What is virtual tourism? Virtual tourism is an emerging area of the hospitality sector, which uses tech to offer guests and tourists a unique and engaging experience. From restaurants to hotels, everyone is using virtual marketing to promote their brands, boost customer growth, and enhance operations. Many hotel owners are adopting hotel virtual tours to connect with new customers in order to keep up with all the trends during this period of digital transformation.

The overview and most common queries about virtual hotel tours are covered in this guide. We explain what they are, how to make them, and how they can enhance a hotel’s performance. And we go over how virtual marketing can be used to increase audience reach, boost hotel revenue, improve daily operations, and much more.

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Virtual reality in hotels.

Image credit – virtualtourcompany

Key Statistics

As per the statistics, travelers are more interested in a virtual tour and often won’t book a room without getting access to a tour first.

1. 98% of people think 360° video is more exciting.
2. 90% of firms say virtual tours have a direct impact on increasing marketing efforts.
3. Customers aged 18 to 34 are 130% more likely to book a place if there is a virtual tour.
4. Customers spend 5 to 10 times more on websites with virtual tours.
5. There are more than 5 million visits daily worldwide on virtual tours.

The most potent aspect of virtual hotel tours is that it ensures viewers have all the control. It means that one can effortlessly move through the facility at their own pace. They can explore every direction from different angles to experience unprecedented levels of knowledge about what they will be spending in, and that too, all from their home using a desktop or a smartphone.

So what happens when you adopt Google virtual tour for your virtual hotel tour 360? It helps rocket you to the top of rankings on search engine results, with the tour front and center on your profile summary featuring your hotel or restaurant heavily on Google Hotel Finder. The possibilities of a virtual tour experience extend beyond the hotel to activities such as local restaurants, cafes, and landmarks.

[Also, Read: 6 Ways to Boost Revenue with Hospitality Industry Technology]

What are Virtual Hotel Tours?

Image credit – Shangri-la.com

Technology in the hotel industry is exponentially advancing its trajectory. It has become more critical than ever to keep up-to-date with how a hotel can add these latest tech innovations into its business. Virtual Reality is an excellent example of the same. The ‘Virtual Reality’ or virtual reality experience or VR is currently one of the most progressive tech sectors. That being said, hotels should try to attract more guests and secure direct bookings as well.

VR in travel sector first came into the limelight in the gaming world to immerse players in new worlds and onto amazing life-like adventures. Soon enough, the travel and hospitality industry realized the potential of virtual hotel tours and the tech’s selling points. With the help of Google tech, hotels are tapping into this phenomenon to create ‘virtual tours.’ Virtual Hotel Tour 360 is a method by which a hotel can give the guests a complete 360-degree walk-through and view of their room and facilities while sitting in their living rooms.

Unlike the old still photos and 2D imagery, viewers can now fully immerse themselves in the property and move into the hotel rooms as if they are actually inside them with the virtual hotel simulator. A virtual tour of a hotel is valuable because it offers guests complete transparency in all the features a hotel offers. Looking for hotel management companies? Keep reading below.

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Why Offer Virtual Hotel Tours?

Hotel marketing strategies are well-suited to virtual hotel tours because the products and services are visually attractive and aimed at making you wish you were there. Here are a few hotel virtual tour benefits.

1. Boosts traffic & bookings – As per recent reports, hotels that have virtual tours on their websites get 50% more clicks, and 87% more views. And 75% of consumers claim that VR in hospitality industry has a positive effect on their choice to make a purchase.

2. Aids customer journey – With 81% of people reading reviews and testimonials before making a booking and 79% of people reading at least 6–12 reviews before they feel confident in their choice, research is vital in the client purchase process. Guests experience what it’s like to stay at your hotel through virtual hotel tours, which provide a rich, detail-oriented experience and show why your luxury hotel is the ideal choice for their trip or event.

3. Expands marketing strategies of hotels – These interactive tours can be posted on your website and social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube), divided into parts for different audiences, or turned into interactive images. They can help your SEO, expand your audience, and increase engagement. Searching for a marketing agency for hotels? Contact Revnomix, one of the best marketing and revenue management companies in India.

4. Promotes interaction with visitors – The COVID-19 pandemic makes it all the more crucial to reach as many people as you can with the best in-person depiction of what your hotel has to offer without physically inviting them to stay. People are yearning for an escape and a safe, opulent shelter as their travel habits change.

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How are Virtual Hotel Tours Created & Where are They Displayed?

There are a lot of ways to create virtual hotel tours, one of which is merging a set of still photos or videos to create a simulated virtual copy of an actual location. To give viewers an engaging experience, the images and videos can be combined with narration, sound effects, text, music, and other multimedia features.

Most of these virtual tours are created in the first-person perspective and offer a 360-degree view, allowing visitors to view the hotel from all directions. The virtual tour compels visitors to think that they are inside the hotel. As they move around the hotel, exploring the lobby and room types, they can picture exactly what a stay at your hotel would be like thanks to the eye-level perspective.

Interactive, photo-realistic 3D tech can also be used to create virtual tours, giving hotels a new way to show their space by adding floor plans.

Virtual tours are a useful addition to a variety of marketing campaigns since they function well in video content, search ads, email, and directly on the hotel’s website. To reach a wider audience, advertise hotel virtual tours on YouTube, your hotel’s Google My Business (GMB) page, and social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. Many social media platforms and venue-listing websites host new kinds of virtual tours.

Users can share and edit 360-degree photos on Facebook which show a photo from all angles. Visitors can look in front of them, above them, behind them, and below them thanks to the automatic centering of the field of view. Hotels can create and advertise an interactive Street View or Google Virtual Tour through GMB.

What is the Google 360 virtual tour cost? Based on the virtual tour layout, hotels can choose a GMB virtual tour package and pay a one-time fee. Hotel virtual tours are displayed by Google on the hotel’s local Google profile, in search engine results, and on Google Maps after they have been captured and submitted. Virtual tour with Google Maps makes all the difference!

[Also, Read: Top 5 Benefits of a Hotel Revenue Management Company in 2022]

What Should Be Highlighted in Virtual Hotel Tours?

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Hotels that contract out their 3D videos usually ask that the experts create a variety of tours for use in many marketing campaigns. Sales and marketing teams who have a strong know-how of their customers may decide to use these virtual hotel tours in many situations. Because certain content may appeal to certain market segments more than others or perform better on a marketing channel.

Hotel marketing managers can use a street view virtual tour on social media to attract viewers and pique their interest. The eye-catching exterior street view tour draws viewers in, keeps them interested, and then motivates them to visit your direct booking site to complete the site tour. Visitors who are keen to continue the tour are instantly directed to your website, where a “Book Now” button will be waiting to welcome them after the tour.

5 Amazing Examples of Virtual Hotel Tours

Are you interested in learning more about the potential uses for these virtual hotel tours? If so, please take a moment to review the incredible examples of virtual reality hotels below.

1. Atlantis Dubai Virtual Tour

It is one of the best examples of virtual reality applications. This first-person virtual tour focuses on all of the key features of Atlantis Dubai, whether it be traditional arched entrances or palatial gathering spaces. Technology in hotels and the inclusion of tech features highlight the fact that visitors will receive nothing less than first-rate services while visiting. After watching this tour, you will know that the prices of hotel rooms at Atlantis Dubai are worth it!

2. Pullman Brisbane King George Square Hotel VR Tour

By including an audio guide along with the related images, this hotel VR tour adds a nice touch and creates a more welcoming atmosphere. It provides crucial details about the kinds of visitors who stay at this hotel and the number of rooms that are available (510). This hotel tour, which focuses on the property’s spacious and opulent features, is a great way to represent the entire brand.

3. Le Franschhoek Hotel & Spa 360 VR Tour

This VR hotel tour has a special feature that starts with a personalized introduction from the manager. This is a great way to build a digital rapport with potential customers. After this introduction, there is a tour that shows the lobby, a live entertainment area, an outdoor dining terrace, and then the actual rooms. The viewer is only permitted to stay in each area for a brief period of time before moving on, giving this VR tour a personalized feel.

4. Holiday Inn Express Adelaide VR Hotel Tour

With progress in VR for hotels, Holiday Inn Express has adopted a rather proactive approach. It lets the visitors observe guests going about their daily lives while checking in, sipping cocktails in the lounge, or attending meetings in the lavish conference room. This kind of tour is often used to show how functional a hotel is.

5. Maldives 360 VR, Scuba Spa 360 VR Experience

This VR hotel video marketing tour is simple and highlights some of the main amenities that guests can look forward to enjoying, such as a custom cocktail lounge, a private massage room, stunning views of the nearby marine life, and opulent private hotel rooms. The music’s upbeat nature also denotes a feeling of renewal and peace.

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It’s Time to Take Hotel Revenue to the Next Level Through Virtual Hotel Tours

The importance of hospitality management is immense. Virtual reality for hotels is a raging hospitality industry technology trend. A hotel’s website will receive more traffic and increase revenue if it integrates a virtual hotel tour feature. It strongly encourages the customer to reserve a hotel room or an amenity. A virtual hotel tour increases a hotel’s average traffic and number of guests. It holds a visitor’s interest for a long time and attracts new clients who want to learn more about the idea of virtual hotel tours. In conclusion, it can be said that there are no restrictions on creativity when it comes to providing travelers with a virtual hotel tour.

VR in hotels show the facility’s best features and presents them in the best light. Hotels can also add links to the virtual tour to provide visitors with more data within the images. Users will find it simple to navigate through this. The best time to introduce virtual hotel tours is now, as digital media usage is growing and people are going digital!

Revenue management in the hospitality industry is of utmost importance. If just virtual hotel tours aren’t working for you, Call Revnomix to help your hotel with revenue management and data analytics to increase profits and sales. What is hotel revenue management? Why data analytics is important for business? Why use revenue management tools? Which is the best revenue management software for hotels? How to increase hotel revenue? Get the right answers to all your questions.