Photo courtesy of Amazon

With surveys showing a growing demand for smart-home features among renters and their willingness to pay extra for such amenities, Amazon is launching a new service which it promises will streamline the integration of smart home devices into multifamily buildings.

Alexa for Residential, as the service will be called, lets residents control voice-activated smart home devices without an Amazon account or without performing any setup, Amazon said in a blog post announcing the service. Residents will still be able to connect their own Amazon account with the unit’s devices and connect any smart home devices they already own. Customer data will not be shared with property managers and voice recordings will be deleted daily.

Amazon believes the larger benefit may be seen by property managers who use the service. The service gives managers the ability to remotely manage all Alexa-connected smart home devices in a unit at once, removing the need to replace or reset devices one-by-one when a tenant moves out and reconnect the Alexa service to those devices after reset. The service will also allow property managers to create extras like custom Alexa skills that can generate maintenance requests.

Amazon did not reveal pricing information in its announcement but named Oregon-based IOTAS, Philadelphia-based STRATIS IoT and Sentient Property Services as its launch customers.

“Our vision was to create a service that makes having an Alexa-enabled home accessible for anyone, regardless of whether they rent or own their home,” Liron Torres, head of smart properties for Amazon Alexa, said in a statement. “Alexa for Residential goes beyond the smart home – it also enables property managers to provide custom voice experiences for their residents, including information about property amenities and custom services. We’re excited to be teaming up with IOTAS, STRATIS IoT and Sentient Property Services to start, and look forward to expanding this experience to even more apartment residences across the US.”