Vancouver hotel replacing guest phones with iPhones

Hotels offer a wide range of amenities for guests-on-the-go. This includes on-site pools, Wi-Fi, bars, and workout rooms. But for one Canadian hotel, this also includes complimentary iPhones.

That’s right, the Opus hotel in Vancouver has started replacing the landline telephones in each of its rooms, with iPhones. And even better, guests can carry the handsets throughout their entire stay…

USAToday reports:

“The Opus hotel in Vancouver’s trendy Yaletown neighborhood is in the process of making the switch to iPhones, figuring that guests — especially those from the USA — will know how to use them and appreciate having a Canadian phone to eliminate international roaming fees on their personal phones.”

It’s common for U.S. wireless customers to have to change their plans completely when visiting Canada to accommodate international voice and data. And sometimes they even have to buy new handsets. So this aspect is definitely appealing for such travelers.

But these iPhones do more than just make phone calls. Each device comes preloaded with the hotel’s contact numbers, and a virtual concierge to help locate nearby restaurants and activities. And, of course, every handset is wiped clean after each guest checks out.

It’ll be interesting to see if other hotels follow suit here — it actually seems like a pretty smart idea.

What do you think?

[CNET]