Stealing hotel towels is a rite of passage for travelers, right? Well those days may long be over. Hotels are starting to take towel theft seriously. How serious are they? Certain chains have begun implanting specially designed RFID chips in towels. Really? Really.
The chips, designed by Miami-based Linen Technology Tracking, can be sewn directly into towels, bathrobes or bed sheets. These chips can also withstand over 300 washes. What do they do? If you try to leave the hotel premises with said towels or bed spreads, an alarm will go off. Â You will be humiliated and may even cry. It will be a bad scene all around.
This isn’t widespread yet, but one Honolulu hotel has reported saving $15,000 in stolen linens thanks to the devices. Since then, hotels in Miami and Manhattan have followed suit. What’s next guys?! Soap?!
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Personally I don’t see how RFIDs are profitable for hotels. Yes the cost of cotton & towels is on the rise, and hotels spend thousands each year on towels. But I’d like to know how the RFIDs are actually used by hotels. How exactly did they save $15,00 with the tags? I just can’t see hotels tracking down people to get their towels back. I work for a hotel supplier and the cost of a towel doesn’t seem high enough to make RFIDs profitable. Perhaps hotels who are worried about theft could just state they have RFID tags – but not actually use them – most people wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. The goal is to reduce theft, and if people believe there are RFIDs then they may pass next time they consider stealing a towel.