You arrive at Ushuaïa Beach Hotel in Ibiza wearing an RFID-enabled bracelet. Around the venue, pillars invite you to check in, take photos, or post a status update. You step up, scan your bracelet, and your moment is shared straight to Facebook from the beach, the pool, or the dance floor. The objective is simple. “Make all your Facebook friends jealous.”
What Ushuaïa builds with RFID and Facebook
RFID technology and its integration with social APIs is becoming more mainstream. In this example, Ushuaïa Beach Hotel becomes the world’s first hotel to use RFID to engage guests through social sharing. The installation is created by Dorst & Lesser, who also create the Renault RFID installation at the Amsterdam Auto Show.
How the pillars drive sharing across the hotel
The hotel is outfitted with pillars that read RFID-enabled bracelets. Depending on where you are and what the pillar offers, you can check in, take pictures, or post a status update. The pillars are placed at the beach, the pool, and on the dance floor, so sharing becomes a physical action you repeat throughout the experience.
Why this pattern matters beyond Ibiza
The real move is not the gadget. It is the reduction of friction. Sharing is no longer a separate step on a phone. It becomes a “tap and publish” behavior embedded in the space, making social output a natural byproduct of participation.
This RFID and Facebook integration is also used at the Coca-Cola Village in Israel.
A few fast answers before you act
What is the Ushuaïa RFID Facebook sharing concept?
Guests wear RFID-enabled bracelets and use scanning pillars placed around the hotel to trigger Facebook check-ins, photos, and status updates from different locations.
Why place pillars at the beach, pool, and dance floor?
Because those are the high-emotion moments guests want to share. Putting the tech at the peak moments increases usage and makes sharing feel like part of the experience.
What is the key design lesson for brands?
Make sharing an outcome of participation, not a separate workflow. When the action is physical, fast, and obvious, publishing scales without instruction.
What should you measure if you run something similar?
Scan volume by location, repeat scans per guest, social reach and engagement of generated posts, and any lift in on-site dwell time around the activation points.
