News | July 15, 2015

Great Wolf Resorts Equips Its Ninth Property With The PDC Smart Band® RFID Wristband System

Wisconsin Dells Location Retrofits Hotel Door Locks for Keyless Entry & Upgrades Point of Sale Stations to Accept Cashless Payments

Valencia Santa Clarita, CA (Marketwired) - PDC, a global leader of innovative identification solutions, announced today that Great Wolf Lodge in Wisconsin Dells, WI has retrofitted its property with the PDC Smart Band® RFID Wristband System. The technology upgrade provides hotel guests with keyless access to their rooms and the ability to make cashless payments throughout the entire resort and waterpark.

Smart Band® wristbands contain a securely-sealed RFID microchip with a unique ID number that automatically verifies guest data when scanned by an RFID reader. Upon check in, Great Wolf Lodge resort guests are given a PDC Smart Band®, which are used for hotel room access and cashless purchasing at all point of sale terminals throughout the facility. Unlike traditional, magnetic strip key cards -- which can easily become lost or deactivated inside of a waterpark -- Smart Band® is waterproof and features a one-time locking closure, so it cannot fall off, be transferred, or lost.

"Personal data is never compromised with Smart Band®. When scanned by a Great Wolf Lodge reader, each wristband's unique ID number simply verifies access or purchase authority that has been assigned to that guest's hotel room," said Robin Barber, Vice President of Leisure & Entertainment for PDC. "When a guest leaves the resort, that unique ID number becomes void."

Serving as a convenient "wrist wallet", Smart Band® allows guests to leave their cash or credit cards behind and enjoy the water park and resort without traveling back and forth to their hotel room or locker before purchasing refreshments, entertainment, or souvenirs.

"The convenience of Smart Band® results in faster, more efficient retail transactions because our guests do not need to retrieve physical cash or credit cards from their wallets when making a purchase," said James Anderson, General Manager of Great Wolf Lodge Wisconsin Dells.

Smart Band® can be completely customized and features full-color printing capabilities to support company branding guidelines, graphics and messaging. The wristbands are available in a variety of materials including plastic, silicone and woven fabric and are offered with one-time closures for single-day use applications or re-wearable styles for season pass holders.

Since 2005, Great Wolf Resorts has implemented PDC's Smart Band® RFID Wristband System at a total of nine locations including: Wisconsin Dells, WI; Fitchburg, MA; Poconos, PA; Niagara Falls, ONT; Mason, OH; Grapevine, TX; Grand Mound, WA; Williamsburg, VA; and Concord, NC.

About PDC
With more than 55 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, Labels, andParking Passes. For more information, visit http://www.pdcsolutions.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. Madison, Wis., 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; Mason, Ohio; Grapevine, Texas; Grand Mound, Wash.; Concord, N.C. and Fitchburg, MA. Additional information may be found online at http://www.greatwolf.com.

Source: PDC