“As voice becomes the preferred interface for guest and staff interactions with technology in hotels, there must be safeguards in place to ensure that no data falls into the wrong hands,” said David Berger, CEO of Volara.  “Hoteliers have a duty to protect their guests personally identifiable information and we’ve built our technology atop the leading natural language processing platforms to ensure they meet this duty.

 

“The same is true for protecting hotels’ proprietary data from disclosure,” he said. “We don’t recommend integrating sensitive hotel technology solutions directly into the large Natural Language Processing Platforms (NLPs), as this could expose sensitive, proprietary hotel information, such as guest profiles, operational practices, or guest communications. Hoteliers are understandably concerned that data may be used to remarket to guests or for other non-hotel purposes. To enable hotels to have the benefit of fully integrated voice technology from the leading platforms while protecting the hotels’ proprietary data from exposure, Volara has developed a secure integrations hub – featuring integrations with 27 leading hotel technologies and more soon to come. No other hotel technology solution can make that claim today.”

 

With 47.3 million people, or nearly one in five adults, in the United States currently owning a smart speaker (according to voicebot), it’s a safe bet that many of these consumers will expect – and even demand – an interactive voice experience when they travel – especially in their hotel rooms. Determining which voice technology provider to partner with can be confusing, but guest privacy and data security are table stakes.

Here are 8 important questions to ask providers when shopping for a voice technology solution:

 

1. How are you protecting the privacy of my guests? Are recordings associated with our guests’ personally identifiable information (PII)?
 
 

2. How are you protecting the security of my hotel’s proprietary data? Are there any integrations with a platform that may use this data for remarketing? If so, how are you protecting my guests from this practice?
 

3. Many travelers have unique accents or dialects that aren’t well understood by popular voice assistants. Does your solution improve the accuracy of interactions? 
 

4. How are you measuring ROI? How will your solution drive efficiencies and increase revenues?
 

5. How will voice technologies impact my guests’ experiences? How do I ensure my hotel maintains the relationship with its guests? Can I easily change and update interactions with my guests once deployed?
 

6. How much flexibility do I have to change Natural Language Processing providers over time? Or select different providers for different properties?
 

7. How is data presented back to hotel management?  Is it available in real time and in aggregated reporting to enable improved decision making?
 

8. How does this scale? Will the solution be brand consistent, yet locally tailored, across my entire portfolio?
 

 

“When engaging guests with voice technology, especially in private areas like guestrooms, it is important that hoteliers understand how the technology works,” Berger said. “Ensuring that the solution is protecting guests’ privacy is not optional. Secondary, but also important to achieve the return on investment, is ensuring that guest requests are properly received and routed to the hotel’s existing task-management software for seamless communication and collaboration. Without the right integrations, even the best product can add complexity and cost. Hoteliers need to make sure any vendor they consider has the integrations they need to set their team up for success.”

Volara integrates with the leading:

• Property management systems

• Work order management systems

• Guest engagement platforms

• IPTV solutions

• Room controls providers

• Valet software

• Staff alert technology