1. Setup via Mobile Phone
In order to begin, you will need a standard Amazon Account. If you do not have one, create an account here.
iPhone Users: You will then install the Alexa App on your mobile device from the App Store.
Once you have downloaded the app and successfully logged in, you will need to enable the E-V-A Skillset. Type "EVA" in the search bar to identify the skillset. E-V-A will be the first option available. Select "Enable to Use" to link your Travel Incorporated Account.
Android Users: Install the Amazon Alexa app on your phone.
Search for Amazon Alexa in the Playstore, and follow directions for selecting the E-V-A skillset.
2. Setup Your Personal User Verfication
Account Types when Linking to E-V-A Alexa Skill
3. Access the E-V-A Storyboard Desktop Extension
E–V–A Storyboards present visual scenes on a digital storyboard that tell a live story about requests you make.
You will need to Install Storyboard from your desktop. Storyboard is available on your computer via Google Chrome Extensions. Google Chrome is required. To Install, Click the Web Store button below and then install. If asked to sync, answer "yes".
After it's installed, click the E–V–A icon at the upper right corner of your Chrome browser. This one-time page will allow you to link your travel account to the your Storyboards. Use your same Travel Manager option and credentials that are used when linking E–V–A to Alexa.
After your Account is linked, you can either click on the E-V-A icon in the upper right corner, or tell E-V-A to "Activate Storyboard".
4. Setup for Amazon Echo Devices
Once Alexa is set up on your phone, you will then be able to pair it with all other Alex devices. Click on the "Devices" icon on the bottom right of your Alexa app and follow instructions.
Once the Alexa App is open, simply say "Open E-V-A".
Client Code
Alexa will default to a your primary company client code, which is a roll up of all of your travel spend information. If you have multiple codes within your portfolio, any of these individually can be requested. Alexa will remember the last client code you request each time you wake her up.
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>"Remember client code [state code number]." |
Use this to set a client code filter. By default, the responses will be based on a rollup of all the client codes assigned to you. Should you wish to change this to a specific individual Client Code, this allows you to filter to the new code requested. |
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> "Reset client code." |
Use this to Reset the Client Code back to all client codes. |
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> "What is my client code?" |
E-V-A will respond with the client code you are currently using. |
Duty of Care
This section will identify which travelers are flying a particular airline, traveling to or from a specific city, or identify those registered at a specific hotel. For Duty of Care, TI recommends that you download the Storyboard to gain immediate access to an individual’s travel itinerary (by clicking on the name from the list); or by clicking on the orange arrows which will trigger the “Safety Check” texting communication capabilities.
Ask E-V-A: "Activate Storyboard"
Once the Storyboard icon appears on your taskbar, you can open it at any time while in the EVA skillset by stating "Activate Storyboard". From this point forward, you will receive a graphical image of each question asked.
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> "Who is traveling to City Code D A L?" |
> "Who is traveling to City Code D A L tomorrow?" |
"Who is departing from Dallas, Texas?" |
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> "Who is flying Southwest airlines this week?" |
> "Who is renting a car in Atlanta, Georgia?" |
> "Do I have any travelers staying at a hotel named Marriott tomorrow?" |
Air
This section provides data related specifically to air bookings, refunds, voids and average ticket price.
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> "What was my Air Gross Amount last quarter?" |
> "What was my Air Ticket Count last quarter?" |
> "What was my Air Refund Amount last year?" |
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> "What was my Air Void Amount last month?" |
> "What was my Air Void Count Last Month?" |
Hotel and Rental Car
This section provides data related specifically hotel and rental car data.
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> "What is my number of Hotel Reservations?" |
> "What is my number of Hotel Nights Booked Last Quarter?" |
> "What was my Average Hotel Rate for 2018?" |
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> "What was my Car dollars booked for Last Month?" |
> "What was my Average Car Rate for Last Quarter?" |
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General
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Tip |
Example |
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If you are asking a question and happen to give a date, you DO NOT need to specify the day of the week. |
Instead of saying, "Monday, July First, Two Thousand Nineteen," just say: "July First, Two Thousand Nineteen." |
| When referencing a state name, remember that a particular state name might also be the name of a country. Consider the state of Georgia in the United States versus the country called Georgia. | In this case, try saying the two-letter abbeviated state name with a pause between each letter: "G [pause] A [pause]." |
Air
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Tip |
Example |
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When referencing an airline carrier name, try using the full name. Remember, specificity is important. |
Don't just say "Delta". Instead, say: "Delta Airlines." |
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When referencing an a city name, remember that a particular city name might be located in several different states. Always specify. |
Adding the state helps Amazon narrow the search. "Charleston, WV" or "Charleston, SC." |
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When asking a question using City Code, you MUST use the phrase "city code" prior to stating the actual city code. Be sure to say the code slowly and clearly. |
> "Who is departing from City Code C [pause] L [pause] E?" |
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When working with Client Code Commands or Questions, or you want to change Client Codes, you MUST use the following command: |
> "Remember Client Code X X X X X X." |
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When asking questions regarding an airport name you can try using the airport name. However, since many airports potentially have many different names, it is better to use the City Code/Airport Code. |
>"Who is flying to City Code M I A?" |
Hotel and Rental Car
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Tip |
Example |
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When asking questions regarding a hotel, you MUST use the phrase "hotel named' prior to stating the name of the hotel. |
> "Who is staying at a hotel named JW Marriott in Boston?" |
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When asking questions regarding a car company, you MUST use the phrase "company named" prior to stating the name of the rental company. |
> "Who is renting a car from a company named Alamo?" |
Areas to Consider when Troubleshooting E-V-A
E-V-A Alexa Skill Not Loading/Working?
Potential Error 1: Wrong Skill Loaded
Within the Alexa app, there are other developers creating various Skills with names similar to our Skill.
Inadvertently, the user could have installed someone else's app. In the following screenshot, our E-V-A app is circled in yellow;
The other applications that sound like E-V-A may appear first in the search on the Alexa app and cause conflict. If you have installed a different "E-V-A", when you say "Open E-V-A", you could be opening an entirely different Skill and receive responses that have nothing to do with our application.
If you have installed a different "E-V-A", we recommend you disable those other Skills.
To disable other Skills, select the menu icon in the top left of your cell phone screen (3 stacked white lines).
This will open a drop down menu. Select "Skills & Games", then select "Your Skills" (in blue).
If the screen indicates that you have more than one Skill enabled, you can scroll down the page to locate.
Here is an example of disabling Pandora (which can sound similar to "E-V-A"):
Find and select Pandora.
On this screen, select "Disable Skill".
Now try loading E-V-A or testing E-V-A if you loaded it from a previous step.
Potential Error 2: E-V-A Alexa Skill Not Enabled
To make sure the E-V-A Skill is enabled, select the menu icon on the top left of your cell phone screen (3 stacked white lines).
This will open a drop down menu. Select "Skills & Games", then "Your Skills". If the Skill is already enabled, you will see the following:
If you need to enable the skill, you will see the following and should select "Enable to Use".
After selecting "Enable to Use", you will see a menu for linking your TI account to the E-V-A skill. Select "I have an Evolution Account".
Next, you will see a menu for logging into your Evolution account. Make sure to use your Evolution Account - user ID and password.
If you logged into the Evolution account successfully, you should see a screen similar to the following:
Potential Error 3: Issue Related to the E-V-A Google Chrome Extension
You will encounter an error if you do not have the E-V-A Storyboard extension installed on Google Chrome. If you do not have the extension installed, you will not see the following icon highlighted in yellow:
To install the E-V-A storyboard extension on Google Chrome, go to the following:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/search/eva?hl=en-US
In the "Search the Store" field, enter "eva" then hit enter. Find the following and select "Add to Chrome".
When the following dialog box displays, select "Add extension".
The new icon should appear in Google Chrome in the upper right.
To open the storyboard, select the icon. The storyboard should open a login dialog box. Select "I have an Evolution account - Travel Manager", then enter your Evolution user ID and password when prompted.
If the user ID and password are validated, you will be redirected to a screen that displays "Remove from Chrome".
Now go back and select the E-V-A extension icon.
You should now see your name in the header of the Storyboard, similar to the following:
Potential Error 4: Google Chrome extension is not turned on
Verify the E-V-A Storyboard is turned on by selecting the three dots in the upper right hand corner of Google Chrome.
Then select "More Tools", then "Extensions".
Make sure the E-V-A Storyboard is toggled on.
Download a PDF version of this FAQ.
E-V-A was developed and designed in-house at Travel Incorporated by our Travel Technology Solutions team, utilizing the Microsoft Alexa platform. All of the detail available through E-V-A is based upon booking data found in our proprietary Evolution reporting tool.
Any challenges related to accessing specific information, is likely a limitation of the Alexa rules, or challenges with how the platform is interpreting a specific question.
As always, we would love to hear from you, and ask that if you wish to share your thoughts on the product, or if you have additional questions, please send these to EVAfeedback@travelinc.com.
E-V-A was designed to provide high level travel data detail to your travel management team. E-V-A is also a very important component for immediately identifying where you travelers are located, with the opportunity to commence a two way text communication validating their safety in the event of an emergency.
No. Alexa is available via the mobile app on your smartphone, as well as any Alexa device. You can use both your mobile while traveling, and if you choose to have a desktop version at home or in the office, the E-V-A skillset is available any time – anywhere.
As the travel detail and traveler security information is highly confidential, it is important to have secure log in credentials assigned in the set up. You will use the same log in credentials as you do for Evolution, entering your Company name, User ID (typically your last name – space – first name) and then password. If you do not know this information; please contact EVAfeedback@travelinc.com.
Yes. Based upon your User ID, you will only have access to the data that has been approved for your viewing.
Press the Center Blue circle at the bottom of the mobile app and simply state: “Open EVA”. E-V-A will respond: “What Can I Assist You With?”. You are now ready to ask your first question.
All you need to do to turn EVA off is to say “Cancel”.
This is E-V-A’s polite way of stating that she doesn’t have enough information to respond to your question, or is potentially too complex of a question. Simplify the question and try again.
This indicates that there has been a time period whereby no question was asked, and she is advising you that she is still listening and available to respond to you.
There will be times that based upon the complexity of the question, or the format/order of aspects to the question, EVA doesn’t seem to understand. She will attempt to respond and will be clear in her response as to the topic and time frame that the data is relating to. If you receive information for a different time period than requested, or not at all, please review the section in this document entitled Helpful Hints.
No. In this first release, there are only options for total car rental amount, not for a specific brand. To gain this specific supplier detail, TI recommends logging into the TripInsights graphical dashboard within Evolution reporting. If you need assistance with TripInsights, please contact your Account Manager.
As there are multiple cities with the same name, it is important to state both the city and state (Example: Charlotte, NC). Another option would be to ask “Who is traveling to City Code C L T?”
Yes. You are able to ask E-V-A, for example, “Who is traveling on Southwest Airlines this week?” E-V-A will respond with a comprehensive list of up to 250 travelers flying that specific airline during the time period requested.
As there are multiple cities with the same name, it is important to state both the city and state (Example: Charlotte, NC). Another option would be to ask “Who is traveling to City Code C L T?”
We recommend that you “Activate Storyboard” so that your desktop will then immediately receive a listing of each of the travelers that are associated with the question. This list will also include the specific flight number associated with that trip.
The airlines are changing flight numbers frequently, and it is possible that E-V-A will not retrieve each traveler due to this change. The best option is to search by airline, and then review for the individual flight numbers.
E-V-A will return a listing of travelers based upon your initial question (Example: “Who is traveling to Tampa, FL today?” ). Once you receive this listing via the Storyboard, you can click on any of the names returned and it will take you directly to their eItinerary.
E-V-A will return up to 250 travelers for any request. As always with Travel Incorporated, for any travel disruption or emergency, TI will send your primary point of contact a complete listing of all potentially impacted travelers via email.
By simply asking E-V-A the question, your listing of impacted travelers will be available through the TI Mobile app in the Menu.
E-V-A provides a Wellness Check text messaging capability. Simply Activate Storyboard, Ask E-V-A, and then from the listing provided, click on the right arrow in the middle of the listing. You will now have a complete listing of each traveler that has a mobile phone number associated with their profile. Click on the button labeled "Send This Message to All" and each traveler with a mobile phone listed will receive a text message from your company stating you are checking on their safety. This will trigger a text exchange individually between that traveler and you. You can continue to text via Storyboard as needed.
Yes. A listing of questions available to ask EVA can be found here. This is a continuously evolving listing, so check back as needed.
Yes. The description of terms can be found at [need link]
At the time of the initial release, the detail is designed for the Travel Manager. Individual traveler detail will be launched in the very near future. A separate notification will be sent out as soon as this functionality is available.
Yes. All components and detail for Performance Scorecard is available and can be accessed by asking E-V-A "Open Performance Scorecard". The Scorecard will appear and you will be able to click through for information on your desktop.