Honeywell launches Alexa voice-ready thermostat for hotels

Honeywell launched its next-generation thermostat, the Inncom e7, an enterprise-grade environmental control and energy-management product that incorporates Amazon Alexa voice control to operate room temperature, lighting, drapery and amenities services.

With its easy-to-use controls, the e7 is based on a patent-pending smart wall-plate design that provides hotel staff with an easy and reliable back-up of the device configuration. This makes routine maintenance or replacement simple, even for other staff, which helps reduce ownership costs.
 
Honeywell’s Inncom e7 Thermostat expands on its industry-standard energy-management and network solutions. Honeywell integrated the newest voice-ready technology with an attractive flat panel to create a modern thermostat. The e7’s guest-centric user interaction detects a guest’s proximity and displays appropriate information for guest interaction. The e7 Thermostat’s easy-to-understand user interface gives guests straightforward controls for guest room comfort and other functions. The e7 also integrates with technologies from other companies including Crave and Intelity to control the entire guestroom environment from a designated tablet. These integrations and controls can even be expanded to any other in-room user interfaces such as smart TVs or video-on-demand boxes.
 

The guestroom voice functionality of the e7 can also be deployed in conjunction with partner companies like Volara, a fully integrated voice hub for hotel technologies. 

“Honeywell Inncom is working with Volara to implement voice-based guestroom controls at multiple hotel properties,” Volara CEO Dave Berger said in a statement. “Our solution, which runs atop the Amazon Alexa platform, integrates seamlessly with Honeywell’s Inncom. It enables guests and staff to control the thermostat, lights, drapery, and do not disturb signs from Honeywell, as well as other hotel technology. Volara provides the voice interface for these systems and the collaboration delivers a guest experience that is simply remarkable.”

Berger noted that Volara is currently working with 25 hotel groups to enable guests and staff to engage hotel systems by voice.
 
The networked e7 Thermostat integrates with all major property-management systems to create a seamless solution for energy savings and guest comfort. When rooms are unrented, the e7 automatically sets back the room temperature until the PMS signals a guest has checked in. While rented, the thermostat provides guests with functionality that delivers personalized comfort control. The e7 helps reduce the total cost of ownership by minimizing room downtime and automatically capturing the thermostat configuration. Its wired or wireless flexibility enables simplified installation in new-build or retrofit properties. For maximum flexibility, the e7 also provides standalone HVAC control and occupancy-based sensing that customarily requires a door switch monitor and motion sensor.
 
When used as a networked system, the e7 provides real-time and trended guestroom data to Honeywell’s Inncom INNcontrol 3 centralized property environmental system. This comprehensive property system monitors and displays room status, energy management efficiency analysis, and equipment malfunction alert reporting. This combined system enables the property team to proactively manage each guestroom’s environment to deliver guest comfort and efficient maintenance staff scheduling.

Aside from the integrations inside the guestroom, the e7 can even provide the backhaul network communication for applications  such as central electronic lock systems (Saflok, Timlox, Salto), guest amenities (Axxess) and minibars (Bartech).