The invention of the hotel key card

In the 1970s, Norwegian Tor Sornes invented the hotel key card. He wanted to improve security in hotels after he heard the news that one of his favourite singers, Connie Francis, was attacked in her hotel room.

After making a prototype in his garden shed, Tor then had the challenging task of selling his invention globally.

Tor’s son, Anders, tells Gill Kearsley how persistence paid off for Tor, and the hotel key card was adopted worldwide.

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(Photo: A later version of a hotel key card. Credit: Getty Images)