Hotel chain Red Roof has introduced a skill for Amazon Alexa that lets people ask questions about making travel plans. The new innovation allows Red Roof to provide key information to the more than 20 million Alexa users, answering questions to help drive decisions including, “Can I bring my dog?” and “How many locations do you have?” to “Tell me about Red Roof PLUS” 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,” said Kevin Scholl, Red Roof director of digital marketing and partnerships, in a statement. “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 like 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,” 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.”
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.
Last year, the brand redesigned its website into a mobile-first platform to better connect with on-the-go customers who often use their smartphones to browse while traveling. Red Roof plans to roll out an artificial intelligence chatbot and Quickbook feature for its website to help ease the process of booking a hotel.