Introduction to Virtual Reality in Travel and Hospitality
The travel and hospitality industry has been abuzz with the most recent trend in marketing: virtual reality (VR). Many corporations are jumping on the VR bandwagon, however the query stays: is VR really as powerful a marketing tool as everyone thinks it’s?
Best Western’s Foray into Virtual Reality
Best Western Hotels & Resorts is the most recent hospitality brand to enter the realm of virtual reality. By summer, all 2,200 Best Western-branded hotels in North America can have a "Best Western Virtual Reality Experience" that permits travelers to explore each property’s rooms, lobbies, and amenities virtually online before they even arrive on the hotel.
How it Works
Best Western has been working with Google Street View to develop this product over the past three years, gathering a powerful 1.7 million photos of its North American properties. These photos have been transformed into 360-degree videos with customized narration and music, which might be viewed with a headset device like Google Cardboard, Oculus Rift, or Samsung Gear VR. The videos will likely be available on various platforms, including Google Maps, Google Search, YouTube, and Facebook.
A Part of a Larger Marketing Effort
The Best Western Virtual Reality Experience is only one piece of the corporate’s overall effort to achieve recent audiences and present a refreshed image for its hotels. This effort, which totals over $2 billion, is what Dorothy Dowling, Best Western’s CMO, calls "re-architecting" the brand. The virtual reality experience will likely be heavily promoted this summer, marking a major milestone in the corporate’s marketing strategy.
The Power of Virtual Reality in Marketing
While it stays to be seen whether VR will live as much as its hype as a marketing tool, Best Western’s foray into virtual reality is an exciting development within the travel and hospitality industry. By allowing travelers to explore hotels virtually, Best Western is providing a novel and immersive experience that would potentially influence booking decisions.
Conclusion
As the travel and hospitality industry continues to evolve, it’s going to be interesting to see whether virtual reality becomes a staple of promoting strategies. With Best Western’s Virtual Reality Experience, the corporate is taking a major step forward in providing an immersive and interesting experience for travelers. Only time will tell if VR will prove to be a robust marketing tool, but for now, it’s an exciting development value watching.
