Alexa might be in your next hotel room.
Following Marriott and Wynn Resorts, Best Western Hotels & Resorts is testing the use of Amazon Dot devices in its hotels for guests and employees, according to Skift, a travel publication.
The voice-activated devices can be used to communicate with the hotel — and that includes ordering room service or reporting issues with the room.
“I think, in the future, that’s how the guest might want to interact with us,” Best Western Hotels & Resorts CEO David Kong told Skift.
“The Amazon Alexa, to me, is the future,” he added. “Right now, people are into messaging, but in the future, it’s going to be artificial intelligence and voice activation.”
Kong said he believes the Dot can help with housekeeping, too. Members of the hotel staff can use it to report whether or not the room is clean or if any maintenance is required for it.
Last year, hotel company Wynn Resorts said it was adding an Amazon Echo speaker inside more than 4,700 rooms in its Las Vegas hotel. Like Kong, Wynn Resorts CEO Steve Wynn said at the time that Amazon’s Alexa presents the ideal tool for hotel guests.
Marriott International, the largest lodging company in the world, is also testing voice-controlled devices from Amazon and Apple in one of its hotels in Boston.
On Monday, Apple revealed its HomePod, its competitor to Amazon’s in-home, voice-activated devices. Siri will take care of voice commands for the new device, which also doubles as a speaker.
A representative for Best Western did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
[Skift]
