A friend of mine is developing a project using RFID tags to manage inventory in hotel rooms – you know the stuff in the mini bar and snacks. That’s caused me to take a greater interest in rfid tags and how they are being used for hospitality. For one, they can be used to control electronic door locks for hotel rooms and other ways to track guest movements and give permissions. They can also be used in towels, robes and other items that move around a hotel and might end up going home in the guests luggage. Interesting, but not really very fun.
Using RFID Tags with FaceBook
Here’s an application that looks like fun and leads to lots of possibilities. The Ushuaia Beach Hotel 
in the European summer clubbing capital of Ibiza capitalizing on their guests’ obsession with Facebook by using rfid tagged wristbands and specialty kiosks places around the resort.
RFID tags are really cheap, and they hold a signal that allows the guest to swipe their band over a sensor on a kiosk that connects them to their FaceBook wall. The kiosk then takes pictures and videos and supports posting messages.
Naturally, this is really great publicity for the Ushuaia Beach Hotel as people stream live images from their holiday back to friends at home.
RFID Tags and the Tap-n-Go features of Android for Phones
The idea of tagged wrist bands in a closed environment is really cool because they are disposable, they can get wet and they’re cheap and easy to distribute. Festivals would be a great application.
For every day, I doubt I would keep an rfid tag with me when I go shopping or do day to day stuff. Even if I did, they would be coded to work with specific kiosks and it’s not likely that they will be sprinkled around the place.
But, my mobile phone is like a kiosk. The reason why they work so well at the hotel is because people are swimming, dancing and in full party mode and they don’t want to carry expensive and bulking equipment. When I walk down Main Street, that’s not the case. I have my smart phone and I can check in with a FourSquare or Google Plus and I can upload anything I want to FaceBook.
But, businesses will want to make that easy – so QRCodes and NFC Tap-n-Go technologies will bring it all together. I can see great ways to set up scavenger hunts, photo contests and more using simple technology coupled with the power of smart phones. I think the story is just beginning.
