Radio Frequency Identification Technology for Logistics, Tagging and EPC

RFID Wrist Bands Keep Lodge Guests Happy

Wednesday, August 9, 2006

The days of wet money are over at Great Wolf Lodge, Niagara Falls.

So say the folks that just launched a property-wide integrated RFID system that allows lodge guests to wear waterproof wrist bands. The bands, courtesy of MICROS Systems, Inc. aren’t just some ordinary accessory: Infused with RFID, they help facilitate payment at any MICROS POS workstation in the lodge’s food and beverage hubs.

So guests can just worry about having fun in the 130,000-square-foot water complex.


Ripley Launches MICROS 9700 HMS with RFID at Great Wolf Lodge Indoor Waterpark Resort in Niagara Falls, Canada

COLUMBIA, Md., Aug. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ – MICROS Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: MCRS), a leading provider of information technology solutions for the hospitality and retail industries, is pleased to announce that Ripley Entertainment, a global leader in the attractions industry and the owner of Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls, Canada, went live with MICROS 9700 Hospitality Management System (HMS) supporting 27 MICROS workstations with integrated RFID readers, on June 28, 2006.

Ripley’s has enhanced both the guest experience and the ease of system use for the staff with property-wide integrated RFID, which allows guests at the lodge to wear waterproof RFID wrist bands that facilitate payment at any MICROS POS workstation in the lodge’s food and beverage and retail locations. This allows the guest to enjoy the fun and entertainment afforded by the 103,000 square foot indoor water complex without having to carry cash or other forms of payment. The days of wet money are over at Great Wolf Lodge Niagara Falls.

Ripley’s also required a solution that offers more robust POS functionality such as currency conversion, multiple tax capabilities, and automated start-of-day and end-of-day processes. Because MICROS 9700 is an open solution, Ripley’s was able to utilize existing legacy hardware which resulted in considerable cost savings.

“Before starting this project, our IT department developed an extensive list of requirements that outlined our vision for the guest experience,” stated Joe Tenczar, Director, IT, Ripley Entertainment. “We were able to meet directly with MICROS R&D to discuss how best to leverage the flexibility of the MICROS 9700 system. Based upon our business needs and specs, MICROS seamlessly integrated the ability to utilize the RFID technology that is so critical to our business model. We’ve been very impressed with MICROS’s technology, attention and dedication to this account.” [end] 

The European Payments Council (EPC) has published the second edition of its “White Paper on Mobile Payments.”

According to EPC, the white paper focuses on the usage of the mobile payments in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) and explores how m-payment services can be delivered through cooperation between service providers in the payment industry and players within the mobile ecosystem.

read more »

VingCard Elsafe, provider of hospitality security and part of ASSA ABLOY Group, has been selected by Grand Hyatt San Francisco to provide a complete package of VingCard Elsafe solutions for installation as part of the renovation of its 659 guestrooms.

read more »

Great Wolf Resorts, a chain of North American indoor water park hotels, has launched a new program that enables guests to link to their Facebook and automatically share photos from their visit using RFID-equipped wristbands.

read more »

A new survey from Euro Kartensysteme shows that Germans are starting to embrace the idea of contactless and NFC payments.

Out of 1,040 Germans aged 18-59, 43% responded that they would like to make contactless payments if given the opportunity, of which 58% percent would make their payments with a debit card card, 41% with a credit card and 50% with an NFC phone.

read more »

A project conceived of by researchers from RMIT University that intends to link infant footprint records to vaccination records has received a grant from the Grand Challenges Explorations initiative, a part of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, according to an Asian Scientist article.

read more »

Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge has partnered up with electronic lock provider KABA to install its RFID door lock system throughout the respected corporate golf destination.

read more »