How Hotels use 360 VR Video to Increase Bookings
In this article, we’ll take you through how the hospitality industry has been using 360 content to boost direct bookings and online engagement. We’ll look at case studies from international hotel groups and some of the ROI they experienced. Finally, we’ll discuss the best practices of how you can use 360 virtual tours to promote your business.
What is a 360 VR Tour?
360 virtual tours are created using specialised cameras that record a 360-degree view of the environment that can then be turned into an interactive photo or video. As the viewer, you have the freedom of viewing wherever you choose by turning your mobile device in the direction you want to look or navigating on your web browser.
A virtual reality experience can also be created through the use of a headset like the Oculus Go or putting your phone inside a Google VR Cardboard for a fraction of the cost. Advanced versions of 360 VR tours allow you to “teleport” from one position in the room to another; giving you the feeling of physically walking through the location. This technology has come a long way in recent years and these videos are now available in stunning 8k resolution for a crystal clear image and actually requires less planning and time to shoot than traditional video.
Increasing Website Traffic and Online Bookings with 360 Content
The hospitality industry stands to gain the most from the immersive aspects of 360 photography. Giving your potential guests a clear picture of what they can expect when they arrive. 360 video gives them a feel for the scale of the room and confidence that what they see is what they are getting when making a booking.
- Google analysed the performance of virtual tours from 147 restaurants in New York. “When presented a virtual tour, 50% of online visitors would click through to make a reservation. In the end, participating restaurants experienced an increase in online reservations of 30%.”
- 360 tours not only help bring potential customers to your website, but it also increases the amount of time they will spend on your site. A site with a 360 virtual tour and interactive media will receive 40% more views than a competitor’s site that is lacking media (Pew Internet Life Study). Websites with virtual tours are viewed 5-10 times longer than those without virtual tours.
Many of the world’s leading hotel groups have already experienced an uptake in direct bookings after creating 360 content.
- The Radisson Hotel chain introduced virtual tours for a number of their branches worldwide and achieved a 135% increase in online revenue amounting to $7,200 per hotel per month over those without a virtual.
- Another study by Omni Hotels found that when online visitors were offered 360 VR tours they were 67% more likely to book a room online.
- Within 12 months, West Hotels by Hilton was able to receive over 250,000 views and increase room bookings by 7% through the use of 360 videos.
Google My Business
Adding 360 content directly to your “Google My Business” (GMB) page can have a positive effect by helping your visitors get a better sense of what your hotel is like and encourages them to book directly the GMB page. Google says that by adding a virtual tour to a GMB, businesses see an average of 85% increase in their online booking.
Social Media and Online Marketing
360 VR tours can easily be shared on social media by posting the YouTube link on your channels. Your 360 YouTube upload can be promoted as an in-stream paid advertising campaign on Google Ads. In-stream ads play before, during, or after another video on YouTube or video partners on the Display Network. They give viewers the option to skip the ad after 5 seconds.
Facebook lets you upload 360 content directly; so you can share it as an organic post or promote it to your audience as a paid advertisement. 360 videos are proven to increase online engagement. 360-video ads organically gain 46% more views and 41% more interactions (shares, subscribers) than standard video, according to a study by Google.
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