STAMFORD, Conn. — Starwood Hotels & Resorts Wordwide Inc. has unveiled Voice-activated Rooms at Aloft Hotels, which utilize the “Hey Siri” built-in technology of Apple’s latest iOS devices — iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches — to deliver automated services through voiced commands.
The new technology was made possible through a partnership with DigiValet, an iPad-based guestroom solution for luxury hotels.
Each Voice-activated Room is equipped with an iPad which runs a custom Aloft app. The app taps into Apple’s HomeKit technology, which is used to control various home appliances, such as lights, electrical outlets, thermostats and more. Customers can activate the iPad and simply ask it to make changes to their room environment by saying the words “Hey Siri.” They can then ask for the weather forecast and information on local attractions, to have the room temperature adjusted to a specific degree, ceiling lights and table lamps dimmed or turned off completely and even request to have a particular light turned back on at a specified time.
“Forget the phrase ‘at the touch of your fingertips.’ Today’s hyper-connected global travellers want a level of personalization unlike ever before, and that means being able to control their hotel experiences with the sound of their voice,” says Brian McGuinness, global brand leader, Aloft Hotels. “We’re thrilled to be the first hotel brand to bring voice-activation to our guests in this way, using Siri to control room temperature, lighting and more during their stay.”
To orient guests with Aloft’s new services, a personalized welcome screen on iPads will instruct guests on how to set up their own voice to be recognized by Siri. Each iPad also includes a brief tutorial to further acquaint guests with the technology and answer some general questions. At the end of each stay, all iPads are reset, removing all personal preferences from the device.
Voice-activated Rooms are debuting at Aloft Boston Seaport and Aloft Santa Clara, starting today.