Announced this week in a press release, Amazon has agreed on a collaboration that would outfit each hotel room in The Wynn with one of its Echo voice-controlled speakers by next summer. There’s no doubt that it’s an innovative addition — and an industry first, at that — but there’s also no denying that having a living speaker in their room will make some people uncomfortable.
Installation of the devices in The Wynn’s suites begins this month. Once installed, guests will be able to use the Echo to control the room’s lights and drapes, the temperature of the room, and even the television. It’s a sort of bare-bones version of what the Echo’s full-blown arsenal consists of, but Amazon and The Wynn say advanced features — such as a personal assistant function — will debut “as the project evolves.”
“As we have moved through the years, technology has always played an important part in our resorts,” said Steve Wynn, chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts. “The thing that Amazon has done with Alexa is quite perfect. If I have ever seen anything in my 49 years of developing resorts that has made our job of delivering a perfect experience to our guests easier and help us get to another level, it is Alexa. The ability to talk to your room is effortlessly convenient.”
Obviously, in-home functions like purchasing goods via Amazon’s website won’t show up in The Wynn’s version, but the inclusion of the device is innovative nonetheless. As for the living speaker aspect of it? The Echo does feature the option of turning off its microphone ,which is an easy solution for those wary of it listening in on them. With an installation of this magnitude, however, you’d have to expect a swath of guidelines and protections to be in place prior to the addition, which should allow guests to rest a little easier.
