How RFID Is Used In The Travel And Tourism Industry
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is believed to have been created during the Second World War for NFC or near-field communication use but was officially invented in 1983 by Charles Walton. Since then, RFID has found its way into almost all facets of the industry. Manufacturing, telecommunications, transportation, logistics, and retail all use RFID. RFID Travel And Tourism Industry
Digital data are encoded and captured via radio waves, but the significant difference with the barcode is that the material does not need to be in the line of sight. So, even if the RFID tag is in a moving vehicle, the data will still be captured and uploaded to the system. This modern technology enabled many industries to improve operations and streamline processes, resulting in faster production turnaround, accurate management tracking, and efficient customer handling.
The travel and tourism industry is no exception to RFID utilization. Many travel and tourism areas now use RFID to handle operations better and improve the customer experience. Here are some of them:
1. Hotel Amenity Access
Unlike the old keycard that can only be used to enter one area, hotels now provide guests with RFID to access all the amenities covered by their hotel booking. Guests can now access the gym, spa, parking, and other amenities within the hotel without being constantly asked by staff.
This revolutionary idea elevated the service experience of guests in the hotel and, at the same time, saved the company operating costs and personnel expenses since they did not need a dedicated person to enter each facility the hotel building had. That significant amount will greatly contribute to the hotel’s bottom line. If you want to take advantage of the benefits of RFID, check out RFID solutions from Lowry Solutions and others.
2. Festival Wristbands RFID Travel And Tourism Industry
Music festivals gather huge crowds and are an essential travel and tourism attraction in many places. Festivals and similar events need tight security and countless booths to provide food, refreshments, and souvenir pop-ups to cater to the needs of attendees. Attendees to festivals will be given RFID wristbands that will contain relevant information on their access.
This wristband may also be loaded with cash to purchase items within the vicinity. What’s great with this is it doubles as a souvenir to the event that attendees can keep and store in their scrapbooks or where they keep mementos these days.
3. Room Inventory Management
Hotels now use RFID to track items’ movement in the minibar accurately. This is much faster than manually counting each item before the guests’ departure. This further improved hotel service since, in recent years, many hotels decided to eliminate the minibar option because of the labour it entails to have it. Because of the RFID, many hotels can bring back the minibar in the rooms without having personnel assigned to count it for accountability and guest charging.Â
Many luxury items in the hotel are becoming collateral damage to unscrupulous guests. Sadly, the practice of taking high-quality hotel linens, luxurious bath towels, hairdryers, and even thick duvet covers hasn’t been eliminated. These unfortunate occurrences cost many hotels thousands of dollars in pilferage costs since they don’t want to shame guests and just let them leave with the items unaccounted for during check-out.
With RFID, it’s very easy to politely tell guests that there are missing items in the room inventory. Guests wouldn’t even try to take home items if they knew beforehand that these were tagged with a microchip.
4. Reflect Names for A Personalized Guest Experience
Five-star hotels pride themselves on stellar guest treatment by always conversing with guests utilizing their first names. Having a staff greet you as they have known you for a long time makes guests feel welcomed and treated like VIPs. However with the surge of new faces in personnel and the influx of many new guests, personalization has become challenging. RFID fixed that by showing the names of guests as they pass through scanners so hotel staff can address them as regular guests even if it was only their first time in the hotel.
Treating a guest like a VIP is essential in the hotel industry. Having guests be called by their first names makes them feel valued and special. Partnered with enthusiasm and a joy to serve, hotel staff can elevate the service of their hotel and give guests more reason to come back over and over.
Conclusion
Technology has improved many aspects of how you live your life, travel, and leisure including. Technological advancements have made it easy for you to access and enjoy the activities that you love with less hassle and more convenience. RFID will continue to proliferate as it has proven its relevance and efficiency in refining processes and improving the operational flow of places you go to unwind and relax.