For instance, is the technology being utilized for valet control, parking spaces, monitoring pool guests, tracking towels and so forth?

—Gaston

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Dear Gaston,

MacArthur Village, a 612-unit condominium complex in Southern California, has been using RFID to control parking access since 2006 (see Condos Using RFID to Keep Access in Check).

Towel Tracker offers an RFID solution enabling health clubs to track the towels they lend to visitors (see RFID Captures Each Time Guests Throw in the Towel).

Many hotels are moving toward using RFID-enabled room keys, rather than mag-stripe cards. These keys can be used to control access to a hotel's pool and gymnasium as well—plus, they can double as a means of paying for lockers or food, so guests need not have their wallets handy at all times (see At Nelson Lodge, RFID Will Unlock More than Doors).

I am unaware of any condominiums that employ the Towel Tracker system or RFID keys at present, but there is certainly no reason why a forward-thinking building owner could not use the technology in the same ways that hotels currently do.

—Mark Roberti, Founder and Editor, RFID Journal