SEATTLE—Move over, Alexa. Roxy is a speech-enabled device that provides curated in-room concierge services. Just ask a question or make a request—it’s designed to intuitively understand and respond immediately. With the added ability to be customized by the hotel property, the possibilities are endless. “Roxy provides instant access to the hotel’s services and information for…
Voice-enabled AI smart art is coming for hotels
Soundwall and Volara have announced a joint solution that enables hotel guests to make verbal requests of their guest room “smart art” and seamlessly receive the requested service from the hotel. This new enterprise solution is compatible with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and other natural language processing platforms and integrates seamlessly into other hotel technologies….
5 out-of-the-box luxury hotel services
When it comes to taking a luxury vacation, people always want the best experiences. Hotels know the value of giving good service, and apart from plush and cozy accommodations, they know how to up the value of a guest’s stay. They do this by giving a unique service that travelers won’t find anywhere else to…
Travel Tip: New Rules for Airline Priority Boarding
For many airlines, boarding a flight has become tantamount to a performance art play. In the old days, airlines boarded families and those with a physical disability first, then first class, and then coach. Not anymore. There are so many different boarding groups that confusion is king at the gates. You now qualify for priority…
Travel Tip: How Hotel Cancellation Policies are Changing
Until recently, if you made a hotel reservation, you guaranteed it with a credit card. In almost all cases, if you canceled the reservation—even on the day you were supposed to check in—you weren’t charged. Those days may be over. A new policy from Marriott now levies a one-night penalty for cancellations made within 48…
How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep at a Hotel
A poor night’s sleep is an all too common problem when you’re staying at a hotel, says Alistair Hughes, the managing director of Savoir Beds, a London-based company that sells beds and handmade mattresses to more than 50 hotels globally. “A hotel is an unfamiliar setting which can impact the quality of the rest you…
Hotel industry fights constant hacker exposures
Travelers who check into hotels may run into some uninvited guests in the form of hackers looking to steal their financial information, analysts warn. Hotel security breaches have made headlines recently. In July, Trump International Hotels Management L.L.C. said a data breach at a service provider compromised payment card details at 14 of its properties….
Online etiquette: The ultimate guide to social media manner
BY SCOTT STEINBERG FEB 14, 2017 Here’s a status update that’s hard to ignore: Social networks and online apps are suddenly among today’s most popular communications tools, with over 1.23 billion people now logging in daily to connect with friends, family, and colleagues on Facebook alone. But as we often forget, they’re also among the…
27 Etiquette Rules For Our Times
“It is impossible to overlook the extent to which civilization is built upon a renunciation of instinct,” Sigmund Freud said. There’s always a tension between how much we should follow our instincts and how much we should yield to social conventions. But at times like ours, the tendency is to tilt too far toward our…
How To Respond To Rudeness
Working at Debrett’s means we’re held to high account for our behaviour. People are often surprised to find, when they meet us in person, that we’re not all experts in exiting a vehicle, performing a curtsey, or stirring a cup of tea (makingone is a different matter). In other respects, this level of expectation is…
How to Use a Hotel Concierge
A few years ago, Kate and I took a trip to San Francisco for business. The company that flew us out there set us up in a high-end hotel right near the Embarcadero. We usually stay at something like a Holiday Inn Express, so this was a completely new experience for us. When we entered the hotel…
New York City Travel Tips From A Five-Star Concierge
No matter how many times we visit New York City, there are always new places to see and hidden gems to uncover. To discover the latest in the city, we talked to Susanne Carter, chef concierge of Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park. She knows this city. Not only has Carter…
