Hotels go high-tech to stop towel thieves
Hotels, facing higher replacement costs as cotton prices rise, have turned to RFID chips to track the theft of linens.
Those big hotel towels are so soft, so absorbent -- they're like Bounty on steroids. No wonder you're tempted to take one home when you check out.
Be forewarned that when you and your pilfered towel walk out the lobby door, an alarm may go off somewhere.
At least three U.S. hotels are using radio frequency identification chips sewn into the fabric to track their towels, bathrobes and sheets.
One reason is better management of inventory. But there's also the human factor:
Hotel guests steal a lot of towels.
A Honolulu hotel that uses RFID chips to track linens saw the theft of pool towels drop from 4,000 a month to only 750, The New York Times reports, reducing replacement costs by $16,000 monthly. William Serbin, executive vice president of Linen Technology Tracking, which makes the chips, said the theft rate for hotel linens and robes is 5% to 20% a month.
According to a 2004 survey by Orbitz, 18% of hotel guests admitted taking towels. Only 2% took bathrobes or bathmats. (Bathmats?)
Replacing these items has gotten much more expensive because the price of cotton has jumped 150% since August. It's so high that clothing manufacturers are incorporating more synthetics into fabric, raising prices -- look for increases of 10% to 20% for cotton apparel this year -- or using less of it.
- Calculator: Is your budget in balance?
"Aeropostale is reducing the size of tags in garments, saving five cents on each piece of clothing," Justin Rohrlich wrote at Minyannville.
What's behind the new price of cotton? The Boston Globe explained:
The apparel industry was hurt after poor weather hurt cotton crops in China and Pakistan over the past several years and speculators then cornered the market. Demand far outstripped supply, and prices skyrocketed. Cotton hit a record high of $2.44 per pound on March 8: last year, cotton averaged about 77 cents a pound.
Before RFID technology was available, hotels had no simple solutions for stopping the theft of towels and other linens. Put your crest or logo on the towel, and those who wanted a memento of their special trip would swipe them. Leave the logo off, and they're a tempting target for those who are too cheap to buy their own towels. Count the towels and bill the guest's credit card? That can lead to a hassle.
What possesses people to steal hotel towels and other linens? Would the possibility that an RFID chip lurks within be a deterrent?
More on MSN Money:
It would be hilarious if the towel, pillow and blanket thieves took home a nice load of bedbugs!
Before I checked out of a birthing center, a nurse came in to tell us which items were gifts from the hospital and what was not included. She said that they had caught people stuffing their bags with bedding, pictures, wall clocks and anything else that wasn't nailed down. They had even tried to take the bassinet. They asked her "What is my baby supposed to sleep in at home?"
I worked in a residential retirement facility where friends and family would regularly come in and steal towels and sheets. Gross and embarrassing.
It seems that when cheap, low-class people go to nice places, they don't know how to behave themselves.
i work at a hotel and im sick and tired of you stupid cheap people like Lexip....you cost us more than you imagine, youre a burden to a hotel like ours instead of a benefit. our rooms range around $40 night, they have microwave, fridge, hot tub/pool, breakfast and internet at no extra charge, we put PLENTY of clean nice fresh white towels in the rooms, 4 large ones, 2 mediums, 2 minis and a foot matt......too much for one room, most hotels only put TWO large ones and maybe 1 foot one. yet, some guests are so cheap, demanding, have this superiority complex! they demand more towels, blankets, coffee, etc. at no extra charge...what other hotel does this??? ive stayed at places that charge $150+ a night with no fridge, micro, internet, and breakfast, charged extra for extra everything and did not complain!
stupid cheap people like lexip who force hotels to drive prices up. please stay at home, do not come to our hotel! and i wish stupid cheap people would STOP STEALING OUR TOWELS, its a big burden on the hotel!
RELATED ARTICLES
DATA PROVIDERS
Copyright © 2013 Microsoft. All rights reserved.
Quotes are real-time for NASDAQ, NYSE and AMEX. See delay times for other exchanges.
Fundamental company data and historical chart data provided by Thomson Reuters (click for restrictions). Real-time quotes provided by BATS Exchange. Real-time index quotes and delayed quotes supplied by Interactive Data Real-Time Services. Fund summary, fund performance and dividend data provided by Morningstar Inc. Analyst recommendations provided by Zacks Investment Research. StockScouter data provided by Verus Analytics. IPO data provided by Hoover's Inc. Index membership data provided by SIX Financial Information.
Japanese stock price data provided by Nomura Research Institute Ltd.; quotes delayed 20 minutes. Canadian fund data provided by CANNEX Financial Exchanges Ltd.
ABOUT SMART SPENDING
Smart Spending brings you the best money-saving tips from MSN Money and the rest of the Web. Join the conversation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
Editor Bev O'Shea lives and works in the foothills of the Appalachians. A former copy editor for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Orlando Sentinel, she joined MSN Money in 2007. She's a fan of sunsets, college football and free shipping, among other things.
Having worked as a writer, reporter and editor for more than 25 years, Editor Julie Tilsner is the sort of person who can't help but correct grammar in Facebook postings and on billboards. She's written for BusinessWeek, the Los Angeles Times, Parenting, Redbook, AOL and others. She lives in Los Angeles County with her family and loves to drink wine and practice yoga, although not generally at the same time.
A writer for MSN Money since January 2007, Donna Freedman won regional and national prizes during an 18-year newspaper career and earned a college degree in midlife without taking out student loans. She also writes about smart money tactics for magazines and on her own site, Surviving and Thriving.
Mitch Lipka has been warning people about scams and shining light on questionable business practices for more than 20 years. Mitch, the consumer columnist for The Boston Globe, has also been a reporter and editor at The Philadelphia Inquirer, Consumer Reports, South Florida Sun-Sentinel and AOL. He won the 2010 New York Press Club award for best consumer reporting online and was honored in 2011 for his reporting on child product safety.
Marilyn Lewis is an award-winning writer with a passion for getting readers clear, straight information that helps them stay out of financial trouble. A former reporter for The San Jose Mercury News, she works from her home in Port Townsend, Wash. Contact her at MarilynLewis@Outlook.com.
LATEST BLOG POSTS
Children from lower income families are at greater risk of suffering accidental injuries and being sickened by food, according to a Consumer Federation of America study.
VIDEO ON MSN MONEY
TOOLS
Best rates on savingsFind the highest rates on savings accounts, CDs and money market accounts.
- Are you saving enough for retirement?
- Find a great credit card
- Car insurance premiums by model
