PDC’s Smart Band® RFID Wristband System Enhances the Guest Experience at Great Wolf Lodge® in California

Valencia, Calif. (June 7, 2016) PDC, the global leader of innovative identification solutions, announced today the installation of its Smart Band^® RFID Wristband System at Great Wolf Lodge®  Southern California, the brand’s newest property located in Garden Grove, for electronic access control and cashless payments. The indoor waterpark resort is the latest of nine Great Wolf Lodge resorts to introduce PDC’s RFID wristband technology.

Designed to streamline guest transactions, Smart Band^® replaces traditional forms of payment and access credentials that are usually carried in a wallet, purse, or pocket. Upon check in, Great Wolf Lodge guests are issued a non-transferable, waterproof PDC Smart Band^®, with a securely sealed RFID chip inside that safely collects and transfers data when scanned by a reader in the park. Each chip is programmed with a unique alpha-numeric code that is assigned to a guest portfolio, so the bands are impossible to duplicate.

Functioning as a convenient “wrist wallet,” Smart Band^® enables Great Wolf Lodge guests to make instant purchases using their RFID wristband. “RFID payment transactions take about half the time compared to using credit cards or cash, reducing lines and increasing impulse purchases.  Since guests don’t have to dig for change, they are more inclined to make some smaller purchases they might normally pass on,” said Robin Barber, Vice President of Leisure & Entertainment for PDC.

For hotel room access, Smart Band’s contactless interface provides significant advantages over standard magnetic stripe key card door locks, which can collect dirt and debris that impact performance. Since Smart Band^® is safely fastened around the wrist; guests no longer hassle with forgotten, lost, or misplaced key cards. 

“With Smart Band^® RFID wristband technology, guests no longer have to worry about carrying cash, credit cards, and room keys,” noted Rajiv Castellino, Chief Information Officer, Great Wolf Resorts. “With a simple wave of the wrist, guests can access their suite, and make dining and souvenir purchases throughout the resort.  Since introducing the Smart Band® RFID wristband technology to our resort in the Poconos Mountains in 2005, and several others since that time, our resort guests throughout the country have enjoyed the convenience and service this technology provides.”

Smart Band^® can be completely customized and is offered in a wide variety of colors and material options including plastic, silicone, woven fabric, and thermal print-on-demand styles. Smart Band^® is available with nontransferable single-use closures, and in re-wearable styles for single-day use or for a season pass program.

In addition to its Anaheim resort, Great Wolf Resorts uses PDC’s Smart Band^® RFID Wristband System at resorts in: Poconos, PA; Niagara Falls, ONT., Canada, Mason, OH; Grapevine, TX; Grand Mound, WA; Williamsburg, VA; Concord, NC, and New England, MA.

About PDC

With 60 years of experience, PDC connects people, products, and technology through innovative ID systems that deliver superior customer experiences worldwide. PDC is a global leader and pacesetter in the development of wristbands, lanyards and RFID solutions. The company serves the leisure & entertainment, law enforcement, and animal identification industries. A pioneer of innovative technologies, PDC introduced the first bar code wristband system, first thermal printer wristband, first Smart Band^® RFID wristband system, and the award-winning PDC Smart^® Kiosk, among many other innovations.

Since its launch in 2000, PDC’s Smart Band^® RFID wristband system has been used by leading amusement parks, water parks, resorts, and music festivals to deliver unique and convenient applications that help redefine the guest experience, while reaping bottom line benefits to the companies who use them. Applications include: cashless point-of-sale; cashless arcade and vending; social media integration; keyless hotel and locker access; electronic access control; photo management systems; and customer loyalty programs. Additional PDC RFID solutions include PDC Smart^® Cards, key fobs, lanyards and parking passes. For more information, visit www.waterparkRFID.com.

On Dec. 28, 2012, PDC was acquired by Brady Corporation, (NYSE:BRC) a world leader in identification solutions for premises, products, and people.

About Great Wolf Resorts, Inc.

Great Wolf Resorts, Inc. is North America’s largest family of indoor waterpark resorts and through its subsidiaries and affiliates, owns and operates its family resorts under the Great Wolf Lodge^® brand. Great Wolf Resorts is a fully integrated resort company with Great Wolf Lodge locations in: Wisconsin Dells, Wis.; Sandusky, Ohio; Traverse City, Mich.; Kansas City, Kan.; Williamsburg, Va.; the Pocono Mountains, Pa.; Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada; Mason, Ohio; Grapevine, Texas; Grand Mound, Wash.; Concord, N.C.; Fitchburg, Mass; and Garden Grove Calif., and Colorado Springs, CO (opening late 2016). Additional information may be found online at http://www.greatwolf.com