Staying in a hotel? Amazon’s Alexa may order room service for you

Amazon just stepped into the hospitality industry.

The company is now offering voice-activated assistant, Alexa, in some hotels for hospitality, including Marriot. The Dayton Marriot is not on the initial list.

“For Alexa, Marriott Dayton is not one of the hotels selected as an initial deployment through Marriott,” said Amazon spokeswoman Alana Broadbent. “We’re excited to be working with hoteliers and property managers to bring this experience to more guests.”

» BIZ BEAT: New discount clothing retailer may be coming to Dayton Mall

Guests will be able to ask Alexa about room service, housekeeping, concierge service and dinner recommendations just by speaking, rather than calling the front desk.

Alexa for Hospitality will also soon support the ability for Amazon customers to temporarily connect their own Amazon accounts to the in-room devices to access their own personal books, music and more. When a guest checks out, Alexa for Hospitality automatically disconnects their Amazon account.

»RELATED: Technical issue at PSA Airlines Dayton headquarters grounds 675 flights

“Customers tell us they love how easy it is to get information, enjoy entertainment, and control connected devices by simply asking Alexa, and we want to offer those experiences everywhere customers want them,” said Daniel Rausch, vice president at Amazon. “Alexa for Hospitality makes your hotel stay a little more like being at home and gives hospitality providers new ways to create memorable stays for their guests.”

Alexa has a controversial history. Just last month a local couple realized the device had recorded one of their conversations and sent it to a contact.

» BIZ BEAT: Family Video closing 2 area stores, selling movies for as low as $1

Earlier this year, users also complained of their Alexa devices laughing randomly. The creepy exclamation was a result of the device falsely hearing the command “Alexa, laugh” when it wasn’t spoken. Amazon changed the wording of the command and there haven’t been reports of the problem since.

If guests at a hotel don’t trust the device because of previous issues, they can unplug Alexa, according to the company.

FIVE FAST READS

Retail sales increase in May, expected to continue growing this year

Macy’s to expand pop-up marketplace with new partnership

Dayton flight to Houston successful; could lead to two flights

Video game chain GameStop may be up for sale

UPDATE: Beavercreek shopping center to expand

About the Author