Does NFC stand for “not for cool people”? No, on the contrary! The smart Near Field Communication technology – what the abbreviation actually stands for – is pretty cool, and so are you, if you decide to use this smart chip in your hotel. So, it isn’t entirely surprising that NFC tags have been used in combination with hotelkit, the digital collaboration platform, for years, to complete daily hotel routines such as maintenance or walkthroughs.
What is an NFC-tag?
An NFC tag is an electronic device in the shape of a chip that allows a short distance transfer of information between two devices and can be attached to key points in your hotel. By scanning the NFC tag, it confirms that somebody passed the location where the chip is attached. Furthermore, you can use NFC tags to provide your employees with useful information on the spot. Nowadays, smartphones support background tag reading. This means that the chip can be scanned in an uncomplicated manner and without having to download a specific app.
How can I use NFC tags in my hotel?
Let’s be honest: Sometimes sh*t just needs to get done without exception. NFC tags help you to make sure that somebody took care of the task at hand.
Are there important waypoints in your hotel that absolutely need to be checked on the daily walkthroughs? Place a NFC tag there. This way it is guaranteed that somebody passes these key points, and you don’t need to worry that the checklist item was ticked off elsewhere.
There are tasks that are time-consuming and complex and so there is a risk that something might be forgotten. You can prevent this by installing NFC tags at the task locations and connecting the intelligent information chip to a corresponding handbook article in your hotelkit. This way, the person carrying out the task only needs to scan the tag to receive the needed information.
The use of NFC tags, however, is not limited to regularly recurring tasks. These little helpers are basically helpful everywhere where new challenges appear on a day-to-day basis. As needed, you can connect the tags to your new tasks in hotelkit.
“At Tristar, we use NFC tags primarily for night-time safety walkthroughs. They offer greater efficiency and improved traceability, allowing us to know when, where, and by whom each item was checked. All 30 Tristar Hotels are equipped with NFC tags, with approximately 840 chips currently in use.”
Christian Stein-Kalesky
Human Resources Director, Tristar
Practical examples for the use of NFC technology in the daily hotel routine:
Typical checkpoints during the safety walkthroughs in the hotel are fire extinguishers, emergency lighting, the elevator facility and whatever else that is in your hotel and is requiring regular inspection. Simply put a NFC tag on it. This way you are always in the picture as to whether or not the person responsible for the walkthrough passed all the relevant waypoints.
Your company is known for its excellent cuisine. Several very modern kitchen appliances are used by your brilliant team during its daily work. Using these appliances, however, is not exactly a piece of cake. Attach NFC tags to the kitchen appliances and connect them to the operating instructions in your hotelkit handbook.
The heating tank provides warmth to the furthest corners of your hotel. Its maintenance, however, is less convenient because it involves countless steps. In this case, it would make sense to position a NFC tag and to connect it to a corresponding handbook article. This way, your workman can access the information that is needed for the maintenance quickly and easily.
Your hotel has a playground that is popular amongst children? It should stay that way. Attach NFC tags onto the playground equipment, this way you can make sure that everything is maintained regularly, and you are also able to retrace everything transparently in your hotelkit.
NFC tags can also be put into use in many other domains such as personnel planning. Connect the tag to your personnel management software and this way employees can clock in and out easily by simply scanning the tag.
What are the advantages of NFC tags?
NFC tags are not only better hidden but also more reliable. Unlike QR codes, they cannot be simply photographed and used elsewhere. The scanning is location-based, which is important for insurance cases. Scanning an NFC tag is a breeze: The smartphone just needs to be near the tag. Data transmission occurs via radio waves using RFID technology. This allows checklist items to be checked off in hotelkit or handbook articles to be accessed.
“As a safety-approved company, we need to document inspections and walkthroughs at any time. NFC tags help us do this efficiently as employees are reminded via hotelkit. This documentation gives us confidence that everything was checked properly.”
Marek Vlach
General Hotel Manager, Familienhotel Central & St. Johanner Hof
How to program an NFC tag?
The first step is to attach it to a particular space in your hotel, for example, the emergency lighting on the first floor. Then you can connect the NFC tag to waypoints on your walkthroughs, checklist items or handbook articles within hotelkit. Moreover, the information chip can be programmed in a way that it delivers different information to different people. This way the hotel guest receives the wellness program, and your employees can see the to-do’s on the first floor.
