Amazon has launched Alexa for Residential in response to a survey that found the majority of renters want smart home amenities.
According to US National Apartment Association, 84 per cent of renters want an apartment with smart home amenities; 61 per cent said they would pay a monthly fee for a voice assistant.
The new tool allows property managers and landlords to deploy and manager Alexa-enabled devices, meaning residents can have a voice-enabled smart home system ready to go as they move in, without needing to set it up.
Amazon is promising a one-time investment, one-time setup.
Alexa for Residential can be used to demo the smart home features to potential tenants, and can even give self-guided tours with a voice-enabled feature.
“New residents will find Alexa-enabled devices ready to control their lights, thermostat, lock, blinds, and more with no setup required,” the product description reads.
“Alexa and Echo device are designed with multiple layers of privacy protection, from microphone and camera controls to the ability to view and delete your voice recordings. Property staff, management, and smart home providers will not have access to Alexa voice recordings.
“Alexa for Residential allows you to use APIs to deploy and manage Alexa-enabled devices and experiences at scale with Zero-Touch-Setup.
“Through Alexa APIs you can assign devices to properties, pre-enable Alexa skills, create a customized resident experience, and more. We can connect you with solution providers that can provide professional support for your implementation.
“Before residents move in, you can specify device settings like device name, time-zone, address, language, unit measurements, Wi-Fi networks, and connectivity state.
“Residents can listen to their music playlists, shop via Amazon, call their friends and family, and more with their Alexa-enabled devices by securely linking their personal account to the unit’s Alexa device for a fully customized experience.
“When a unit is vacant, you can use Alexa APIs to remotely reset devices and prepare for the next resident, preventing the need to replace the devices each time a new resident moves in.”
At the moment, this feature has only been rolled out in the US. Elite Agent has contacted the local Amazon office for a local release date, and will update this story as soon as we find out.
