Hello,

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, ConciergeBot is expanding its platform to support voice bots for incoming/outgoing phone calls. If you are a small business, healthcare/medical services provider or property management company who could benefit from a voice-enabled, artificially intelligent virtual concierge, we want to hear from you!

Our new voice bots can perform the following tasks:

• Take incoming orders/requests

• Send order confirmations over SMS and/or e-mail (Airtable also supported)

• Make outgoing automated calls to customers to confirm orders

If any of this interests you, please contact us.

We hope that you are all doing well and staying safe!

Best regards,

James Silva

CEO, ConciergeBot

Hello,

All of us in the vacation rental space are adjusting the new “normal” in light of the coronavirus pandemic. As an owner of a rental condo in Palm Springs, which served as the inspiration for ConciergeBot, I wanted to share some of my recent learnings and tips regarding social distancing and vacation rentals. 

Keep informed of local rules and regulations (and inform your guests as well)

If you still have guests arriving and staying in your vacation rental, keep informed of the changing situation in the locale of your vacation rental. Many municipalities are banning visitors arriving for purely leisure purposes. Are the guests on your calendar still eligible to stay in your vacation rental? If so, what are the local rules and regulations regarding social distancing? They may be different than the area from which your guest is traveling. What stores are open, and when? What amenities are available (or not available)? It’s important to stay informed of the social distancing status of your locale regarding COVID-19, and to keep your upcoming guests informed of the situation as well. 

Check in with your homeowner’s association

Find out what policies your homeowner’s association has enacted, if any, to enforce and support social distancing on the premises. Are any amenities closed, such as pools and tennis courts? Are there new occupancy limits for public spaces? What changes to routine cleaning, package pickup, etc. have been enacted? Be sure to share these updates with your guests and support staff. 

Help your support staff stay safe and compliant regarding sanitation

In addition to ensuring that your support staff (cleaning, concierge, supply stockers, etc.) are following the CDC guidelines regarding proper sanitation for COVID-19, ask them how you can help support their efforts to stay healthy and properly clean the unit(s) for the next guest. Whether it’s allotting extra time between guest departures and arrivals, or budgeting extra costs for cleaning supplies, it is our responsibility as vacation rental owners and managers to ensure that our support staff have what they need to properly maintain social distancing for our rental spaces and keep guests (and themselves) healthy. 

Start exploring automation and self-service tools

It is likely that the norms of social distancing will be with us for quite some time. This is the perfect time to start exploring automation and self service tools - smart locks, combination locks, key exchange tools, and AI assistants such as ConciergeBot -  to enable end-to-end rentals with minimal need for human involvement. 

While this is an extremely challenging time for the hospitality and vacation rental industry, we will get through this! What do you think? Feel free to send us your thoughts and tips regarding this subject. 

Sincerely,

James Silva

CEO, ConciergeBot

Hello,

Like all of us, we here at ConciergeBot are adjusting our plans and expectations in light of the coronavirus pandemic. As an owner of a vacation rental condo in Palm Springs, which served as my inspiration to build ConciergeBot, I’ve been personally dealing with the impact of coronavirus on the booking calendar for my condo. I wanted to share a few of my own recent learnings with the vacation rental homeowner community. 

Be proactive with your guests

Your upcoming guests, like us, are adapting to a constantly changing landscape regarding the pandemic. Reach out to them to let them know that you are monitoring the situation in the area. Inform them of which venues are open or closed to aid in their decision making. Offer your sympathy and understanding if they wish to cancel (and invite them to rebook your home at a later time). 

Keep tabs on the situation in your rental area

If you don’t physically reside in the same locale as your vacation rental home, it’s easy to overlook the situation “on the ground” in the area of your rental. Follow the local newspapers online. Check the websites of popular restaurants and attractions for closures. Reach out to your neighbors and friends who live in the area and ask for their assessment of the situation. 

Check in on your support staff

As a vacation rental homeowner, cancellations due to the coronavirus pandemic are currently impacting your near-term rental income. This will also impact the people who support and maintain your rental - the concierges, cleaners and property managers who make our business possible. Assure them that you are monitoring the situation and will do whatever you can to enable them to continue with their work.

Keep your calendars up to date

Many travelers are re-booking plans due to postponement of popular events to the fall. Make sure that your calendars are up to date with the proper availability and rates for your rental. Unblock dates from cancellations made on one booking channel on your other channels. 

Sincerely,

James Silva

CEO, ConciergeBot

ConciergeBot recently partnered with 2nd Address, a marketplace of premium furnished rentals for corporate and business travel, with 7500+ listings across the United States, to launch a pilot of “Bellbot” - a custom branded virtual concierge - to be offered to 2nd Address guests via SMS and WhatsApp, running on the ConciergeBot platform

Working with the 2nd Address team, the ConciergeBot team crafted the Bellbot experience to start with a personalized “welcome” greeting sent a couple of days prior to check-in, a day-of check-in reminder, followed by periodic status checks after one week, two weeks and one month, concluding with a check-out reminder. In addition to these notifications, Bellbot is reachable 24/7 at any time to answer guest questions about their stay.

Key statistics:

• 66% of guests engaged with Bellbot one or more times throughout their stay

• 75% of guests contacted via WhatsApp replied at least once

• 18% of guests reported issues that were escalated to 2nd Address Customer Care for further assistance

The most commonly asked questions from guests were regarding:

• Check-in instructions, obtaining keys

• Billing/security deposit inquiries

• Host contact info

• Trash/recycling instructions

• Issues with home appliances (Wi-fi, A/C, etc.)

• Requests for trip extensions

• Requests to receive mail at the home

• Requests for home cleanings

Key takeaways:

• Guests of short-term home rental stays are ready for A.I. virtual assistant technology.

• Engagement rates with conversational assistants (“chatbots”) are high when using popular messaging platforms, particularly with international travelers.

• Virtual concierge technology can provide crucial real-time support to guests and hosts during time- sensitive moments leading up to check-in.

The ConciergeBot SaaS product is now available for vacation, corporate or business travel lodging platforms worldwide.

Download the case study.

Hi all,

We’re happy to share that ConciergeBot is now available for events and conferences! As we’re building out the best conversational AI experience for vacation rentals and hotels, we realized that there’s an opportunity to provide the same experience for event-goers. No more downloading mobile apps or struggling to open conference agendas on your phone!

ConciergeBot for Events is currently available as a conversational AI assistant on SMS and WhatsApp with the following core features for attendees:

• Directions for getting to the event

• Conference/event agenda

• Nearby spots for meals, coffee, etc.

• Attendee directory (opt-in)

• Live audience submission of questions during panel sessions

• Post-conference follow-ups (surveys, continuing the relationship, etc.)

If you’re hosting an event with 50-500 attendees in the coming months and looking for an alternative to mobile apps, we’d love to hear from you!

Hello everyone,

We’re excited to share that ConciergeBot is now available for WhatsApp users! In addition to SMS and Messenger, ConciergeBot customers can now make their virtual assistant bot available to guests from around the world via the WhatsApp platform.

If you are running a vacation rental service, boutique hotel or organizing a conference and WhatsApp is a popular platform with your guests, please contact us for more details or request a demo.

Best regards,

James Silva

CEO and Founder, ConciergeBot

Hello,

We are excited to share that the ConciergeBot beta is live and ready for testing! We are currently seeking US-based beta testers who rent their homes or rooms on a short-term basis to test our SMS chatbot.

If you are interested in becoming a ConciergeBot beta tester, please send email to info@concierge.bot to request an invitation to the beta.

We’re excited about this and are looking forward to delivering a great product!

Best regards,

James Silva

Founder and CEO, ConciergeBot

Hello there!

James Silva here, CEO of ConciergeBot, the AI-driven, 24x7 concierge for your vacation rental properties. Just a welcome post to kick off our blog. This will be a place where we share releases of new features/products, highlight customer success stories, and share best practices for getting the most out of ConciergeBot. Suggestions for blog posts/topics are always welcomed.

More exciting news to share in the coming weeks!