No More Towels: Hotels Embed Chips to Prevent You From Stealing Them

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Stop right there. Put the towel down.

The best part about lounging around in a swanky hotel? The plush bathrobes, the fresh towels… none that you will ever get to take home.

A Florida-based company, Linen Trackers, has recently patented a chip designed to keep track of “souvenirs” that seem to have disappeared. And yes, there are some hotels that are already using it.

The chip isn’t that widespread yet (phew) but three hotels in New York, Miami and Honolulu have already implemented the technology. According to NewsFeed, hotels can often lose 5 to 20 percent of their towels and linens.

By using radio frequencies, the chip hones in on sandal-wearing, bathrobe-lounging thieves. The technology lasts about 300 wash cycles. Does it work? Apparently, it does. The device has been successful in busting dangerous tourists on the loose.

The executive president of Linen Trackers says when his friends travel now, they call him. He always asks, “Are you guys at my hotel?”

(via NewsFeed)

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