Disney Alexa in all rooms?

[Marionnette]

Have you used a voice assistant? It is 100% more convenient than using a phone app.

Yes, I have. They tend to misunderstand and frustrate me. Therefore they are not 100% more convenient for everyone.

 

[nwandless32]

You obviously have never climbed into bed with the lights on and want to turn them all off without getting back out of bed. Or had the AC way too warm in the middle of the night and want to turn down the temperature.

Seriously, these devices can be a huge help, especially since you can ask for stuff from housekeeping (who can be hard to get a hold of these days), etc.

Likely it is this last point as to why Disney is doing this, as it will reduce demand on their already overtaxed call centers and honestly, I would bet they are trying to hire more people, but like everywhere having a hard time finding people to work. This helps mitigate the issue, potentially freeing people up to work in other areas.

In short, this actually makes sense.

I just get up and turn them off. End of problem.

 

[heynowirv]

This is a horrible idea. There are so many privacy concerns with these things. I'd unplug it.

So true, that was my first thought as well. Much too invasive.

 

[Deb & Bill]

This may cause problems for traffickers and the like.

 

[BillPA]

I hope it will fit in the safe, if not, in the freezer it will go.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Our son gave us an Alexa for Christmas a few years ago. He was surprised when we asked how we could return it. When we stayed at his house last week, we asked him to turn Alexa off while we were there.

 

[TTaz]

If this worries you I'd suggest leaving your smart phones at home you cannot turn off gps(it's always on)and you also cannot mute your mic, or camera without tinfoil and bubblegum... just saying for privacy

Would love to see some smart color bulbs with the tech upgrade.

 

[sethschroeder]

completely agree. all of the people on here are likely posting from their cell phones, with cookies enabled while logged onto this message board with their Facebook account to complain about a box stealing their privacy.

Yes because opting in to one corporation means I must be okay with opting in to every corporation every with zero thought about what data they are collecting on top of it.

It only records when the wake word is spoken (example "Alexa").

Which is partly true. The issue I have always had with Alexa (although maybe its better now) is that out of all voice assistants it was the absolute worst at recognizing the trigger word. When I say worst its from the concept of triggering when it should not.

What many people don't know is that unlike Google/Apple where it states that it thought it was supposed to do something Alexa will trigger, record the audio, realize its not supposed to be triggered, and then go back to sleep. Thing is that it recorded audio during that timeframe. Additionally another reason I personally dislike Alexa is that audio is saved for review by the user meaning if someone were to gain access to your Amazon account they would have all recordings captured unless you setup them being deleted.

Yes Google/Apple save recordings almost guaranteed as well they are just not accessible except internally to the company.

You obviously have never climbed into bed with the lights on and want to turn them all off without getting back out of bed. Or had the AC way too warm in the middle of the night and want to turn down the temperature.

I have a display next to my bed which can control the thermostat and its also on my phone as well. Additionally pretty much it never happens since I have temperature monitoring in various rooms including the bedrooms around the house which are taken in to account based on time of day.

Have you used a voice assistant? It is 100% more convenient than using a phone app.

What I find is lots of people get a phone and just use it. They don't take the time to fully customize the UI. Although many people have iPhones and thats an issue out of the gate. Voice is really best for interaction with a remote device but not a cell phone which is already in your hand (as long as you have taken the time to properly setup your phone).

 

[sethschroeder]

If this worries you I'd suggest leaving your smart phones at home you cannot turn off gps(it's always on)and you also cannot mute your mic, or camera without tinfoil and bubblegum... just saying for privacy

Sorry this is a very out of touch coment. Your phone and your accounts are where YOU have control over access, stored information, and privacy. When dealing with someone else's device you have no direct say over what is or is not occuring with that specific device.

The good thing here (which was not originally information provided) is that Amazon controls this ecosystem more than originally outlined. Amazon supposedly has disable voice recordings as an example with the OS that is installed on these devices so that there is no voice recording for Disney to have access to. Additionally the video cameras are also disabled on these devices so it is audio interaction only. Devices are also disabled upon check-in and only become active after you opt in.

There is a significant difference between user owned/controlled devices/accounts and that of one supplied and controlled by a corporation whos goal is to extract information about the user.

Before you go on about "but Amazon". Yes you have Amazon/Google/Apple collecting various amounts of data on you as well but those are needed opt ins and something people have come to terms with. There is no requirement or real need to give Disney direct access to your hotel room to collect data which it seems luckily here is not occuring based on the Echo Hospitality setup for these devices (again which was not originally known as being a thing for the Disney Alexa devices).

Would love to see some smart color bulbs with the tech upgrade.

Disney would be replacing the switches not the bulbs if doing any changes. Doubt that happens though in the next decade even.

 

[Sammie]

I hope it will fit in the safe, if not, in the freezer it will go.

I am hoping you are being sarcastic, as putting it in the freezer is vandalism. If you don't want it on, unplug it and set it in a cabinet or on a closet shelf.
Not sure why some of you are acting like they have put the bogey man under your bed over this. It's very simple to unplug.

 

[MICKIMINI]

I plan to unplug, place in sturdy zip bag and place on the balcony. I would never have one at home. Of course, they are listening to you...

 

[igrsod]

I always say, my home will remain dumb. I don't want this in my room on vacation. I too will be unplugging.

 

[Chuck S]

Yes, I have. They tend to misunderstand and frustrate me. Therefore they are not 100% more convenient for everyone.

They can be finicky, but I still like my Alexa. Well, except when my WiFi goes down, which it does regularly. That knocks out my computer, my landline and my Alexa...everything but my iPhone, and then even the Alexa App is worthless to control lighting and so forth, as there is no WiFi to communicate with the lights.

 

[Chuck S]

I plan to unplug, place in sturdy zip bag and place on the balcony. I would never have one at home. Of course, they are listening to you...

Unplugging is sufficient, without power it can't connect to anything.

 

[Sandisw]

I understand what you are saying about privacy and agree. The difference with Alexa is it does listen. My daughter has Alexa, and we will be talking about something, she will go on facebook or Amazon and ads will pop up for what we were talking about. My cellphone doesn't do that.

Really? Mine does all the time for Facebook ads! I don’t have Alexa either.

 

[Chuck S]

My computer never pops up ads that I've only talked about. It does pop up ads for things I've clicked on, or for things associated with my phone apps that send me notifications.

 

[DeeBee3]

I am very well aware of my phone tracking and listening. There are certain things you can do like turning off location tracking. You can also disable the location settings on the photos you take and post to social media. Anyone with technical know-how can click your facebook pic and get location coordinates. Unfortunately, most people don't realize this or just don't care about those things. I do because I have kids.

I will have a phone conversation with a friend (not text, actual talking) and later that day or following I will see ads in my gmail or in my newsfeed about something we mentioned. I mean it happens all the time.

People who are aware of these things and just don't like their privacy being invaded or going "to the cloud" will not like Disney Alexa. Those who don't care will have no issue.

I am 39 and don't consider myself anti-technology, but I think certain things need to have your permission just as you sign a media release form when your kids go to school, etc. And I grew up having to get up and change the channel on my old TV!! Sorta the in-between generation. Social media didn't take off until I graduated college.

 

[Lorana]

Prior to this though I have had zero experience with any smart device provided by a hotel. Not much traveling since the pandemic and when I did travel for work 25+ weeks a year this wasn't a thing anywhere I traveled.

There are many Marriott properties that had Alexa devices in their rooms when I traveled for work pre-Covid — Irvine CA being one I remember distinctly.

 

[Miffy]

Are Alexas in the rooms now? If not, does anyone know when this is supposed to start?

 

[AdamsMum]

You obviously have never climbed into bed with the lights on and want to turn them all off without getting back out of bed. Or had the AC way too warm in the middle of the night and want to turn down the temperature.

Seriously? That would be a calamity if I were a person living with a disability, but I'm not. So I'd get up and turn the lights off or adjust the a/c or heat. But your statement is partly right, I can't remember the last time that I had to do that.