Hilton has teamed up with Be My Eyes to make hotel stays more accessible for blind and low-vision guests. The free app links users with sighted volunteers and companies who can help them navigate spaces and complete tasks using video calls.
By going to the app’s service directory, selecting the “hotels” option then the name of the Hilton brand they’re staying at, Be My Eyes users will be connected to dedicated teams at the chain. Hilton staff members can talk users through actions such as finding and adjusting the thermostat in the room, making coffee, adjusting window coverings and moving to different areas of the hotel. The partnership covers brands including Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, DoubleTree by Hilton and Hampton by Hilton, though only in the US and Canada for now.
Hilton and Be My Eyes first got together last year to help train the latter’s Be My AI language model, which uses GPT-4. The aim was to improve the model’s ability to recognize objects in Hilton hotel rooms and how to traverse the spaces. Be My Eyes also uses AI to capture text from things like menus and toiletry bottles to help users understand what’s written on them.