Like Welsh musician Gruff Rhys (see video below), we happen to suffer from an acute case of Xenodocheionology...but who could blame us! Everyone knows that one of the greatest perks of hotels is all the sweet, bite-sized swag you get to stuff into your backpack at the end of your stay. Those mini shampoo bottles, the white slippers, and little bars of soap are the stuff dreams are made of. But it seems that hotels have started to catch on to the free swag train, and have started implementing ways of stopping you from taking their robes.
While hotels aren't looking to end the free shampoo ride just yet, some have taken to putting washable microchips into certain products in hotel rooms to keep track of their linens. Linen Technology Tracking, a company in Miami, has patented a washable RFID chip that can be sewn into towels, robes and bed sheets. Already, at least three hotels in Honolulu, Miami and Manhattan, are using the chips, although Linen Technology Tracking’s executive vice president William Serbin said the hotels did not want their names used. Any guesses which Manhattan hotel already has them?
Serbin said that rising cotton prices were a motivation: “A bath towel that might have cost $5 last year could cost $8 or $9 now. High-end hotels want to watch those assets.” So you've been warned: you're now accountable for any linens you try to steal. But do feel free to pilfer any coffee packets, eye masks, and Gideons Bibles laying around. Also, this is as good a time as any to remind you to always bring a towel wherever you go.
