them.
Upload ID — OCR plus booking data pre-fill the form
Complete the passenger / registration card (the Finnish Matkustajailmoitus uses this same form)
Save a card for incidentals if the hotel requires it — tokenised, not charged
Check-in completes in the PMS; the PDF stays on the guest record
Arrival day
The door code arrives before the guest does
Once check-in is complete, arrival does not have to wait on somebody behind a desk. Door code and Wi-Fi can be sent on WhatsApp from the space / hotel config — including as an instant check-in message.
That is what makes 2am arrivals, remote cabins and unattended apartments workable without a 24-hour desk. Exceptions still route to on-call staff — they are exceptions rather than every arrival.
For properties with group transfers, it is the difference between fifteen forms at one desk and fifteen people walking to their rooms.
Compliance
The same passenger card, every shift
Where guest registration is a legal requirement, the risk is rarely refusal — it is drift. Different staff collect different fields, night shift is looser than day shift, and gaps only surface when somebody asks for a report.
One pre-arrival form makes capture identical regardless of who is on. The submitted passenger card is stored as a PDF on the guest record. Staff can open check-in status, documents and attempt history instead of discovering gaps later.
For Finnish properties, that form is the Matkustajailmoitus — see Matkustajailmoitus automation and the Mews integration for Finland.
What it buys back
Time at the desk, and the first five minutes of the stay
The operational case is straightforward: check-in time drops from around fifteen minutes to under two when the paperwork is already done.
The guest-experience case is the one people underrate. The first five minutes of a stay set the tone, and spending them on a clipboard is a waste of the only moment where a welcome is free.
It also feeds everything downstream — the contact details captured here are what make in-stay messaging and timed offers possible at all.
How digital check-in works
Check-in request on the guest's channel
A secure link goes out on WhatsApp, email or SMS from the guest journey, timed around the arrival window. Staff can also start check-in from the guest chat.
ID scan and passenger card
The guest photographs a passport or ID. OCR and booking details pre-fill the passenger card; required fields stay configurable per property and jurisdiction.
Card on file, without charging
If the hotel requires it, a card is saved for incidentals (Stripe Connect or Datatrans on Protel). The card is tokenised, not charged at check-in.
Timed reminders
Guest journey steps can nudge anyone who has not finished, so staff are not chasing links by hand.
PMS check-in
When the passenger card and, if required, a payment method are in, check-in can complete on Mews or Protel. Documents attach to the guest record for the front office.
Status visible to staff
Check-in status, uploaded documents and attempt history sit on the guest profile. Incomplete cases can be finished at the desk.
The check-in flow, end to end
- 1
Reservation syncs
Butler AI reads the booking, arrival window and guest details from your PMS.
- 2
Guest is asked to check in
A secure link goes out on WhatsApp, email or SMS — or staff start the flow from the guest chat.
- 3
ID, passenger card, card on file
The guest uploads ID, completes the registration form, and saves a card for incidentals if the property requires one.
- 4
Check-in completes, access goes out
On Mews and Protel, check-in can complete automatically. Door code and Wi-Fi can then be sent on WhatsApp.
Connected to your PMS
Mews
Reservation sync and automated check-in once the passenger card and, if required, a card on file are in.
Oracle OPERA
Reservation and profile context so pre-arrival check-in data is ready for the front office.
Protel
Passenger card plus Datatrans card-on-file can complete check-in; staff can work the guest from inside Protel.
The check-in flow end to end
The product sequence, in order: the guest is asked in WhatsApp, they complete ID, passenger card and card on file, access details go out after check-in, and staff see stay status on the conversation.
Keep reading
Matkustajailmoitus automation for Finland
The Finnish passenger card, collected as this same pre-arrival form.
Hotel guest experience platform
Where check-in sits in the full guest journey.
Guest journey automation for hotels
The timing engine that sends the check-in link and reminders.
Hotel guest messaging software
The conversation that carries the check-in request and the door code afterwards.
Mews integration for Finland
Digital check-in running on Mews at a Finnish resort.
Sunday Morning Collection case study
Contact coverage from 35% to 91% through pre-arrival flows.
Frequently asked questions
What is digital hotel check-in?
Digital hotel check-in moves identity capture, the passenger / registration form and (if the hotel requires it) a card on file from the front desk to the guest's phone before they arrive. A secure link is sent ahead of the stay, or staff start the flow from chat. When the required steps are in, check-in can complete in the PMS and access details can go out on WhatsApp.
What does the guest actually do?
Four guest steps: upload a photo of their ID, complete the passenger card (pre-filled from the scan and the booking), save a payment card for incidentals if the property requires one, and wait while Butler AI completes check-in in the PMS. There is nothing to install — it runs in the mobile browser and in the WhatsApp thread.
Is this compliant with guest registration laws?
The passenger card fields cover identity, travel document, address and stay purpose, and a PDF is stored on the guest record for staff. Fields are used per property and jurisdiction. In Finland this is the Matkustajailmoitus passenger card — see the dedicated page for that workflow.
What happens if a guest does not complete it?
Guest journey reminders can go out before arrival. Staff see check-in status, documents and attempt history on the guest profile, and can finish anything outstanding at the desk. Digital check-in is not all-or-nothing.
Which channels is the check-in link sent on?
WhatsApp, email or SMS from guest journey automation, depending on how the guest is reachable. Staff can also start check-in from the guest conversation. After check-in, door code and Wi-Fi can be sent as a WhatsApp template.
Does it work for self check-in and remote properties?
Yes. Once check-in is complete, door code and Wi-Fi can be delivered from the space / hotel config so cabins, apartments and late-night arrivals do not need a 24-hour desk. Exceptions still go to on-call staff.
Can we still check some guests in at the desk?
Yes. Guests who skip or only partly complete the flow can finish in person. Staff can start check-in from chat, review documents on the guest profile, or use the on-property check-in portal so a walk-up guest searches their reservation and continues on their own phone.
Take arrival paperwork off the front desk
A 30-minute walkthrough of the ID scan, passenger card, card on file, PMS check-in and door-code message on your own property.
Related pages
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Integration
Mews integration for Finland
Two-way data sync between Butler AI and Mews for Finnish hotels.
Solution
Hotel Guest Experience Platform
One platform for the whole stay — pre-arrival, check-in, in-stay service, upselling and post-stay follow-up.
Solution
Matkustajailmoitus automation
Automate Finnish guest ID collection before arrival with Butler AI.
Integration
Butler AI + Oracle OPERA PMS integration
Automate hotel guest messaging, digital check-in and service requests on top of Oracle OPERA.