This pandemic will come to an end, and when it does, travel will resume. But if you’re like most people, you’re ready to take a trip now. Google is making strides to ensure more sanitary hotel visits by placing Nest Hub smart displays in hotels across the country. Doing so will make it possible to perform many tasks hands-free, so there’s minimal contact.
Google is leaving it up to hotels to tailor their guests’ experience by allowing common requests to be met with a simple voice command. Guests can say things like, “Hey, Google, schedule a wake-up call,” or “Hey, Google, ask for more towels.” The requests can be specifically tailored to each hotel.
Some hotels will even allow for fast check out through Google Assistant. This ensures guests don’t have to stand in line and allow hotels to turn the room around quickly for the next guest. Hotels can prompt guest satisfaction surveys to appear mid-stay and address any complaints guests may have before they leave.
The Nest Hub will also work as a hands-free media center. Guests can play YouTube to access the news, play music through compatible streaming services, and even watch exercise videos. If you have music you’d prefer to play, you can connect your phone through Bluetooth to broadcast throughout the hotel room. Google Assistant will let you play songs, skip music, and much more. The hotel can even make it optional to control the lights, blinds, and other devices within through room through Google Assistant.
Google Assistant will also be able to give answers about local information, including weather forecasts and CDC information on COVID-19 precautions.
Google also aims to assure guests worried about privacy that there is no camera on the Nest Hub and that no audio information is ever stored. Any activity on the Nest Hub will be wiped before the next guest arrives.
The new Google Assistant integration can be found in select hotels across the country, as well as a few hotels in the United Kingdom. Google says that more hotel partnerships are on their way, and that this integration is only one way the company hopes to work with other companies.
