Amazon's Echo is being installed in every Wynn Las Vegas hotel room

[Shawn Knight]

Privacy-conscious citizens may have a reason to avoid staying at Wynn Las Vegas as the hotel has announced plans to outfit its guest rooms with Amazon’s Echo.

Wynn said the rollout, a first for both Amazon and Wynn, will begin this month with installation in suites, allowing guests to control room temperature, lighting, drapery and the television using voice commands. By summer 2017, Amazon’s voice-controlled speaker will be in all 4,748 rooms at the hotel.

As the project evolves, the company says, personal assistant functions will be added.

Steve Wynn, Chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts, said that what Amazon has done with Alexa is quite perfect. If he has ever seen anything in his 49 years of developing resorts that has made his job of delivering a perfect experience to guests easier and to help his company get to another level, he said it is Alexa.

As TechCrunch correctly highlights, the introduction of a device capable of listening to conversations inside hotel rooms and beaming audio to the cloud will no doubt make some guests feel a bit uneasy. Then again, computers, smartphones and even smart TVs are also capable of being used as spy devices but consumers generally aren’t worried about those devices.

Just as those devices do, it ultimately comes down to sacrificing a bit of privacy in the name of convenience.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/67408-amazon-echo-installed-every-wynn-las-vegas-hotel.html

 

[Bigtruckseries]

Sounds like a bad idea. I don't want an always-on microphone in my room when I'm on vacation.

I am trying to get AWAY from the constant tech barrage.

What happens on vacation, stays on vacation - but what if they are recording me and try to extort money from me?

I treat every mic like it's a gun: Assume it's always loaded.

 

[Rippleman]

Love fear mongering stories! People really buy into this fear generating kind of stuff. I guess some will always be scared of their shadow, but to promote it? Low.

 

[Uncle Al]

Not sure how the author considered this just a "bit of privacy". Apparently he has no concept of wire-tap laws and other listening device requirements and/or limitations. The number of extortion scheme's, threats of blackmail, etc. have been listed in the press for years. The Central Intelligence Agency is famous for recording a conversation, then editing it to make it sound anyway they want. With new digital technology it is even easier and virtually indistinguishable from any basic conversation.

With a direct connection to the internet there is no reason to believe this will not be used for the same purpose. Those that see it as being impossible are obviously living in the past or choose to stick their heads in the sand. By the way, I have sent them an email and asked if this could be removed or disconnected at my request and the current answer is "yes" so at least you still have choices.

 

[Rippleman]

Not sure how the author considered this just a "bit of privacy". Apparently he has no concept of wire-tap laws and other listening device requirements and/or limitations. The number of extortion scheme's, threats of blackmail, etc. have been listed in the press for years. The Central Intelligence Agency is famous for recording a conversation, then editing it to make it sound anyway they want. With new digital technology it is even easier and virtually indistinguishable from any basic conversation.

With a direct connection to the internet there is no reason to believe this will not be used for the same purpose. Those that see it as being impossible are obviously living in the past or choose to stick their heads in the sand. By the way, I have sent them an email and asked if this could be removed or disconnected at my request and the current answer is "yes" so at least you still have choices.

We are watching and listening to you right now. I will not reveal how, but know that we are.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Sound like the kind of hotels mob bosses would love to frequent, or maybe avoid. I can't remember. John Gotti could've enlightened me but he ain't no longer around.

 

[tipstir]

Amazon gizmo, I don't own one since I am fan of Google Home, and Cortana .. Then again Amazon Echo supports Zwave tech which I use already to control lighting and etc. Just way to much gizmo here then the irobot like roomba 880 (Jaws) has wireless remote and scoba (Sally) they here along with my robotic dog Zoomer.. I can tell Cortana things she thinks I am asking her on a date or buying her a gift.. Got to love progress. But we're not there 100% that's why these devices are still in Beta..

 

[MonsterZero]

"echo set an alarm for Monday at 3AM"
"echo set an alarm for Tuesday 3AM"
"echo set an alarm for Wednesday at 3AM"
"echo set an alarm for Thursday at 3AM"
"echo set an alarm for Friday at 3AM"
"echo set an alarm for Saturday at 3AM"
"echo set an alarm for Sunday at 3AM"
Check out of the hotel room.....

 

[Phr3d]

(in complete darkness, Las Vegas, after all)
"echo.. what the hell day is it?"

 

[MannerMauler]

"echo set an alarm for Monday at 3AM"
"echo set an alarm for Tuesday 3AM"
"echo set an alarm for Wednesday at 3AM"
"echo set an alarm for Thursday at 3AM"
"echo set an alarm for Friday at 3AM"
"echo set an alarm for Saturday at 3AM"
"echo set an alarm for Sunday at 3AM"
Check out of the hotel room.....

As funny as that would be, there's probably some safeguard against that, like a reset after checkout.