ALEXA SMART PROPERTIES
Echo Devices for Alexa Smart Properties
To interact with Alexa, you must use Echo devices, which are designed and produced directly by Amazon.
You can interact with Alexa using your voice or by touching the screen.
Only certain Echo models within Amazon’s wide range of speakers are enabled for use in hospitality and care facilities. Let’s see which ones!
Echo Show:
the device with screen
Echo Show devices are rectangular and feature a functional touchscreen (5” or 8”, depending on the version). They are available in charcoal black and glacier white.
The screen on Echo Show devices can be used to communicate with guests even when they are not speaking to Alexa. Using the Control Panel, you can create up to 20 rotating screens. For each screen, you can customize the background and text. If tapped, they can trigger a specific Alexa function or voice interaction.
Spinning screens
How can they be exploited?
Welcoming the guest
Explain to the guest how to use Alexa
Suggest services and products that can be purchased
Communicating schedules and appointments
Provide useful information quickly
Describe what the hotel’s services are
Functionality of Echo Shows
Touch-screen
Touch-screen functionality allows you to interact with Alexa by simply touching the screen, to turn off the alarm clock, turn the volume up and down, dim the screen, play games, or select services or information you want to find out more about.
Sensors
The Echo Show has a brightness sensor, which automatically lowers the brightness of the screen so as not to disturb the guest during dark hours inside the room. The spinning screens are replaced by a fixed screen, which shows the time in full screen, thus automatically turning the Echo Show into a room alarm clock.
Camera
Echo Show devices are equipped with a camera, which can be used for video calls. In care facilities such as nursing homes or assisted living centers, the camera can be used for outgoing video calls (e.g., by saying “Alexa, call my son”), but it can always be disabled using a physical privacy shutter.
Only residents in care-related structures can make calls or video calls, and only when initiated by the guest. Incoming calls or video calls from outside are not allowed in any case.
In accommodations such as resorts, hotels, B&Bs, vacation rentals, and apartments, the camera is electronically disabled and cannot be used.
Under no circumstances can the camera of Echo Show devices be activated remotely via Alexa Smart Properties. Therefore, Echo Show cannot be used for video surveillance or guest/room monitoring, not even in common areas.
Echo Dot and Echo Pop
The Echo Dot has a spherical shape. On the top, there are four buttons to control volume, mute the microphones (so the device won’t even hear the wake word “Alexa”), and one button to activate Alexa without saying her name.
Echo Pop devices have a semi-spherical shape with a front-facing speaker.
We recommend using Echo Show devices, as their screens allow communication with guests even when they’re not interacting with Alexa vocally (thanks to the rotating screens). Echo Show also enables guests to view and interact with images, text, and buttons while Alexa is speaking, enhancing both the interaction and the user experience.
Learn more about Echo devices
To learn more and find answers to common questions, visit the FAQ page.
Models of Echo devices that can be used
The Echo devices that can be used for Alexa Smart Properties are the same ones that are for sale on Amazon’s website (or in other electronics or appliance stores).
Therefore you can also use the devices you already have.
Please note: Not all Echo models are authorized to use Alexa Smart Properties.
The authorized Echo device models are:
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Echo (2nd, 3rd and 4th generations)
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Echo Dot (2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th generations)
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Echo Dot with clock (3rd, 4th and 5th generation)
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Echo Plus (1st and 2nd generation)
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Echo Pop
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Echo Show 5 (1st, 2nd and 3rd generation)
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Echo Show 8 (1st, 2nd and 3rd generation)
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Echo Show 15 (1st and 2nd generation)
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Echo Show 21
Multilingual
Alexa can be used in homes all over (almost) the world, and it speaks more than 20 languages.
Alexa Smart Properties, on the other hand, is only available in these countries: Italy, San Marino, Vatican City, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Spain, the United States of America, Canada, and Japan.
Alexa Smart Properties is able to interact in 5 languages: Italian, English, French, Spanish, and German.
Using NAVOO’s Web Control Panel, you can provide Alexa with all the details about your facility’s services, which she will use to answer guests’ questions. All content can be entered in one of five languages and automatically translated into others using a generative AI system.
Used only within the facility
When an Echo device is installed in a property and associated with the Alexa Smart Properties system, its factory settings are changed. This means it will only work inside the hotel, resort, B&B, or care facility where it was set up.
An Echo configured for Alexa Smart Properties will no longer work if removed from the location. For this reason, each Echo will have a visible label warning against unplugging or removing the device from the room.
Wi-Fi Connection
For the Alexa Smart Properties system to function properly, Echo devices must always be connected to the property’s Wi-Fi network. Each Echo operates independently, so if one loses connection temporarily, it won’t affect the others.
Alexa doesn’t reside inside the Echo device: understanding guest requests, generating responses, and activating features all happen in the cloud. Without Wi-Fi, an Echo will only play a message indicating it’s currently offline and to try again later.
The internet bandwidth required for Alexa interactions or streaming music is minimal.
You do not need to set up a dedicated internet line or Wi-Fi network for Echo devices, they can simply connect to an existing one.
The only requirement is that Echo devices cannot connect to Wi-Fi networks that require logging in via a web registration page.
For further technical details on Wi-Fi settings, there is a dedicated page on Amazon’s website.
Power Supply
Echo devices do not have built-in batteries, they work only when plugged into a power source.
Each device includes a power adapter (similar to a smartphone charger) and a power cable.
It’s recommended that Echo devices be connected to a power line that remains active at all times (like the ones used for in-room refrigerators).
However, they can also be plugged into a socket that cuts power when the guest removes their key card. In this case, when power is restored (e.g., when the magnetic key is inserted), the Echo device takes around 30 seconds to reboot. Until the reboot is complete, Alexa will not be available.
So, for example, if you want guests to be able to open the door and immediately say, “Alexa, turn on the lights,” then the Echo device should be plugged into a continuously powered outlet.
To learn more and find answers to common questions, visit our FAQ page where we answer your questions.
Fill out the form and together we will find out what Alexa can do for you!