Italian cider brand Strongbow Gold is currently testing what is being dubbed the world’s first digitally enabled bottle top. On being triggered the bottle top activates a surprise that makes the users night more refreshing, more unexpected and more exciting.
For its first public appearance the Strongbow Gold team rigged an entire bar in central Budapest with RFID readers, antennas and wires. Then during the night StartCap triggered a string of memorable activations…
Last year in August I had written about how Ushuaïa Beach Hotel in Ibiza had become the world’s first hotel to use RFID-enabled wristbands to engage with its guests. Then in June 2012 they rolled out a biometric payment system that pushed the boundaries of cardless payments.
Guests who wished to use the new PayTouch system were required to register their credit card details along with their biometric data of their right index and middle fingers with the hotel. After which payments at all facilities at the destination were done by simply pressing the guests fingers against a fingerprint recognition device.
Now for 2013 the hotel is gearing up to replace its 2011 RFID-enabled wristbands with the above touch technology. Special touch screens are going to be installed around the hotel that provide guests access to their Facebook profiles by simply placing their fingers on a biometric sensor. However the updates on Facebook will be limited to a selection of automated actions like taking a photo, updating their current location and liking the hotel’s ongoing event.
Ushuaïa Beach Hotel is truly setting an example for others in the hospitality industry by using technology to improve customer experience and spreading the word about their hotel.
In hospitality environments where guests move quickly and often, biometrics are attractive because they compress payment, access, and sharing into one repeatable gesture.
The experience works only if trust stays intact. Clear opt-in, clear boundaries on what can be posted, and a simple way to stop using the system are essential when you connect payment identity and social identity in the same environment.
It is a biometric payment system where guests register a credit card and fingerprints, then pay on-site by pressing fingers against a recognition device.
By installing touch screens that let guests access their Facebook profiles via a biometric sensor and post only predefined actions such as photos, location updates, and likes.
Fingerprint touch reduces the need to carry or manage a wearable token, and it can unify access and payments across the destination.
Trust and consent. The system needs transparent opt-in, clear limits on what gets posted, and an obvious way to disable participation.
In 2010 I had covered how Nokia was collaborating with Burton Snowboards, to create a new type of connected snowboarding experience.
Since then Vail Resort USA has created a RFID based platform that can be accessed from any device. Their app is called EpicMix and together with the slopes RFID lift ticket system captures the users skiing/boarding activities on the slopes and automatically uploads them to their EpicMix dashboard…
This season (2011/12) they have re-designed their app, created more badges (like Foursquare) and integrated the resort photographer’s photos to seamlessly appear in the users EpicMix account…
