Are you using Alexa/Echo in STRs?

Question

Hey folks. After nearly a year of dismissing it as largely a fad, I’ve been starting to do more and more with automated audio workflows in my STRs and have, so far, gotten great feedback on it from guests. Currently this is little more than a Sonos speaker integrated with my smart home system that ensures there’s some relaxing music playing for guests when they open the door after what is usually a long drive in. Frankly, you could accomplish much the same with a simple FM radio tuned to the local “smooth jazz” station that’s put on an outlet you turn on/off remotely.

Unfortunately the integration with Sonos has been inconsistent at best and it occurred to me that there could be a higher benefit to leveraging a couple of the Echo Dots with alarm clocks in guests’ bedrooms for voice-activated alarms, quick weather/news checks, and streaming music. Amazon’s made a huge push into corporate hospitality over the last couple years and some of the custom workflows I’ve seen for creating guest FAQs that the devices can respond to without bugging me or requiring additional pages in a physical house manual are appealing, something like VCS or a custom-designed audio FAQ. I suspect this one’s a stretch, but:

• Anyone else using Alex/Google/Siri integrations with your STRs? 
• How are those going so far? 
• Any specific advice you would have for others looking into this space?

Chris Gottshall · Answer

@Cliff H. FYI I signed up for Amazon Business this week to check this out. Seems there’s no spending threshold required. You just have to ask to be treated like a business? I was approved within 1 business day and I can now set up a property and define rooms and add devices. I haven’t yet purchased an Alexa but I’m going to keep exploring this route.

On a somewhat unrelated note: Do you have a separate email account for any of the services you use at your rental? I am thinking, especially in the event of more than one property in the future, it would make sense to set up 123mainstreet[at]mycompany.com. In the event anyone gets the password they could only make purchases through that property’s account, which would be easily traceable back to the guest that I could ask to reimburse for any charges. Just an idea I’m playing with in my head because I like to keep things nice and organized, as much as I can. I’d use that same email to sign into Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc at that one property. I’m going to investigate the guest connect feature next because that would be great to allow a guest account without signing out of the primary account.

Cliff H. · Answer

That's what I've historically thought as well @Nathan G. but then again that's us, not the average person who's understanding of online privacy is clearing their browser history.

At this stage we've already seen Amazon add in physical shutters or microphone cutoffs into all their shipping products and Apple's made "differential privacy" and on-device processing of data a strategic initiative to remove the ability of linking specific requests to a specific person. And as you say, if it makes folks more comfortable to unplug it, so be it. Not every one uses the oatmeal I leave out for them either, but maybe the next guests will.

At my level, I'm more interested in finding new ways to integrate conveniences into my rentals to help them stand out in a crowded marketplace. From what I'm hearing in other forums, most hosts are seeing guests simply use these for playing music or asking about the weather. That's fine with me and saves me the trouble of having to as you point out @Chris Gottshall, explain how to use the remote control. Also one less thing guests have to bring in themselves that Amazon's sales numbers suggest they're probably already familiar with in their own homes.

Features like Alexa Guard are just icing on the cake for rentals where I may have concerns over security. Longer term, I can also imagine integrating some custom workflows for cleaning staff to inventory or reorder supplies behind a purchasing passcode, work through contactless audio versions of cleaning checklists they don't have to look at their phone/list to work through, or just allowing for guests to quickly look up info, recipes, local recommendations, etc when trying to figure out what to cook or where where to eat around dinner time.

I'll be sure to post back here with how things turn out. At $60/device I don't see this as a huge loss if guests come back with concerns and I have to pull them out of the space.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

If I were a guest and discovered one of those devices in the rental, the first thing I would do is unplug it. They are pretty handy but they are also well-suited for eavesdropping.

You could turn a Smart TV to a radio station or turn on a local radio. Same affect, costs less, fewer technical problems, and fewer security issues.

Chris Gottshall · Answer

@Cliff H. I use gmail plus addressing already and LOVE it. Everyone I’ve told about it is always blown away by the options this gives you! 😆

Chris Gottshall · Answer

@Cliff H. ok, I’m finally going to break down and buy one of these “evil” Alexa devices for research purposes. (I’m still one of those “not in my house” people when it comes to the always-on voice assistant.) If I end up getting it set up then I’ll relocate to the actual property the next time I go there (in October; I live almost 3000 miles away). I’ll keep you posted on what I figure out, and hope you’ll do the same.

For the logins, I have my operating LLC company set up on Google apps so I can create any number of aliases. I am thinking [property name]@[myllc.com] is the best pattern to use.

Cliff H. · Answer

Thanks @Chris Gottshall. That’s useful info. The main feature of the Amazon for Hospitality program I was hoping for was a way to reset the data between guest visits, which may actually be a more complex setup through Amazon to PMS integration for larger scale operators. I’ll look into the basic Business account and circle back with an updates.

To your question about property-specific emails, yes, I do have a domain name registered for my vacation rentals as a group, but am really only using that for my direct booking website and as an email redirect to my standard email for repeat customers. If you don’t care about the look of it, you could certainly also use Gmail plus addressing to create property-specific email filters/routes as well.

Keep me posted on what you find and if you end up testing it out with actual Alexa hardware.

Cliff H. · Answer

Thanks @Michael Baum. Yes I’ve been spending a bit more time and have a few custom workflows created for a guest to get the Wi-Fi access code and common questions around where things are or where to bring trash when check out is, etc. ￼￼

I’ve also discovered that there is a option for an Amazon “Guest Connect” mode where guests can bring up their own Amazon Music account and listen to it as if it was their own echo device. https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GU2GHYT7XHPYEQ5G.

Unfortunately it does still save the actual keyword request back to my account but there is a provision in the system to automatically delete any/all request after three months of time which I would certainly want in the case of a vacation rental.

I’m going to also look into the Alexa for hospitality program I mentioned above, however it requires an Amazon business account which I believe has certain purchasing thresholds which independent operators such as ourselves would probably not meet.

https://www.amazon.com/alexahospitality

Will post back here as I find out more.

Michael Baum · Answer

Well I bought a Echo Plus for our rental. People have been asking for a way to play their music so I thought that it would be a good addition. I plan on adding an account (not prime) to allow them to hit Spotify or IHeartRadio for free.I have looked into the various ways it could be compromised to allow eavesdropping and it isn't a very easy task. You have to add the malicious code to it and enable it. There is the Drop In feature but that is turned off by default and it rings in like a telephone and it is lit up. So, I do have some concerns but I am hoping people will find it useful.

Sylvia B. · Answer

I agree with @Nathan G.! Additionally, if I didn't discover it immediately, and it wasn't previously disclosed as an "amenity," I would be angry and apt to leave a bad review. I will not have one of those devices in a home I live in.

Are you using Alexa/Echo in STRs?

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