Alexa Local Recommendations Script

A guest checks in Friday night. They are tired, hungry, and standing in your kitchen scrolling Yelp for somewhere to eat that does not have a 90-minute wait. The PDF guidebook you spent three hours making is buried in their email inbox somewhere. They will end up at the chain burger place by the highway.

This is the moment your Echo Dot 5 earns its keep — if you have actually built it for this. An alexa local recommendations script is the wording you load into a custom Alexa routine so a guest can say “Alexa, where should we get dinner?” and hear your real picks read back in 15 seconds. Not a generic search. Not a paid placement. Your shortlist, in your voice. Below are copy-and-paste scripts in four tones, the routine setup, where to put the trigger phrases for guests, and the pitfalls that turn a great concierge feature into a Reddit story about Alexa recommending a closed restaurant.

Who this works for

You host a short-term rental in a place where the local-knowledge gap matters — a vacation town, a college city, a neighborhood with a hidden food scene. You have an Echo Dot 5, Echo Show 8, or Echo Pop on the property. You have already nailed your written guidebook, but you know guests do not always open it on arrival. Voice gets you a second shot at giving them your recommendations at exactly the moment they need them: when they are standing in your kitchen, hungry, with a phone they have not yet bothered to look at.

If you do not have an Echo on the property yet, this is one of the better arguments for adding one. If you do but it is currently a glorified speaker, this guide changes that. The companion Airbnb Alexa instructions template that tells guests which commands actually work covers the basics — this page covers the local-recommendations layer specifically.

How the routine actually works

Alexa lets you create custom routines triggered by a phrase. You build one routine per category — dinner, coffee, brunch, things to do, kid stuff — and the action is “Alexa says” with a script you write. When a guest says the trigger phrase, Alexa speaks your script. That is it. No coding. No skill-building. No third-party app required.

The hardest part is not the technology. It is writing the script so it sounds like a friend giving advice, not a Yelp summary read aloud by a robot. That is what the templates below are for. If you want the broader voice setup — multiple devices, group routines, the rest — the voice-assistant local guide that turns an Echo or Google Nest into a concierge covers it.

The copy-and-paste scripts

Each block is meant to be the entire “Alexa says” text in a single routine. Replace the bracketed parts with your specifics. Aim for about 25–45 seconds spoken out loud per script — longer than that and guests check out mentally.

Standard version — “where should we get dinner?”

For dinner nearby, three places we send everyone to. [Restaurant A] is a five-minute walk down [street] — great for [pasta, casual]. [Restaurant B] is a ten-minute drive in [neighborhood] — small, get there before seven or call ahead. If you want something quick, [Restaurant C] does the best [tacos, pizza] in town and they take walk-ins. All three are in the digital guidebook with maps.

Standard version — “where do we get coffee?”

Two coffee spots worth the walk. [Cafe A] is a couple blocks away on [street] — opens at seven, has [pastries / breakfast burritos]. [Cafe B] is a little further but the coffee is better and they roast their own. If you just want fast, there is also a [chain] on the corner of [streets].

Standard version — “what should we do today?”

Depends what you are in the mood for. Outdoors: [trail / park name] is a [easy, 30-minute] walk and the views are worth it. Touristy but actually good: [attraction]. Local feel: take a walk through [neighborhood] in the afternoon — lots of small shops and a couple of breweries. The full list is in the guidebook on your phone.

Short version — for hosts who keep it tight

Dinner: [Restaurant A] on [street], or [Restaurant B] for [type of food]. Both are great. Map links are in the guidebook.

Warm version — for hosts whose brand is hospitable

Glad you asked. We eat at [Restaurant A] probably twice a month — the [dish] is the move. If you want something nicer, [Restaurant B] is where we go for anniversaries. And if you have kids with you, [Restaurant C] is loud, fast, and they have crayons. Anything else, just message us — we are happy to help.

Luxury / boutique version

For dinner this evening: [Restaurant A] in [neighborhood] is a strong choice for [cuisine] — reservations recommended. [Restaurant B] offers a quieter setting and an excellent wine list. Should you prefer to dine in, [local market or service] can deliver a curated meal within the hour. Concierge contact details are in your welcome packet.

How to set up the routine in the Alexa app

Open the Alexa app, go to More → Routines → the plus icon to create a new routine.
Name the routine something obvious like “Dinner recs” so future-you can find it.
For “When this happens,” choose Voice and type the trigger phrase. Use natural English a guest would actually say: “where should we get dinner.” You can add multiple trigger phrases for the same routine — “dinner ideas,” “food recommendations,” “good restaurants nearby.” Add 3–4 variations.
For “Add action,” choose Alexa Says → Customized, and paste your script.
Pick the device this should run on. Choose the specific Echo Dot 5 in the unit, not your account default.
Save and test it out loud. Listen to the cadence. Anywhere it sounds awkward, edit and re-test.

Repeat for coffee, brunch, things to do, and any other category your guests ask about. Five routines is plenty — more becomes hard to remember. If you run multiple units, the short-term rental local guide automation that handles five units from one source doc is the cleanest way to keep scripts in sync.

How to tell guests these phrases exist

This is the part hosts skip and then wonder why nobody used the feature. A custom routine is invisible — Alexa will not advertise it. You have to put the trigger phrases somewhere a guest will see them.

A small printed card next to the Echo. Three example commands. Big font. “Try saying: where should we get dinner.”
A short paragraph in your digital guidebook under “Voice Concierge.” The digital guidebook automation for Airbnb that auto-fills city, neighborhood, and check-in details can include this section by default across listings.
One line in your check-in message: “There is an Echo in the kitchen — ask it where to get dinner or coffee for our personal recs.”
If you have an Echo Show 8, set the home screen rotation to display the trigger phrases as ambient cards.

Common pitfalls

Recommending places that close. The number one failure of any Echo local guide is suggesting a restaurant that went out of business. Audit your routines twice a year, minimum.
Listing too many places. Three is the sweet spot. Guests do not want a list of 12 — they want your top picks.
Mentioning hours. Hours change. Say “call ahead” or “check the guidebook for hours” instead of locking a time into the script.
Using restaurant names with weird spellings. Alexa pronounces them however she wants. Test it — if she butchers the name, spell it phonetically in the script (“Café Mas spelled M-A-S”).
Forgetting to also put it in writing. Voice is great for the moment, but guests want to revisit the list later. Always pair the routine with the Airbnb restaurant recommendations template that splits picks by meal and price entry in the guidebook.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make Alexa give different recommendations based on time of day?

Sort of. You cannot put real conditional logic into a single routine, but you can build two separate routines — “breakfast recs” with a morning vibe and “dinner recs” with an evening vibe — and put both trigger phrases on the card. Guests pick the one that fits the time they are asking. Simpler than trying to make one routine do both.

Should I include kid-friendly options in the things to do script?

Yes — build a separate “kids today” routine. Families love it. Mention an indoor option for rainy days, an outdoor one for nice weather, and one truly low-effort option (“there is a great park five minutes away with a playground and a coffee cart on weekends”). It takes 10 minutes to build and pays off every family booking. The Airbnb things to do message template for the day-three lull is the written counterpart.

What if my Echo mispronounces a local place name?

Spell it phonetically in the script. Alexa says exactly what is typed, so writing “go to Loo-ee Pizza” will work even though the actual sign says “Louie’s.” It feels weird editing your script that way but it sounds completely natural out loud.

Can guests update or override the recommendations?

No, and that is a feature. Routines are tied to your Alexa account and guests cannot edit them. The script you wrote is the script that plays. That is exactly the level of control most hosts want — no risk of a guest accidentally renaming a routine and breaking it for the next stay.

Is this better than a digital guidebook?

It is not better — it is additive. The guidebook is for browsing, planning, and pulling up a map. Voice is for the in-the-moment question when the phone is in another room. Best results come from running both, with the same recommendations, so a guest gets the same answer whether they ask Alexa or open the app.

Next steps

Pick three categories guests ask about most — usually dinner, coffee, and one outdoor activity. Build a routine for each using the standard scripts above. Print one card with the trigger phrases for the Echo Dot 5. Test each routine out loud before your next check-in — the only voice script that helps a guest is the one that sounds natural the first time they hear it.