Summer is finally here, and vacation season is finally upon us.
And the next time you check into a hotel, Amazon’s Alexa might be there to serve as your own personal butler.
On Tuesday, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) said it had recently partnered with Marriott International (NYSE: MAR). The partnership is to help increase guest amenities with Alexa and its voice-controlled Echo device. And this is in an attempt to expand Amazon’s presence in the hospitality industry.
This partnership is designed to assist in providing guests with an array of services. They range from ordering room service to requesting housekeeping or calling the concierge for dinner reservations. And it’s all possible without ever having to pick up the phone.
“Alexa for Hospitality,” as the collaboration will be called, could even help guests manage their room controls, such as lighting and temperature.
Amazon stated that this partnership will begin this summer in select Marriott locations. And it will eventually be available to other hotel chains via invitation.
But this isn’t the first time we’ve seen Alexa in hotels, either…
Back in 2016, Wynn’s Las Vegas hotel installed an Echo in all 4,748 rooms. This allowed its guests to control environmental conditions with voice commands.
But the Marriott partnership will take things further…
The select Echo-equipped Marriott hotels will also have the option to configure their devices and customize voice-first features based on their specific property and guest offerings.
Guests will be able to use Alexa to book a massage if the hotel has a spa, ask Alexa where the gym is located, and so on.
Hotels will also get to give their guests access to thousands of Alexa skills that can help with other aspects of traveling. This will include checking flight times and local public transit systems.
Additional personalization is also in the cards, too.
Alexa for Hospitality will allow guests to connect their own Amazon accounts to the Echoes in their rooms on a temporary basis. They’ll be able to play their own music from services that include Amazon Music and Spotify or listen to audiobooks via Audible.
When a guest checks out, their account will be automatically disconnected from the device, too.
The system has been tailored to work with each hotel’s existing technology, so locations won’t need to retrofit or upgrade anything.
Marriott’s decision to work with Amazon came after it tested both Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa to see which was better suited for its systems.
Ultimately, Alexa won out.
Although Marriott didn’t specifically comment on the reasons why Apple didn’t work out, it did issue this statement: “[Apple has] great relationships with a number of technology companies and is always open to exploring opportunities to innovate and better the guest experience.”
Amazon’s move to work with hotels is another strategy to woo more users for its Echo devices.
The company has never disclosed the exact sales figure for its Echo devices. But it mentioned in January that it had sold “millions” of Amazon devices and that the Echo was by far its best seller.
Plus, Amazon Echo owners tend to spend an average of $1,700 a year on Amazon. That’s more than the $1,300 that Amazon Prime members are estimated to spend per year on the giant e-commerce site.
Amazon hopes that by placing special Echo devices equipped with Alexa in hotels for added convenience, those numbers will climb even higher.
The first installments of “Alexa for Hospitality” are arriving at Marriott hotels in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Irvine, California, with other hotel locations “by invitation.” The international rollout will start later this season.
That’s all for now.
Until next time,
John Peterson
Pro Trader Today