Will Hotel Guests Really Book Viator Experiences With Amazon Alexa?
Skift Take
Industry response to a recent Skift story centered on this question: Would people actually use voice search to book travel experiences? The answers were revealing about the sector's broader opportunities and challenges.
When Viator announced a recent initiative to integrate its offerings with Amazon's Alexa in select hotels, there was plenty of skepticism.
Most commenters on a LinkedIn post for our story felt that the vast majority of guests don’t use voice-operated technology in their hotels for anything but simple tasks.
“I don't know anyone who uses Alexa beyond shopping lists, setting timers and checking the weather," said Arival co-founder and CEO, Douglas Quinby.
“Agreed that almost nobody uses a voice assistant for travel discovery and planning,” said Jason Halberstadt, CEO of VoyagePort & MyTrip.AI.
Others said that they can’t see themselves asking Alexa to book a plane ticket or rooms – that is something most people would do on a
