...not standard keys like you use to start your car or open your front door, they are programmable like the card keys. They don't have notches on the edges like a car key, but instead have channels with a series of bumps running down the channels, the body of the key being about a quarter of an inch wide. When you check in, the clerk grabs a key out of a bucket of keys, sticks it into a machine that programs the lock on the door to your room to accept it (or something along that line, not sure what security technology is involved in this process.) The key works like a card key, you stick it into a slot, and a green light blinks, and then you can turn the handle to open the door.

It's different, don't know if this type of room key is being used elsewhere, but that's what I needed to get into my suite at the Rio last month.

Bob