Smart textiles serving the hospitality industry

Innovation in the hospitality sector has become a key issue for companies that want to remain at the forefront of the latest technological developments, in particular the introduction of smart textiles to monitor and control the traceability of items.
To do so, an RFID system must be set up, comprising three elements: TAGs, software and hardware.

A TAG is a chip placed in the item and incorporating an antenna. It is a bit like the DNA of each item, since each one has a number or code that identifies it with a customer. TAGs have evolved and now come in two options: the tag and the label-tag.

These chips, which use RFID-UHF technology, must be able to withstand the industrial washing and chemicals to which the items are subjected, as well as the high temperatures of ironing.

As for the hardware, the system includes a gantry, a booth for mass reading and weighing of items, special equipment for reading bundles, and a PDA.

As for the software, it is mainly responsible for controlling the entry and exit of items. One of its features is the ease with which it ensures the identification, location, traceability and management of items; the seamless integration of data into the company's management system; the generation of reports by customer or item; the detection of errors in each of the processes; and the management of the traceability of each item, which makes it possible to keep control in the event of loss, wear or tearing.

A perfect system for hotel and laundry professionals
This smart textile system therefore proves perfect for the relationship between hotels and laundries. It works simply: Resuinsa, which supplies the smart textiles fitted with TAGs, delivers the linen to the hotel.

The hotel receives and inventories the items, and the information is uploaded to the cloud, where it is stored and managed.

The establishment sends the linen to the laundry, which can, using this technology, upload the relevant information to the cloud. The system thus also saves time and staff when stock needs to be counted and checked.

If the smart textile system is installed in the hotel and the hotel manages the laundering, it can also do so through laundries that are not equipped with the system, or wash the linen in its own laundry. This technology also allows it to monitor and verify the traceability of the linen.

Moreover, hotels may suffer losses that are not due to the process between the establishment and the laundry and that can distort the database: guests who take items away or employees who steal them.

There are therefore a few options for controlling these losses: an anti-theft mat equipped with an RFID reader and an antenna hung from the ceiling capable of reading spaces more than 3,5 meters high.

Ultimately, this is a small investment that offers countless benefits to the hospitality sector and provides a comprehensive solution. A series of benefits which, thanks to Resuinsa's RFID efforts, supports the growth of the hospitality sector so that it continues to grow every day, and helps improve the quality of its processes.

This kind of technology must be certified and attested by recognized technological institutes and bodies, so that the customer themselves knows that thorough prior checking and genuine, guaranteed research have taken place beforehand.