I have been a strong proponent of the use of technology in every sphere of service. My personal grouse has been that we are just not moving fast enough.

Well, here is another view, and thankfully one that agrees with me. Leave your comments..

we stayed at the Hilton hotel on Sixth Avenue, where I’d found a cheap weekend rate using Hotels.com. I was amazed at what I found in the lobby: check-in kiosks!

There were about 400 people waiting in line for the Reception desk. But me, I just breezed up to the kiosk, fed it a credit card for I.D. purposes, and pocketed the card key that the machine spat out. The machine then printed a page that identified my room number, and even gave me directions on how to find the elevator! (“Cross the lobby,” etc.)

They’ve had check-in kiosks at airports for years now. But in my view, hotels need them far more desperately. What the heck took so long?

O.K., the concierge told me that this Hilton has actually had them for two years now. But still, you get my point: At most hotels, you get there, you stand in line, you’re tired from travel, and you just lean against the counter for—what, seven minutes?—as the reception agent taps away on the computer. What on earth is so complicated about checking somebody in?

Hate to say it, but the little kiosk machine completed the same transaction in under 30 seconds. Let the revolution begin!