Columbus, OH–Red Roof is rolling out a new way for hoteliers to connect directly with consumers at home through Amazon’s Alexa Skills platform. A Red Roof skill for Amazon Alexa now gives the more than 20 million Alexa users the ability to ask the voice-activated assistant Red Roof-specific questions to assist in making travel plans, all from the comfort of their own home.
Users can enable the Red Roof skill for Amazon Alexa at no cost on all of their Alexa-enabled devices in the Skills hub of the Amazon Alexa app on their smartphones. Once the skill is enabled, Alexa can answer questions about Red Roof like “can I bring my dog,” “how many locations do you have,” and “do you have any deals?”
“As consumers continue to rely more heavily on technology in their daily routines at home, we created the Red Roof skill for Amazon Alexa in the spirit of added convenience and ability to deliver important, decision-driving information directly to current and future guests,” says Kevin Scholl, director of digital marketing and partnerships, Red Roof. “Our technology is living and we’ll continue to add information to best support users based on consumer demand and aim to provide booking capabilities in the future.”
According to recent research, 72 percent of users engage with Alexa as part of their daily routine and nearly half of them speak with their Alexa-enabled device, noting it feels like speaking with a friend. In line with how people love to hear recommendations from friends or third-party advocates, a majority of Alexa users reported that they are open to learning about brands from their devices.
“Directly giving consumers information about Red Roof at home is the natural next step in our technological future as an innovative hotel brand,” says Marina MacDonald, chief marketing officer, Red Roof. “Travel truly meets technology through the new Red Roof skill for Amazon Alexa, allowing us to provide key information to a captivated audience that is already integrating the benefits of Alexa into their everyday lives.”
Alexa Skills is just the latest in Red Roof’s recent technological advancements. In 2017, the brand completely redesigned its website to create an accessible, mobile-first platform to allow travelers to book on-the-go from their smartphones. Later this year, Red Roof will roll out an Artificial Intelligence Chatbot and Quickbook feature for the site to make it even easier for guests to quickly lock in their stay.
