In June, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts became the most recent hotel company to announce self-service check-in kiosks to supplement the work of the hotel front desk. In April, Starwood Hotels and Resorts introduced kiosks at Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers in Manhattan and expects to have them in 100 properties by the end of the year. Hilton Hotels Corp. has machines in more than 40 properties, and Marriott International and Hyatt Hotels Corp. are in the midst of rollouts this summer.

The surge in hotel kiosks comes at a time when banks, supermarkets, and airlines have brought self-service into the mainstream, and new features make the machines more attractive to guests. At Fairmont, for example, the kiosks not only allow travelers to check in, check out, and receive room keys, but guests can also select a guest room from a map of the hotel. Want to be near the ice machine? You got it.

In addition, a meeting organizer can display a message for attendees.

By the end of the year, Fairmont says guests will to be able use the kiosk to check in and print boarding passes for Air Canada flights.