The expansion of contactless service has sped up during the era of COVID-19, and some hotels will soon provide a new solution powered by Google. Guest services in hotels may soon be handled by a Google Nest Hub in your room.
Guest Supply and Volara announced this week a partnership with Google that brings “Google for Hotels” to the United States. The program is designed to allow hotel owners to use Google Assistant devices to create a “contactless guest experience.”
Google announced hotel-centric features for the Nest Hub in August of last year, but this new partnership has the potential to expand adoption in big ways.
This all runs through the Google Nest Hub smart display, which, as a part of the program, would be installed in each hotel room. Guests would then be able to use “Hey Google” commands to not only set alarms, but speak with the front desk, request items for their room, or get recommendations as they would from a concierge. As a bonus, this also brings Bluetooth to rooms. Notably, too, this is using the first generation Nest Hub instead of the just-released revision.
The contactless smart base solution is packed with hospitality feature functionality and is available for a modest all-inclusive purchase cost per unit or billed at an affordable monthly rate per guest room. The voice command feature provides a contactless means to access guest services and amenities. The Google Nest Hub has no camera and – when provisioned to the hotel – does not record or store audio interactions.
With the simple voice command ‘Hey Google’ guests can set a wakeup alarm, speak with the front desk, get a recommendation, or request an item be brought to their room. The base solution also interfaces with guests’ personal devices playing media through the Bluetooth speaker with rich audio. Weather, area attractions, dining and more are also only a ‘Hey Google’ away. Hoteliers can select additional á la carte upgraded and customizable options as well as full integrations with a wide array of industry recognized hospitality systems and applications.
More on Nest Hub:
- Google adding bulk, direct photo sharing to Nest Hub and Smart Displays
- Nest Hub and other Smart Displays add dedicated tab for Google Assistant ‘Games’
- Review: Nest Hub (2nd gen) sleep tracking ushers in a radically more pervasive Google Assistant
Author: Ben Schoon
Source: 9TO5Google
