What Is Digital Check-in? Hotel Self Check-in Explained

With digital check-in, guests handle arrival on their phone or at a kiosk. What it involves and what applies to registration.

By Michael Külbel 3 min read

Graphic: German hotel registration since 2025: dropped for German nationals, still required for foreign guests, signature or electronic form, ask for nationality early
What has applied to hotel registration forms in Germany since 2025, based on guidance from the German Hotel Association. Graphic: eingecheckt.de · Background photo: Timessquare42, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Key points
  • Digital check-in means guests complete registration before arrival on their smartphone or on site at a kiosk, instead of queuing at reception.
  • It often includes an online form, advance payment and a digital room key or a key card from a dispenser.
  • Since 1 January 2025, German hotels no longer have to register guests with German nationality. The requirement still applies to foreign guests.
  • The German Hotel Association recommends asking for nationality at the booking stage and pre-filling registration forms for foreign guests.

A late arrival at 11 pm, and reception is no longer staffed. In the past, that meant a key in an envelope and a call to the night porter. With digital check-in, the guest goes straight to the room and the hotel still has everything it needs.

What digital check-in means

With digital check-in, the steps that would otherwise happen at reception are brought forward or automated: collecting details, confirming terms, paying and issuing keys. Before arrival, the guest receives a link, fills in a form and pays online. On the day of arrival, they pick up a key card from a kiosk or open the room door with their smartphone.

The building blocks

Online check-in: a form before arrival, usually via an email link or an app, connected to the PMS.

Kiosk: a terminal in the lobby that collects details and issues key cards.

Digital key: the door opens via an app or a code, without any card.

Advance payment: online or via a stored card, so only extras remain to be settled at check-out.

What applies to registration in Germany

Since 1 January 2025, the special registration requirement for accommodation providers under Sections 29 and 30 of Germany’s Federal Registration Act no longer applies to guests with German nationality. Hotels no longer need to keep, have signed or archive a registration form for them. For guests without German nationality, the requirement remains: on the day of arrival, they sign a registration form with the details required by law, and the hotel checks the information against their identity document. An electronic registration form is an alternative.¹

The German Hotel Association recommends asking for nationality during the booking process or in pre-arrival communication, and pre-filling registration forms for foreign guests automatically. In spa and tourist resorts that charge a visitor levy, the municipality may still require all guests to be reported.¹

What digital check-in does not replace

Digital check-in saves time on paperwork, but it does not replace a welcome. The time saved can be used to greet guests personally instead of filling in forms. It is important that guests who prefer to check in at reception, or who need help, can still do so.

What hoteliers should look for

Checklist: introducing digital check-in
  1. PMS integration: Does the system pass guest details and payments directly to the PMS?
  2. Ask for nationality: Add a mandatory field to the booking or check-in form.
  3. Pre-fill registration forms: Prepare registration forms for foreign guests automatically.
  4. Decide on keys: Key card dispenser, key safe or digital key: what suits the door locks and the guests?
  5. Offer a contact: Guests who need help can still find someone to assist them.

More in the magazine

How self check-in, automatic payments and a digital key have freed up time for guests at the family-run Roter Ochse is shown in our article "At the family-run Roter Ochse in Rhens, going digital has freed up time for guests". Where people still make the difference in hotels despite technology is explained by Oliver Meyer in the interview "How Much Human Contact Does a Hotel Still Need, Mr Meyer?".

Sources

This glossary entry is based on the following source:

  1. German Hotel Association (IHA) (2024)
    Das neue Hotelmelderecht: Häufig gestellte Fragen und Antworten (FAQ)
    Guidance note, as of 25 November 2024. End of the registration requirement for German guests from 1 January 2025, registration form for foreign guests, asking for nationality. Original publication in German.
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