Automating Room Turnover with Alexa Smart Properties: Secure, Efficient, and Guest-Ready

Priyanka Bhawaria Jun 30, 2025
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In today’s hospitality landscape, technology is the backbone of operational excellence and guest satisfaction. Alexa Smart Properties (ASP) is at the forefront, enabling hotels to deliver voice-first, personalized experiences while streamlining staff workflows. Automation ensures every guest enjoys a fresh, ready-to-use Alexa device—streamlining turnover and enhancing satisfaction.

Why Automated Room Reset Matters in Hospitality

  • Guest confidence: Each guest expects their room technology to be refreshed and tailored for their stay. Automated device resets ensure no alarms, reminders, or settings from previous guests remain, supporting a welcoming and reliable experience.
  • Operational Efficiency: Can be time-consuming and drain staff resources. Automation eliminates these risks, enabling faster room turnover and freeing up housekeeping and IT teams for higher-value tasks.
  • Consistent Experience: Automated processes ensure every device is reset to a standard configuration, so every guest enjoys the same high-quality, reliable Alexa experience.

Introducing the Open-Source Room Reset Solution

To address these needs, we’ve open-sourced a robust Node.js Lambda function for Alexa Smart Properties room reset. This script is designed for seamless integration with your property management system (PMS) or operational workflows, allowing you to automate device resets at check-out or room turnover.

Here’s a quick look at how the Lambda function initiates the reset process:

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/**
 * Resets unit settings and Alexa endpoint configurations to desired values.
 *
 * This function interacts with the Alexa API to perform various tasks such as deleting alarms, reminders, timers,
 * notifications, unpairing Bluetooth devices, and setting volume, Do Not Disturb mode, locales,
 * wake words, time zone, temperature unit, and distance units for the Alexa endpoint.
 *
 * @param {string} unitId - The ID of the unit to be reset.
 * @param {string} lwaToken - The Login with Amazon (LWA) token for authorization.
 * @returns {Promise<Object>} - A Promise that resolves with a success message if reset is successful, otherwise rejects with an error message.
 */
async function resetUnit(unitId, lwaToken)
{ 
 try {
 console.log('reset start ');
 await deleteAlarms(unitId, lwaToken);
 await deleteReminders(unitId, lwaToken);
 await deleteTimers(unitId, lwaToken);
 const endPointId = await getEndPointId(unitId, lwaToken);
 await setVolume(endPointId, lwaToken);
 await setDoNotDisturb(endPointId, lwaToken);
 await setLocales(endPointId, lwaToken);
 await setWakeWords(endPointId, lwaToken);
 await setTimeZone(endPointId, lwaToken);
 await setTemperatureUnit(endPointId, lwaToken);
 await setDistanceUnits(endPointId, lwaToken);
 await deleteNotifications(unitId, lwaToken);
 await unpairBluetooth(endPointId, lwaToken);

 // If all operations succeed, return a success message
 return { message: 'Reset successful' };
 } catch (error) {
 // If any operation fails, throw an error with the error message
 console.log('Error :', error);
 throw new Error('Reset failed. ', error);
 }
}

What Does the Script Do?

  • Resets alarms, reminders, and timers
  • Returns volume, Do Not Disturb, language, wake word, time zone, and unit settings to default
  • Clears notifications and Bluetooth pairings
  • Logs actions for troubleshooting

This comprehensive reset ensures every guest starts with a clean slate.

How the Automation Works

  1. Trigger:
     A room turnover event—such as guest check-out—triggers the reset, either through PMS integration or a manual staff action.
  2. Lambda Execution:
     The AWS Lambda function calls Alexa Smart Properties APIs to reset all relevant device states.
  3. Confirmation:
    The system logs the reset and can notify staff that the room is ready for the next guest.
     

Sample Workflow:

Sample workflow - Alexa Smart Properties

Step-by-Step: Deploying the Room Reset Script

1. Clone the Repository

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bash
git clone https://github.com/alexa-smart-properties/script-sample-nodejs-unit-reset.gitcd script-sample-nodejs-unit-reset

2. Configure Secure Credentials

  • Store Alexa Smart Properties OAuth credentials in AWS Secrets Manager.
  • Update Lambda environment variables with your property and device details.

3. Deploy the Lambda

  • Use AWS CLI or Console to deploy.
  • Set up triggers (API Gateway, EventBridge, or PMS webhook).

4. Test and Validate

  • Use sample payloads to simulate turnover events.
  • Confirm all device settings are reset and logs are generated.

5. Integrate with PMS

  • Connect to your PMS’s check-out or turnover events for full automation.

Best Practices for Success

  • Security: Always store integration credentials securely (e.g., AWS Secrets Manager).
  • Logging: Maintain detailed logs for troubleshooting.
  • Testing: Regularly test on all device types and room configurations.
  • Compliance: Follow all relevant operational guidelines for device management.

Real-World Impact

Properties have already leveraged Alexa Smart Properties to enhance guest engagement and operational efficiency. Automated room reset is a natural next step, supporting faster room turnover.

Conclusion

Automating Alexa device resets is a game-changer for hospitality operations. With our open-source Lambda function, you can ensure every guest enjoys a secure, personalized, and seamless Alexa experience—while your staff works more efficiently than ever.
Ready to modernize your room turnover process? Explore the GitHub repository, follow the deployment guide, and unlock the full potential of Alexa Smart Properties in your hotel today.

For questions or contributions, open an issue or pull request on GitHub. Let’s build the future of hospitality together.

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