IHG Hotels & Resorts—known for brands like InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, and Hotel Indigo—has partnered with Josh.ai to create a voice-controlled smart room at the Kimpton Rowan hotel in Palm Springs, California.
IHG is the first global hotel company to deploy Josh.ai and is committed to privacy, data security, and natural interactions within connected living spaces. The Josh.ai software features purpose-built natural language processing that understands multiple requests in one command; searches for specific music and video content through deep-linking; and leverages location and contextual awareness. Guests also have the capabilities to use the Josh app.
“We are constantly exploring next-generation technology to give guests epic experiences as they return to our hotels,” said Brian McGuinness, senior vice president, global guest experience shared services, IHG Hotels & Resorts. “Josh.ai has never been used in a hotel room before, and we look forward to discovering how AI can be more widely adopted by our properties around the world. We take great pride in pushing ourselves when it comes to digital innovation in hospitality.”
A first for hotel guestrooms, each brand has been selected to promote wellbeing and performance with a design aesthetic fitting of IHG’s Luxury & Lifestyle collection. The hotel room explores the potential of guest interaction with their environment and employs connected devices that are borrowed from smart homes across the globe, including:
- Josh Micro is expanding its capabilities beyond secure automation of the room by introducing built-in hotel concierge responses, ensuring guests are informed what the Kimpton and Palm Springs has to offer during their stay.
- Ketra lighting, by Lutron, makes its hotel room debut, promoting wellbeing through tunable lighting that transitions with the natural rhythms of daylight. Guests can set the mood by adjusting the color temperature from warm to cool, as well as the vibrancy and saturation of their lights.
- Lutron shades provide privacy while balancing exposure to daylight in the bathroom.
- Sonos speakers with an Arc soundbar tune to the beat with access to any genre, album, artist, or song. Whether a guest is watching TV or listening to music, the room will be filled with surround sound.
- Samsung’s Frame TV transforms from an art piece to a 4K QLED display when guests are ready to watch their content.
- DISH TV offers guests a live entertainment experience with the power of voice or tactile control.
- Roku provides access to streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and more so that guests can enjoy the comforts of home.
- IPORT is powering Josh.ai’s manual control of the room with its iPad mounting solution. Guests will have access to adjust the room to their specifications through the Josh app.
“At Josh.ai we are hyper focused on delivering experiences that are simple, privacy-focused, and magical,” said Alex Capecelatro, CEO of Josh.ai. “Our partnership with IHG couldn’t be a better fit as we endeavor together to transform the hospitality experience with natural voice control of lighting, shades, music, TV, and more. For example, guests can give a command like, ‘set the lights to warm white, listen to Hotel California, watch the Golf Channel, and when is happy hour?’ and Josh.ai will handle the rest.”
