Alexa enters Italian hotels to answer customer questions

I don’t know about you, but the undersigned is hesitant every time he has to dial the reception number. You have to find the correct number first. Then you have to wait for someone to answer. And finally, we need to adopt a formal language to ask, perhaps, a simple question: “Do you have laundry service?”. Or: “What time do you serve breakfast?”.

Wouldn’t it be more convenient if a voice assistant could be used in every room, ready to answer all the information we need?

It sure would be, e Amazon has long understood this.

Alexa Smart Properties for Hospitality is the dedicated technology, in particular, to hotels and resorts. The customers of these structures can use Alexa in the room to control compatible devices such as lights and thermostats – when present – but above all to ask for essential information.

Even the most mundane questions – “Alexa what is the wifi password?” – get an answer in no time. Just as it happens in the home.

Globally Alexa for Hospitality has already been active for years. In the United States, for example, Echo devices have recently entered the Disney resort in Orlando, reaching interesting customization peaks: the devices, for example, have a different look, some have Mickey Mouse ears. And customers to get the voice assistant’s attention say, “Hey Disney.”

After England (in 2021) and France (in 2022), Alexa now officially arrives in Italian hotels as well.

The TH Group will be among the first to use the Amazon assistant at the TH Roma Carpegna Palace. Parc Hotels Italia will introduce it to the Parc Hotel in Peschiera del Garda and the So.GES group will make it available to guests of the Borgo di Cortefreda in Florence. Alexa Smart Properties for Hospitality will also be available for guests of the Continental Terme Hotel in Montegrotto (Padua).

“Alexa I need towels”. It takes less than three seconds to say. If we had used the phone, it probably would have taken at least three minutes. Add up the time these requests traditionally take. And also consider the convenience of performing them on the go, while you are getting dressed, without necessarily having to be attached to the handset. There is no game.

In short, the advantages exist for the customers but also for the hoteliers themselves, who can develop personalized skills and, if desired, can use the displays of the Echo Show 5 or 8 to offer their services relating to food, bars or spa.

For guests, the use of Alexa in the room is optional. The device is in no way automatically associated with your Amazon account. Plus, Echo smart speakers feature a mute button that prevents your virtual assistant from hearing what’s being said in the room. Lastly, the voice question recordings received are not saved.

“Our idea is to create a family experience, within everyone’s reach, with specific functions to make Alexa a virtual concierge – explained Gianmaria Visconti, Amazon Alexa Italy Country Manager -. In our homes Alexa is seen as an added member of the family, we would like her to become an added element of the staff in the hotel”.

“Technology has given a huge boost to tourism – explained Barbara Casillo, General Manager of Confindustria Alberghi -. Today everyone travels more peacefully because they know they can always count on digital support. Offering a tool that everyone knows in hotels means taking a step forward in the ability to welcome, but also in the possibility for hotels to let their customers discover all the services they offer”.

“In one month we had about 13,000 requests from customers – said Giorgio Palmucci, Executive Vice President TH Resorts -. From surprise we moved on to satisfaction with the possibility of having fast and accurate information”.