Amazon and Marriott to Join Forces for Concierge Alexa

By Tanuja Thombre - Last Updated on September 22, 2020

Amazon has launched Alexa for Hospitality. In an attempt to expand its presence in the hospitality industry, the online retail giant has partnered with Marriott International Inc. This will help increase guest access to amenities with Alexa via its voice-controlled device Echo which will allow the guests to order room service, call the front desk, control the lights, play music, change the TV channel, and more with just their voice.

This deal will let Amazon introduce Alexa this summer at select properties of Marriott Hotel, Westin Hotels and Resorts, St Regis Hotels & Resorts, Autograph Collection Hotels, and Aloft Hotels. Amazon will also introduce Alexa at boutique properties such as Thompson Hotels, Destination Hotels, Joie de Vivre, and Alila, as well as vacation rental properties such as RedAwning.

“So many of our guests use voice technology in their home, and we want to extend that convenience to their travel experience,” Jennifer Hsieh, vice president of customer experience innovation at Marriott International, said in a statement.

Amazon customers will be able to connect their personal Amazon account to the device in the room which will allow them to play their favorite purchased music or audiobooks, and as soon as the guest checks out, it will disconnect the account.

Hotels will be able to customize Alexa’s skills, add property contacts, and set default radio stations among other features.

However, not every individual would accept this integration wholeheartedly due to the unusual case of Alexa eavesdropping on a Portland family last month. However, the recordings of Alexa commands are deleted on a daily basis, and hotels will not be given access to the voice interactions.

Just last year, Amazon launched Alexa for Business – a feature that gives companies a back-end dashboard to manage a convoy of Echos and create custom Alexa which will cater to their particular needs via Amazon Web Services.

Through the latest addition of Alexa in the hospitality industry, Amazon continues its efforts of getting Alexa voice platform everywhere as it competes with its competitors like Google, Apple, and Microsoft in the voice technology market.

Quite a lot of media reports suggested that Marriott tested both Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa to select the best for its hotels. Marriott did not comment specifically on Apple, but said it has “great relationships with a number of technology companies and is always open to exploring opportunities to innovate and better the guest experience.”

Tanuja Thombre | A Soft Skills and Behavior Trainer by passion and profession, with 8 years of experience into Mortgage Banking sector. Currently I am working as a Training Consultant and I cater to the training needs across various industries. This also allows me to interact with, train and learn various aspects of human modes. Adorned with certifications from various institutes like Dale Carnegie & Steven Covey. I have a natural instinct for writing; every once a while, a Blog, a short article and in the future I plan to author a Book. When it comes to writing, I believe there is seldom anything as appealing as Simplicity.

Tanuja Thombre | A Soft Skills and Behavior Trainer by passion and profession, with 8 years of experience into Mortgage Banking sector. Currently I am working as a...

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