RFID NEWS
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Two Ohio Water Parks Become RFID-Enabled
Fort Rapids Indoor Waterpark, owned by InterContinental Hotels Group's Holiday Inn division, uses bracelets embedded with passive 13.56 MHz RFID tags compliant with the ISO 14443A standard. In contrast with Great Wolf's RFID system, Fort Rapids' does not write data to the tag. Instead, RFID interrogators capture the tag's ID number and forward it to the hotel's Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004. At that point, the database can tie the RFID identifier with a folio that includes all members of a family, storing such details as how much money that family spends. Fort Rapids uses ViVOtech readers; RFID bracelets and real-time location service hardware, software and integration from Guest Technologies; and a POS contactless payment solution manufactured by InfoGenesis.
The reusable bracelet incorporates a battery-powered 303 MHz RFID tag from RF Code, a Mesa, Ariz., provider of RFID systems. Every 10 seconds or so, the tags transmit their ID numbers to antennas deployed around the water park. Parents can then use an LCD screen at the front of the hotel, or a touch screen in the park itself, to locate their children. When a patron holds a bracelet several centimeters from the interrogator, the screen displays where other members of that person's party are located, says Greg Giraldin, director of corporate accounts at Guest Technologies.
For contactless payment, the return on investment is in the added convenience that leads to greater spending. "The value is in the cashless way of payments. Kids don't have to carry cash—it allows people to spend more money," says Matt Walton, InfoGenesis' marketing manager. "We love the convenience for our guests," says Great Wolf's Schaefer, "and the guests love the 'cool factor.' People find it unique."
No specific ROI statistics are available, Schaefer says, partly because most RFID systems have been installed in new facilities. "Intuitively, we know there's more spending," she says. Great Wolf is looking at child-tracking systems, though she adds that the resort is a family establishment designed to encourage families to spend vacation time together. For that reason, she feels, having a child-tracking system might conflict with that goal. "It's counterintuitive to put too many tracking devices at a family establishment and then wonder why a family isn't together," she says.
Another park that has installed RFID systems is Dolly's Splash Country, located in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., which installed the SafeTzone Child Locating System. This system uses a wristband with an active transponder that sends a signal at 303 MHz to one of 22 readers located around the park (RFID Makes a Splash at Water Park). RF Code provided the active transponders and interrogators. The wristband also contains a passive 134 kHz or 13.56 MHz tag from TI that enables patrons to make purchases.
The reusable bracelet incorporates a battery-powered 303 MHz RFID tag from RF Code, a Mesa, Ariz., provider of RFID systems. Every 10 seconds or so, the tags transmit their ID numbers to antennas deployed around the water park. Parents can then use an LCD screen at the front of the hotel, or a touch screen in the park itself, to locate their children. When a patron holds a bracelet several centimeters from the interrogator, the screen displays where other members of that person's party are located, says Greg Giraldin, director of corporate accounts at Guest Technologies.
For contactless payment, the return on investment is in the added convenience that leads to greater spending. "The value is in the cashless way of payments. Kids don't have to carry cash—it allows people to spend more money," says Matt Walton, InfoGenesis' marketing manager. "We love the convenience for our guests," says Great Wolf's Schaefer, "and the guests love the 'cool factor.' People find it unique."
Another park that has installed RFID systems is Dolly's Splash Country, located in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., which installed the SafeTzone Child Locating System. This system uses a wristband with an active transponder that sends a signal at 303 MHz to one of 22 readers located around the park (RFID Makes a Splash at Water Park). RF Code provided the active transponders and interrogators. The wristband also contains a passive 134 kHz or 13.56 MHz tag from TI that enables patrons to make purchases.
