According to a Miami-based company called Linen Tracking Technology, a lot of hotels stitch tiny microchips into their towels, robes, pillowcases, cloth napkins and other linens. The LinenTracker chips are currently being used in over 2,000 hotels--but don't ask which ones.

According to Linen Tracking Technology executive vice president William Serbin:

"Our properties like to remain anonymous. They benefit from the gained efficiency and don’t want to alarm guests that they have this technology,"

The RFID-equipped chips were originally designed to help hotels keep track of their linens as they went back and forth to off-site laundry facilities (Hotels can lose an estimated 20% of their linens each month through various mishaps, most involving cleaning issues). But they've since started to employ that same technology to catch sticky-fingered guests who might try to make off with their in-room robes. When the chips are taken past the hotel's entrances or exits, real-time tracking software sends an alert. The head of housekeeping (probably) isn't going to follow you home, but those towels might show up on your credit card.