UK: Amazon has launched Alexa Smart Properties for Hospitality in the UK, with the Mercure brand introducing the new Alexa experience at select hotels.
The service is currently being offered to hotels, holiday rentals and other hospitality providers.
Alexa Smart Properties for Hospitality will allow guests to access services and amenities during their stay such as hotel information, order room service, check out and more.
Additionally, hoteliers and property managers can enable skills from the Alexa Skills Store to personalise the experience. This can include access to guided workouts, sleep sounds, airport wait times, and more.
Guests can use Alexa without connecting to their Amazon account, and use of the service is optional. Echo smart speakers have a ‘microphone off’ button that electronically disconnects the microphone.
Mercure London Hyde Park, in collaboration with Hotel Cloud, is one of the first properties to introduce the service. Edward Wilcock, director of revenue at Mercure Hyde Park, said: “Alexa Smart Properties has brought a lot of excitement to all the team members at Mercure Hyde Park, especially during Covid-19 where staffing levels are strained. Alexa arrived at the perfect time to help our teams by answering many of the common guest queries, along with a potential to increase room service revenue, simply due to the convenience provided by Alexa for ordering hotel services.”
“One unexpected yet welcome gain has been the improvement in efficiency throughout the property,” he added. “Housekeeping and maintenance staff can tell Alexa when they’ve cleaned or fixed a room, which immediately updates the property management system. This saves a significant amount of time and rooms are turned around and ready for new guests much faster.”
Alexa Smart Properties for Hospitality is currently available in the United States and the United Kingdom, and is coming soon to France.
