No more bringing home those towel animals

[Mickey527]

Just read this online. I think it will be funy watching people walk out the front door of their resort and have the bells go off because of the towel animals they take home with them.

Those oh-so-fluffy hotel towels may seem hard to resist taking home, but guests who do so should know that new technology might be tracking that linen straight to their doorsteps.

Linen Technology Tracking, a Miami company, has patented a washable RFID chip that can be sewn into towels, robes and bed sheets. The chip allows hotels to keep track of their linens, reducing loss and helping with inventory.

The New York Times reports that Linen Technology Tracking's executive vice president, William Serbin said three hotels in Honolulu, Miami and Manhattan are currently using the chip, but did not want their names used.

Serbin, however, told the Times that the Honolulu property, which introduced the technology last summer, has reduced theft of its pool towels from 4,000 a month to just 750, saving more than $16,000 a month.

Besides the obvious theft deterrent, the company says the chip can also benefit hotels by reducing inventory time and labor, improve control and savings within the laundry process and help with the management of linen purchases.

Considering linen is one of the hotel industry's biggest expenses, and bound to get bigger with the rising cost of cotton, the embedded chip may prove to be extremely popular with hoteliers.

 

[lustergirl]

oh great, another reason for complaining and whining on the resort boards above. I can hear it now:

"I paid 62 thousand dollars for my recent 3 week stay at the Grand Floridian and they wouldn't let me take my towel animals home." This is it- I am emailing my complaints to disney as we speak."

 

[wvjules]

What a shame that something like that had to be put in place. Towel animals are cute and all but really? Stealing them? Childish.

ETA: I read the article this time. lol But I'll still stand my statement that 1) stealing towel animals is childish and 2) it is a shame that something like that had to be done at any hotel establishment.

 

[Mandychelle79]

Arent the towel animals made from the older worn out towels? I think they will still be safe to bring home....

 

[Uncle Remus]

Just read this online. I think it will be funy watching people walk out the front door of their resort and have the bells go off because of the towel animals they take home with them.

Those oh-so-fluffy hotel towels may seem hard to resist taking home, but guests who do so should know that new technology might be tracking that linen straight to their doorsteps.

Linen Technology Tracking, a Miami company, has patented a washable RFID chip that can be sewn into towels, robes and bed sheets. The chip allows hotels to keep track of their linens, reducing loss and helping with inventory.

The New York Times reports that Linen Technology Tracking's executive vice president, William Serbin said three hotels in Honolulu, Miami and Manhattan are currently using the chip, but did not want their names used.

Serbin, however, told the Times that the Honolulu property, which introduced the technology last summer, has reduced theft of its pool towels from 4,000 a month to just 750, saving more than $16,000 a month.

Besides the obvious theft deterrent, the company says the chip can also benefit hotels by reducing inventory time and labor, improve control and savings within the laundry process and help with the management of linen purchases.

Considering linen is one of the hotel industry's biggest expenses, and bound to get bigger with the rising cost of cotton, the embedded chip may prove to be extremely popular with hoteliers.

Dang, I wish I'd invented that!

 

[ols386]

I thought guests were allowed to take the towel animals home with them?

I've never had a desire to take one home anyways.

 

[FredinFL]

Frankly, I don't find the disney towels all that plush.

 

[tlbwriter]

What a shame that something like that had to be put in place. Towel animals are cute and all but really? Stealing them? Childish.

Many people were told by Disney staff that they could take the towel animals home. That's not stealing.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Just read this online. I think it will be funy watching people walk out the front door of their resort and have the bells go off because of the towel animals they take home with them.

Those oh-so-fluffy hotel towels may seem hard to resist taking home, but guests who do so should know that new technology might be tracking that linen straight to their doorsteps.

Linen Technology Tracking, a Miami company, has patented a washable RFID chip that can be sewn into towels, robes and bed sheets. The chip allows hotels to keep track of their linens, reducing loss and helping with inventory.

The New York Times reports that Linen Technology Tracking's executive vice president, William Serbin said three hotels in Honolulu, Miami and Manhattan are currently using the chip, but did not want their names used.

Serbin, however, told the Times that the Honolulu property, which introduced the technology last summer, has reduced theft of its pool towels from 4,000 a month to just 750, saving more than $16,000 a month.

Besides the obvious theft deterrent, the company says the chip can also benefit hotels by reducing inventory time and labor, improve control and savings within the laundry process and help with the management of linen purchases.

Considering linen is one of the hotel industry's biggest expenses, and bound to get bigger with the rising cost of cotton, the embedded chip may prove to be extremely popular with hoteliers.

So how does that reduce theft? I am guessing it would cost more than the cost of a towel to pursue the thief of a towel? Or, do they have signs saying there are chips in the towels?

 

[JerseyJanice]

The last thing I'd call Disney resort towels is "fluffy."

I'm certain the towels at the hotels mentioned in this article are several grades more expensive than Disney's.

 

[snapppyd]

Arent the towel animals made from the older worn out towels? I think they will still be safe to bring home....

I love a good loophole!

 

[Mandychelle79]

I love a good loophole!

And Im great at finding them. I have a twisted brain I guess.

 

[ilovemk76]

Just read this online. I think it will be funy watching people walk out the front door of their resort and have the bells go off because of the towel animals they take home with them.

Those oh-so-fluffy hotel towels may seem hard to resist taking home, but guests who do so should know that new technology might be tracking that linen straight to their doorsteps.
Linen Technology Tracking, a Miami company, has patented a washable RFID chip that can be sewn into towels, robes and bed sheets. The chip allows hotels to keep track of their linens, reducing loss and helping with inventory.

The New York Times reports that Linen Technology Tracking's executive vice president, William Serbin said three hotels in Honolulu, Miami and Manhattan are currently using the chip, but did not want their names used.

Serbin, however, told the Times that the Honolulu property, which introduced the technology last summer, has reduced theft of its pool towels from 4,000 a month to just 750, saving more than $16,000 a month.

Besides the obvious theft deterrent, the company says the chip can also benefit hotels by reducing inventory time and labor, improve control and savings within the laundry process and help with the management of linen purchases.

Considering linen is one of the hotel industry's biggest expenses, and bound to get bigger with the rising cost of cotton, the embedded chip may prove to be extremely popular with hoteliers.

Wrong. RFID is a passive system. When you pass within a reader the RFID is charged and then sends back its ID. No reader to charge; no signal to send.

They could put the readers at gates, doors and the like to deter theft.

WOW 4000 is lots of towels. I must be one of the few who actually buys my own linens!

 

[Imzadi]

Arent the towel animals made from the older worn out towels? I think they will still be safe to bring home....

I love a good loophole!

That's her story and she's sticking to it.

 

[book_junkie]

Guess Mom won't be needing the extra suitcase this trip...

 

[CKBear]

When I was at AKL for my honeymoon, when Mousekeeping brought us our lovebirds, they told us to feel free to keep them. I didn't but I did take the butterfly that was on the bed when we checked in with the little card with an African proverb on it.

 

[Mrs. Sojourner]

Why would you want them? I don't want another darn stuffed animal in my house let alone a towel animal. They are cute and all and my kids enjoy them while we are there, but no thanks! Maybe this is just my spring cleaning mode talking.

 

[katesorad]

We didn't get any towel animals at the Poly on our last visit. I was very sad! They did, however, make a Mickey head out of leis when we first got there. We took those home! When I was a kid staying at Old Key West (that's where we'd usually stay, in one of the villas), we would get a ton of towel animals and they'd make cute scenes with our stuffed animals.. so we would take them home sometimes.

I don't see the need to bring home towel animals, though. I say just take pictures of them!

 

[beaucoup]

4,000 pool towels stolen in 1 month?

WOW!

Only things I've ever taken from a hotel room are the 1/2 used toiletries and a few pens over the years.

 

[angwill]

The article says nothing about towel animals and it is highly unlikely that Disney will bother putting the chips in their crappy towels anyway. Who would want to steal the towels at Disney. lol

Besides with the towel animals one of the maids told me to take them home because she buys the towels and makes them at home for her guests. When we discussed it she said she buys them cheap in big packs and it costs her very little and her whole family has fun making them. She even admitted that she gets bigger tips when she leaves the towels so they more than pay for themselves. Why are people so anal that they worry about someone taking home a towel animal anyway?