kklems

How did that work out for Flint, MI?


But I do see more and more hotels using water coolers with cups in the workout rooms. They use to have mini-fridges with bottled water.

MS02113

I assume that change is driven by cost savings rather than environmental friendliness.

storewanderer

The water bottles are great and easy to take on the go for a traveler. Giving out a couple of water bottles is a great convenience for me, especially after a long day of travel. I count on those two water bottles at the hotel to save me from having to stop somewhere else between the airport and hotel.

I also often will refill the bottles to take out the next day.

It is very easy to recycle the bottles when disposing them also. There is nothing wrong with proper use of the bottles.

As much as I like the idea of communal water refill stations, etc., these are still not all that common. The one I was going to use recently at PDX was so filthy that I turned around and did not use it.

dave1013

Pick your poison, I guess ...

https://www.ktoo.org/2017/09/27/your...ic-pollutants/

If you’re drinking tap water, you’re consuming plastic pollutants

Microscopic plastic fibers are pouring out of household faucets from New York to Delhi, according to original research by Orb Media, a nonprofit digital newsroom in Washington, DC.

Working with researchers at the State University of New York and the University of Minnesota, Orb tested 159 drinking water samples from cities and towns on five continents.

Eighty-three percent of those samples, including tap water from the US Capitol complex, Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington, DC, and the Trump Grill in New York, contained microscopic plastic fibers.

KathyWdrf

What makes you assume that bottled water does NOT also have microscopic plastic fibers in it?

LondonElite

Correct on both fronts!

shorthauldad

Yeah, see I have this niggle about the melting point of glass being so high.

If you're re-using glass containers, great. Most of the water bottles I see seem to get chucked into glass recycling containers (and smashed) which seems to set you back quite a long way...

Need

Depends on which country... unless the goal is to get Montezuma's revenge.

flyou10

Has anyone used this new update? I guess you're suppose to be able to shake your phone to get the digital key to open. Do you still have to be in the Hilton app?

Gig103

Oh, that does NOT work in Phoenix. Still remember my first night here when we were put up in a hotel as part of my interview. I keep water at the bedside, no HHonors status, so I filled a glass from the tap. When I took a sip part way through the night it was so bad it wrenched me out of my hazy-half-sleep.

Westcoaster

Am thinking about using digital key for the first time. Your post got me thinking about how it works. I know that I can select digital key when I do OLCI on my Samsung phone but what is required after that? I assume I need to have Bluetooth on when I get to my hotel room door, correct? Do I have to have an active Wifi signal at that time? Sorry for the deadhead questions but we all have to learn sometime. Thanks!

jamesteroh

I think the way it works at the NYC fashion district is absurd. If you chose the digital key option and on an OLCI, they still require you to go to the front desk and show your ID and credit card before it works. Seeing there really aren't any upgrades at this hotel outside of getting a room with a king when reserving a queen, I am normally happy with my selected room and would rather just use the digital key to go str8 up to my room than wait in line at the front desk.

Qwkynuf

I think they answer all of your questions here: Hilton Digital Key

corporate-wage-slave

Yes, Bluetooth on, the app will prompt you if it isn't enabled. You don't need a wifi or cell signal since there is a token inside the App which talks to key mechanism over BT, and that keeps working during your stay. So at the time you get the Notification that the digital key and room is ready for you you would need to be online (at some point) in order to pick up the updated token. This could be several hours before your arrival. However I would tend to switch on the signal at the hotel as well, just in case there's a problem with the room (and the hotel has shifted you) or some such. The hotel would then send you an updated token. Also sometimes you need it for the lifts (elevators), car park and what not, so best have Bluetooth on some time before you get to the door. As you approach the door (etc) the relevant screen turns green to indicate all is well, and you can tap to open. The other tip is that there is sometimes a half second delay before the door handle actually unlocks, with time you will develop an inbuilt slight delay. And if you don't normally have BT constantly on, be prepared for the battery to drain rather faster than normal.

Westcoaster

Wow, what a great response! I had been most unsure about precisely when in the process I'd need a wifi/cell signal (I don't leave data and Bluetooth on by default) and you answered that question very well. The Hilton website doesn't go into enough detail on that. I didn't want to be at my hotel door and having to figure it all out then. I've read enough stories about problems people were having so hadn't tried it yet. But I have a couple of stays coming up where it may come in handy.

Thank you !