China’s hotel hygiene scandals see sheets and towels microchipped to record washing history
- The chips let travellers to hotels in Wuhan city check precisely when items were last washed by scanning a QR code
- Move comes after video exposing unhygienic cleaning practices went viral online last year, forcing apologies from a number of top five-star hotels
Bugs in the bed might be the last thing guests want from a hotel stay, but a new microchipping service in China that tracks every sheet and towel has proved popular online.
A laundry service catering to hotels in the central Chinese city of Wuhan has started installing wafer-thin microchips on bedsheets, pillow covers and towels – allowing travellers to scan a QR code on each item and check precisely when it was last washed.
The service, which also allows management to track each individual item, has become an online hit following a series of recent scandals over poor hygiene at high-end hotels.
The clip, which quickly racked up tens of millions of views, showed cleaning staff wiping down in-room cups with the same towels and sponges used to clean showers and toilets.
People broadly welcomed the Wuhan laundry’s move on social media, with many calling for the system to be rolled out nationwide.