MIAMI—Amazon’s Alexa for Hospitality has created opportunities for technology-based solutions to come to the forefront. One such company, Nuvola, provides digital products designed to maximize customer value and create efficiencies among hotel staff.
Through an integration with Alexa for Hospitality, Nuvola CEO Juan Carlos Abello enables hoteliers to provide an open and direct communications system that is controlled by the guest via voice command and messaging apps for their hotel needs.
“The Nuvola-enabled Alexa devices simplify the interactions between hotel staff and guests. A hotel guest will be able to find restaurants, order room service and schedule wake-up calls or request towels using their voice,” said Abello.
During the development of the platform, the team at Nuvola also added a feature to help the back-of-house operations.
“We’ve enabled staff members the ability to speak to Alexa as they’re inspecting rooms and making sure it meets the brand standard. They can tell Alexa if the curtains are dirty, room needs painting, etc.,” said Abello. “Staff members can identify themselves to Alexa and start speaking. It triggers service requests for housekeeping or maintenance.”
Nuvola’s integration with Alexa could prove to be a game-changer for how hotel teams keep track of guests’ needs as well as upkeep of the property. “You’re going from someone typing in requests into a mobile device versus a paper log or radio, but now you’re basically using voice to trigger an alert and then you can see it on a device, which tells the staff member it’s confirmed and no one had to move any fingers,” he said.
Alexa for Hospitality aims to provide guests with the ability to make requests from voice technology, using a platform that is simple to use and may already be in use at home.
“Most people are aware of Alexa and many homes use the device to order an Uber or play music and this service provides that same convenience in the hotel room. It makes the learning curve more comfortable. It’s new technology in the room and guests don’t have to figure out how it works,” said Abello. “The integration eases the task management for the hotel by allowing them to connect with service requests via voice command. We’re able to develop a dialogue with Alexa and users can say a couple of commands in one sentence and Alexa will understand.”
Nuvola’s Angel is a guest-facing, web-based app that doesn’t need to be downloaded. Through a link, users can access the environment from a mobile phone or tablet, requesting hotel services via text. Nuvola can white label the Angel app for any hotel company wishing to brand this service. Other features include digital key, geolocation-based offers, guests can order an Uber, leave a tip for staff members, view hotel packages, rate their stay, and more.
More and more, hoteliers are looking for ways to anticipate the guests’ needs and desires. Nuvola’s behavioral data helps the team understand the typical requests made at a property. In addition, this data can follow the guest from one brand’s property to the next for a higher level of service, Abello explained. Nuvola doesn’t own the data; they host the service.
“If you have a guest visiting the same brand, hotel staff can tailor the stay as much as possible. Through our partnership with Alexa, we can do just that,” he said. “If the guest likes a certain pillow and they’re staying with same hotel chain in Boston and Miami, there’ a way for the hotel to build customer loyalty, improve satisfaction and enhance the guest experience in a clever and cost-effective way.”