It is surely only a matter of time before voice assistants become as ubiquitous in hotel suites as they are in domestic living rooms.
According to a recent report on the key trends to look out for in the hospitality technology space, 59% of hoteliers believe automated assistants will play a significant part in boosting property revenues. Similarly, 43% of those surveyed claim such technology could help create a reduction in labour costs while making operations more efficient.
The report was conducted by Angie Hospitality, creators of Angie, a 24-hour, interactive room assistant built exclusively for hotels and resorts. Debuted in Sydney last year at the NoVacancy Accommodation Business Expo, Angie can be commanded to do everything from switching on the television to ordering room service and adjusting light settings. Guests can also sync their mobile devices to the assistant using Bluetooth.
Angie is representative of the kind of technology today鈥檚 guests expect when they check in to a hotel. As our appetite for smarter homes mounts 鈥� a new study by Juniper Research forecasts there will be some eight billion digital voice assistants in use by 2023 鈥� so does our inclination to recreate similar conditions when on the road.
Why hotels need to tap into the prevailing trend of household voice assistants
Yet, adoption rates of voice assistants amongst hoteliers remain slow. As revealed by the Angie Hospitality report, only 7% of hotel owners admitted to having a dedicated voice strategy in place. If the industry fails to address this sooner rather than later, it risks falling behind one of the fastest growing domestic consumer trends of recent times.
Indeed, according to UK retailer Argos, sales of Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant leapt by 161%, year-on-year, in 2018. Only the most myopic of hoteliers would fail to see that the crossover of voice assistants from home to hotel room is impending. In an industry for which the name of the game is offering a personalised guest experience, the implementation of such technology is crucial.
Ethar Alali is the CEO of Axelisys, a Manchester-based innovation engineering firm, which creates Alexa and Google Voice interfaces, working with a number of groups, including hotel reservations website LateRooms.com. He believes voice assistants have the potential to disrupt large parts of the hospitality sector, with hotels 鈥渢he most obvious starting point鈥�.
鈥淲hile voice interfaces are still in their infancy, that same exclusivity is actually a strength,鈥� he explains. 鈥淚t adds a touch of luxury at every level, whether that鈥檚 replacing traditional hotel guides, interacting with the room鈥檚 lighting and air conditioning, booking tables at the hotel鈥檚 restaurant or ordering room service.
鈥淭he possibilities are endless. The costs don鈥檛 have to be particularly high for major resort operators, potentially providing them with a huge return on investment while freeing up hotel staff to concentrate on the real value-adds and special cases.鈥�
Martin Meany, a Dublin-based tech expert, also sees the benefits of voice assistants.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e great for simple things, like asking for the weather forecast so you know whether you need an umbrella, jacket or pair of shorts for the day,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou can also ask the likes of Alexa how long a taxi-ride to the airport will take, which allows you to plan your timings better.鈥�
Nobody鈥檚 perfect 鈥� not even Alexa
However 鈥� as anyone who possesses an Alexa at home can well testify 鈥� voice assistants are not perfect. Despite having come a long way in recent years, voice recognition remains an issue, whereby users may still have to repeat themselves several times over before a command is understood.
For commands of a visual nature, voice assistants are also at an obvious disadvantage, says Meany. 鈥淎lexa might be able to recommend restaurants in the local area 鈥� which is great if you鈥檙e not familiar with the area 鈥� but some won鈥檛 find this recommendation enough. Personally, if I鈥檓 going out to eat, I want to see pictures and read reviews.鈥�
Then there鈥檚 the burning issue of privacy. Last year, a news story emerged that Alexa had recorded a private conversation between a husband and wife in Portland, Oregon, and sent it to a contact in their address book without consent. Similarly, a man in Germany, upon requesting to listen back to an archive of his Alexa recordings, instead received 1,700 audio files 鈥� belonging to a complete stranger.
鈥淭here are two sides to this coin,鈥� believes Meany. 鈥淎s I have Google Home and Echo in my sitting room, I personally wouldn鈥檛 mind having one in my hotel. But others won鈥檛 feel the same. A device capable of listening is one thing when you own it yourself, but one that鈥檚 been in the room for countless other users will likely leave hotel visitors uncomfortable. This is a really important consideration.
鈥淚 would imagine some guests might even request their room not to have such a service, if it鈥檚 there by default.鈥�
Hotels can ill afford to be the subject of data and privacy breaches. As of May 25 2018 鈥� which marked the enforcement of the EU General Data Protection Regulation 鈥� operators are liable to be fined up to 4% of their annual turnover in the event of such infringements. The implications, from a reputational perspective, for hoteliers who fail their guests in this regard are much more serious.
That said, automated assistants look set to play a key role in providing more personalised functionality in hotel rooms. If this is the will of today鈥檚 guests, it is likely hotel operators will soon oblige in turn.
