"Alexa, don't forget to wake me at 7.15 tomorrow morning." "Tell me, Google, what's the weather like today? And while you're at it, can you remind me what time my first meeting was this morning?" . "Siri, my dear Siri, am I still the most beautiful?"... It probably won't be long before hotel guests are having fun chatting with their friends in the privacy of their rooms. mini butlers in the form of voice assistants. Based on artificial intelligence and developed by Amazon, Google and Apple, they are capable of responding to their slightest desires, or almost. Controlling the home automation system built into the bedroom, they can adjust the temperature or open the curtains. In passing, they can check the weather forecast on the internet or search through calendars and emails to keep abreast of upcoming appointments.
Since last summer, all 4,748 rooms at the Wynn Las Vegas have been equipped with Amazon's Alexa solution. "Millions of people already enjoy interacting with Alexa at home. Now they'll be able to do the same when they travel.", said Steve Rabuchin, vice president of Amazon Alexa, when this high-tech rollout was announced at the end of 2016. "In the 49 years I've spent developing resorts, if there's one thing that has made our job easier by enabling us to offer our guests the perfect experience, it's Alexa."said Steve Wynn, President of Wynn Resorts. Travellers no longer have to get up to turn off the lights while lying comfortably in their beds. Just ask AlexaEven when you're half asleep, she takes care of everything.
For the moment, this voice assistant offers the means to verbally control the temperature of the room or its lighting. But the range of tasks assigned to these connected objects is set to expand very soon. The start-up Volara has specialised in designing communication platforms for hoteliers based on these voice assistants. These are already being used by a number of establishments in the United States, including the DoubleTree by Hilton The Wit in Chicago and the Kimpton Hotel Alexis in Seattle, their vast range of applications could revolutionise the way hotels interact with their guests.
Room concierge
During their stay, guests would no longer have to go downstairs to the concierge to find out where to dine and then go back upstairs to dress accordingly, as the assistant would have a memory of what they were eating. a list of good deals to suggest. Nor would they have to contact reception for simple questions such as check-out times or WiFi codes. Deployed for over a year at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country, the solution already receives more requests than room service by telephone. For hoteliers, these assistants offer the prospect of additional sales, for example by reminding guests at the end of a conversation about the hotel's restaurant that a promotion or an exceptional menu are currently on offer.
After room keys on smartphones, followed by service robots, the global hotel industry is about to take another step forward. Faced with the deployment of the Internet of ThingsThe big groups are putting their Research & Development teams to the test. Last November, Marriott unveiled its IoT Guestroom Lab at its headquarters in Bethesda. To create this technology lab, the hotel operator teamed up with two big names, Samsung for connected objects and Legrand for home automation.
Showering at the right temperature
One of the first ideas being considered is the development of an intuitive system that links up with the customer's profile, based on the preferences that they have entered beforehand. The most spectacular application will undoubtedly be to see the shower start at your preferred temperature. As well as waking travellers up at their usual time, the virtual assistant will also be able to organise a daily yoga session with a coach projected onto a full-length mirror. "Whether it's through voice, the Internet of Things or other recognition technologies, we always see technology as a means of further enhancing the customer experience."explains Gretchen Hartley, senior director of global design at Marriott International.
In December, the Hilton Group launched its Innovation Gallery, a high-tech showroom showcasing initiatives by partners such as Pilot, a real-time translation solution, and Meural. This digital art specialist offers high-tech photo frames associated with an impressive catalogue of masterpieces ranging from the intriguing Cry from Munch to the tempestuous Wave by Hokusai, the ravishing Girl with a Pearl by Vermeer to glamorous photos of Marylin Monroe by the Magnum agency. These are all works that could decorate the rooms at the customer's request. But, depending on the mood of the moment, customers may well want to display their holiday snaps in the digital frames.
This development is one of the functionalities envisaged by Hilton as part of its 'Connected Room', presented last December. Because while Hilton is thinking about the future, it is also thinking about the present. This ultra-connected bedroom concept makes the smartphone the bedroom remote control. Nothing new in itself. More than one hotel already offers its guests the option of adjusting the temperature via their phone. However, Hilton is in the process of making what has until now been an individual initiative by certain hotels or a few small innovative brands a standard feature, as the 'connected room' will be rolled out in the group's hotels in the United States from this year.
The Hilton Honors application makes it easy for members of the loyalty programme to take control of their environment, new functions should enhance this concept. As we have seen, customers will soon be able to display their favourite works of art on the wall, as well as seeing the television default to their favourite channel or finding their Netflix account, password included. What could be more reassuring for long-haul business travellers than to change nothing in their daily routine?
