No Hospitality For RFID Yet

There was a time when radio frequency identi­-fication (RFID) was to replace
the existing bad code technology. This has not happened in the hospitality
business as yet though. But this is not because the technology is not robust; it
has a lot to do with ignorance and not too many solution providers are aware of
the solutions that can be deployed in this vertical.

The RFID-related applica­tions for the hospitality industry can be broadly
categorized under three areas-Asset Management, Laundry Tagging and Customer
Identification.

Under asset management, various details like location, owner, vendor,
warranty, etc can be managed using RFID. This technology reduces human
dependency besides being quick and easy. With RFID applications, asset searching
and movement tracking can be easily accomplished. Using RFID applications
reduces the chances of counterfeit.

One of the biggest sub-businesses in the hospitality vertical is laundry
management. This is where RFID can be useful since its button tags can withstand
50 to 100 wash cycles. They also carry information such as location, batch and
number of wash cycles.

A physical stock can also be kept using RFID application to check pilferage.
A laundry search can be easily done with the aid of RFID applications, which
again reduces counterfeiting.

Using RFID technology, you can count people in a building, customers in a
shop, and people in an event. You can identify who is passing, where and when.
You can also know whether a person wears the access badge, can that person
access this place, and can the security staff control everything. The key
drivers for RFID technology are ability to manage chaos, where barcodes are not
feasible; and its dependability, closed loop and counting process.

Use of RFID cards

There are moderately sized companies also that are looking at the RFID
business. Pune-based solution provider, i-TEK has created a RFID card that
proposes that it can be used by members of clubs for a number of applications.
Ashim Patil of i-TEK said, “The entire member­ship details and personal
information of the member is stored into the card memory to facilitate offline
transactions.”

On expiry of membership, the same card can be reissued to a new member by
simply re-programming the card. The card has a write endurance of upto 1,00,000
cycles. With this card, the I/O time log is maintained automatically and
depending on the type of membership, the member will be given access to the
different sections of the club.

Patil added, “The card can act as a credit/debit card, which will facilitate
cashless transactions at various points of sale.” This will also mean reduction
of cost if replacement of cards is controlled, since the RFID card can be used
for several cycles.

The data on the RFID card such as the purchases made, points earned,
discounts valid, amount of money on the card, expiry date of the membership etc
is accessed at the kiosks installed at strategic locations. These kiosks also
act as message boards.

The clubs can offer special loyalty discount schemes and members can avail
these schemes by flashing the card at the readers at the redeem counters. This
system can be replicated in hotels or resorts.

This shows that loyalty card is one area where RFID is used. But there are
other areas where RFID cards can play a role. Kauser Ayaz, Scan Infotech said,
“One such area is identification of assets. Another area that is opening up big
time is identification of linen. RFID helps in keeping track of the linen and
thus facilitates laundry service.”

There are only a handful of system integrators in India who are equipped to undertake RFID projects. This is primarily due to a lack of knowledge required to integrate various systems

Tracking becomes easy

RFID cards can also be used as tracking devices. For instance, parking access
can be facilitated through RFID. This is helpful not only from the parking point
of view but also from the security angle, as only authorized vehicles are
allowed access to the parking areas.

In clubs and casinos, there are tokens can be tracked using RFID. This
ensures that nobody can misuse or forge the tokens. Also, baggage tracking is
possible using RFID tagging.

Ayaz said, “In RFID, there is a tag reader. However, some­times there is an
intermediate software that is needed to read the tag. You need to have a
discreet reader that controls the settings personalized for an individual
customer.”

The peripherals devices may not come integrated with the RFID equipment. This
is where a solution provider comes in as he can put all the systems together.
For example, the solution provider would inte­grate the lighting system and the
RFID controller, enabling personalized lighting for the customer on entering his
suite.

Since it is a very niche area, there are only a handful of system integrators
in India who are equipped to undertake RFID projects. This is primarily due to a
lack of knowledge required to integrate various systems. Also, the technology is
very new in India, and it is sometimes difficult to convince the customer on the
cost aspect of RFID deployment.

RFID vs bar coding

Asset management is another area where RFID is used. However, in few of the
cases, most people in this business maintain that bar coding is still a better
option as compared to RFID. Ajay Rao, Zebra Technologies said, “When you want to
store some dynamic data on the tag and you are hiding the tag behind a filament
or inside a box, where you cannot scan, that is the only place RFID would come
into the picture.”

There is a lot of miscon­ception surrounding RFID. For example, you put an
RFID chip inside a laptop and it gets tracked automatically. If you look at the
most widely used RFID technology in India, it is the 13.5MHz, and if it is fixed
on to a laptop, the scanning distance with a handheld reader would be as low as
10cm.

As against this, a bar code reader would work upto 25cm. Also, knowing the
hospitality industry, you would not want to bother the customer too much. The
major sectors for RFID would continue to be logistics, asset management and
closed loop applications.

Rao added, “Nowadays vehicle tracking is gaining momentum, where every
vehicle moving in and out of a gate is tracked using RFID. However, in the case
of hotels, there is too much of a floating population. What if a person moves
out with a tag? How would you track him in this case?”

As far as RFID replacing bar coding is concerned, Ayaz was skeptical. He
said, “This is mainly a media hype. I do not think that RFID is ever going to
replace bar coding. In certain cases only bar coding can be used and not RFID.
However, there are certain areas where only RFID can work and not bar coding.”

There is also a third area, which is a gray area between the above two areas.
In this area, both bar coding and RFID can work. This will eventually be
dominated by the technology, which is more feasible.

Ravish Khapra

ravishk@cybermedia.co.in