Properly today announced support for remote management of Amazon’s line of Echo devices, the first of its kind in the vacation rental industry. The integration allows vacation rental managers to efficiently and safely incorporate the voice-activated services of the fastest selling new consumer product into their operations, improving guest experience and reducing costs.
“Properly’s property managers, owners and hosts are eager for a solution that can create a great guest experience, build a direct connection with guests, and drive operational best practices,” said Alex Nigg, Properly CEO and Founder. “With our Echo integration, Properly now supports this cutting edge product that delights travelers and gives property managers greater control over their operations.”
“As intermediaries play a bigger role in distribution and constrain property managers’ ability to communicate with travelers, tools to build direct relationships are ever more important,” said Simon Lehmann, an industry advisor to Properly and former CEO of Interhome and Phocuswright and HomeAway board member. “Amazon’s Echo is a perfect way for property managers to interact with guests, and Properly’s support for its use in a large enterprise makes a ton of sense.”
The Amazon Echo line of products is a versatile and powerful amenity offering guests the ability to set a wake up call or kitchen timer, receive practical information such as news, traffic and local weather, and enhance the guest experience by providing local restaurant recommendations or allowing guests to listen to their home radio station while staying in a holiday house. In many US markets, Amazon’s Echo devices allow guests to order groceries, or a restaurant meal. Similarly, housekeeping can order supplies on site, for same or next day delivery to the property.
“Voice Assistants like Amazon’s Alexa as a centerpiece of the guest experience have become a big topic in the vacation rental industry. Alex and Properly have been at the cutting edge and first proposed that vision at VRM Intel Live in Denver almost a year ago.” adds Amy Hinote, founder and editor-in-chief at VRM Intel.
Echo also serves as a powerful controller for smart home functionality and supports many major smart home systems, such as locks, thermostats, and lights. Smart home technology can reduce energy consumption and enable smart lock systems in lieu of manual key exchange.
“We like companies with a vision” said Steve Milo, CEO of VTrips, a leading US-based property manager. “I have long argued the importance of smart home technology, and this development marks another milestone in applying home automation to the vacation rental industry.”
Properly’s Amazon Echo integration supports automated remote management of Echo devices for property managers with portfolios of any size. Every guest checkout can be configured to trigger an automatic clearing and resetting of all Amazon Echo devices at the property, thereby protecting guests’ privacy.
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