Selecting the correct amenities for your vacation property is an essential component of your rental business success. By adding to your guests' experience, you will get more bookings, improve your reviews, and have more repeat customers.
We have been using the Echo Dot (3rd Gen) - Smart Speaker with Alexa in our STR (short term rental) units for the past year. They have proven to be an exceptional addition to our properties. Our property listings on VRBO, Airbnb, and Booking.com rank consistently high due in part to the addition of great amenities such as this.
We had been using Amazon Firesticks at home for several years and were impressed with their functionality. We decided to purchase the Echo Dot (3rd Gen) - Smart Speaker with Alexa and try it out in our ski condo. What follows is our honest product review based on our trial usage.
Related Content: Top 7 Must-Have Guest Amenities for Your Ski Rental Property (Or any other vacation rental as well)
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Savant's Findings
Here is a wrap-up of our findings after testing it out at our ski condo. We will take a deeper dive into some of our favorite features as well.
Voice Control For Simple Music Streaming
One of the most popular features of Echo Dot (3rd Gen) - Smart Speaker with Alexa is the ability to play your favorite music with the sound of your voice. Now featuring improved speaker quality than Echo Dot Gen 2 for richer and louder sound. Pair with a second Echo Dot for stereo sound. Say "Alexa, play top hits" for access to today's hottest music. Use your voice to play a song, artist, or genre through Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, and others. With compatible Echo devices in different rooms, you can fill your whole home with music. Also, listen to Audible, podcasts, radio stations, or pair with Fire TV to voice control movies and entertainment.
Voice Controls For Your Smart Home
The Echo Dot (3rd Gen) - Smart Speaker with Alexa is able to manage compatible smart home devices using your voice. Switch on the lamp before getting out of bed, dim the lights from the couch to watch a movie, or turn the thermostat up as you head out.
Enhance the safety of your home by pairing with Alexa Guard. Echo can send you Smart Alerts if smoke, carbon monoxide or broken glass sounds are detected.
The Echo Dot (3rd Gen) - Smart Speaker with Alexa can manage compatible smart home devices using your voice. Switch on the lamp before getting out of bed, dim the lights from the couch to watch a movie, or turn the thermostat up as you head out.
Enhance the safety of your home by pairing with Alexa Guard. Echo can send you Smart Alerts if smoke, carbon monoxide, or broken glass sounds are detected.
Ease of Set-Up
Set up is as easy as powering on the unit and connecting to the internet with the Alexa app. The Bluetooth technology pairs easily with most other enabled devices. So easy, even an adult can figure out this technology!
Kid-friendly Parental Controls
Another fantastic feature that guests who are parents will appreciate is that it is kid-friendly. Turn on parental controls with Amazon Kids (FreeTime), right in the Alexa app. Alexa will automatically give kid-friendly responses, filter explicit songs, block shopping, and let kids call approved contacts. Parents can also set time limits and review activity.
Drop-In Intercom Feature
The Drop-In Intercom is one of the coolest features, in our opinion. By placing multiple Echo units in different rooms of your STR (short-term vacation rental), your guests can use Echo as an intercom system. This intercom system works great for parents to communicate with children in a playroom or communicate with other poolside guests.
Battery Base Option For Portability
The optional battery base makes the Echo Dot completely portable. Take in the bathroom for music while in the shower. Your guests can take it outside to listen to a podcast while relaxing in a lounge chair. Wherever you want to take your Echo Dot (3rd Gen) - Smart Speaker with Alexa, you now can with this highly functional add-on feature.
Customer Reviews on Amazon.com
Here is a wrap-up provided by Amazon.com featuring one of the most useful customer reviews.
Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2020
Verified Purchase
I love my echo dot. I have four of them, and they really help make my life easier. They can control almost everything; lights, locks, TV, music, thermostat. It hears you nearly all of the time, and I've run into very few issues with it overall. I really couldn't ask for a more helpful device. It's even handier when I found that I could get a battery base for it. The GGMM D3 base that I found lets me carry the Alexa dot around pretty much anywhere. I love that I can take it into the bathroom with me and listen to music while shower or take it outside and listen to music. That's the only thing I think was missing.
How About The Negatives?
We only found a couple of minor issues with the Echo Dot (3rd Gen) - Smart speaker with Alexa while using for the past year with our STR business. The first issue is the lack of a dedicated Onn/Off switch. It would be nice if the unit would turn off entirely without unplugging it.
The other concern is the lack of true high-end sound quality for music streaming. Don't get us wrong, for the price; it is excellent. Audiophiles may wish to purchase a second unit for stereo sound. We have found that music sound quality is improved significantly by adjusting the unit's equalizer settings.
Wrap Up: Echo Dot (3rd Gen) - Smart Speaker with Alexa
The Echo Dot (3rd Gen) - Smart Speaker with Alexa is a fine product that we highly endorse for use in all vacation rental properties. The combination of superior features and a competitive price tag makes this product an excellent amenity. It will undoubtedly add value to your guest experience.
Check back with us soon for more great amenities for your vacation rental property.
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