Bloomberg:
Amazon.com Inc.’s battle with Apple Inc. over digital assistants is moving to a new venue: hotel rooms, where Alexa and Siri are both vying to be the voice-controlled platform of choice for travelers.
Marriott International Inc., the world’s biggest lodging company, is testing devices from the two tech giants at its Aloft hotel in Boston’s Seaport district to determine which is best to let guests turn on lights, close drapes, control room temperature and change television channels via voice command. In December, Wynn Resorts Ltd. became the first hotel company to install Alexa-powered Echo devices, starting with suites at its flagship Wynn Las Vegas property.
This is a fascinating business conflict. Let’s say Marriott chooses Alexa and Hilton chooses Siri. Will Apple folks shift their staying habits, choosing to stay at a Siri friendly hotel? Is this forced choice good business? Is there a way to support both? I see a business opportunity for an Echo-like device that supports multiple personalities, translating requests into the appropriate format with an exposed setting that lets you pick your favorite.
Linkbait, they say in the article that they don’t have any way to integrate with Siri right now, so it seems like it would be a pretty easy decision.
Surely a CarPlay-like solution is possible. HomeKit strikes me as potentially valuable here, especially given the privacy/security issues surrounding non-HK IOT devices. “Does you hotel room’s automation protect your privacy?”
I don’t care, as long as there’s an option to block the mic in the room for both.
I choose neither, thanks. As long as there are ample power outlets and decent connectivity, I don’t even mind seeing an alarm clock with a 30-pin iPod socket in the hotel room.