An Echo Dot at the Alexis Hotel in Seattle. (Photo via React Mobile)

There are countless emergency situations — from cardiac arrest to a suspected intruder — which can make it difficult to call for help using a phone. But until recently, there weren’t many other options for sending an SOS, short of asking your trusty collie to bring back reinforcements.

But like Lassie before her, Alexa is now able to get help in an emergency. This week, Seattle safety tech company React Mobile and Volara, which makes voice-controlled tools for the hospitality industry, are announcing an Alexa-powered safety feature for hotel guests and staff.

The joint solution allows people in hotel rooms to call for help using Amazon’s Echo devices. Using the skill, guests can use commands like “Alexa, tell the hotel I smell smoke’ or “Alexa, tell the hotel someone is trying to break into my room,” to get help in an emergency. Each Echo device automatically notifies the hotel which room the SOS is coming from. Hotels also have the option to create secret commands that will get Alexa’s attention but avoid tipping off a nearby perpetrator.

React Mobile creates safety software and devices and already equips hotel employees with panic buttons. In the startup’s hometown of Seattle, the November election shed new light on safety issues that hotel employees face. Voters passed Initiative 124 which requires hotel owners to provide workers with panic buttons, among other protections.

“Recent media attention and recent ordinances have made hotel worker safety a priority,” React Mobile CEO Robb Monkman said in a press release. “We are working with Volara to offer a new way for hotel employees (and guests) to get help fast in times of distress. Hotels are faced with the challenge of pinpointing the in-building location of a person in distress. With Volara there is no guessing — each voice-activated alert is tied to a particular room inside the hotel property so hotels can respond quickly in an emergency.”

Many hotels already use Volara so that guests can communicate with staff from their rooms using Amazon Echo devices.

Voice-controlled technology, like Alexa, presents a big opportunity for emergency services, beyond hotel rooms. Last month, Amazon introduced a new feature that allows people to make voice calls between Echo devices, causing speculation that “Alexa, call 911” will soon be a possible command.

“The way that people are interacting with the world around them is changing and as a safety platform we must adapt to how people are using technology,” Monkman told GeekWire. “Using your voice to call for help is natural, quick and easy.”

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