Virtual Reality (VR), Helping Your Business Thrive in 2022
Globalization is shrinking the world. Thanks to technology, physical distances can be spanned, and information can be shared regardless of where an audience is located. Using these advancements, we are able to explore locations that were once only accessible through travel. With the touch of a button, audiences can access virtual tours to explore landmarks and destinations. In order to connect with prospective students, college campuses are increasingly relying on virtual campus tours. Virtual tours are also used by towns and communities to reach out to new residents and tourists.
On-Site Virtual Self-Guided Tours
Virtual tours provide the possibility for a safe, self-distributed experience when your clients are offsite. Organizations can share a wealth of information through a quality, guided mobile tour while keeping their staff and patrons safe. Although we typically think of virtual tours as solely remote solutions, many virtual tour services in Atlanta provide audiences with an offsite or remotely accessible way to take guided tours.
Remote Virtual Self-Guided Tours
Visitors who are unable to physically visit a space can still get a feel for it through remote tours. Mobile technology can be used to take users along an interactive tour, which can make audiences feel as though they are actually there.
Purpose of Virtual Tours
Organizations are using virtual tours to highlight a range of places and points of interest using different virtual tour services in Atlanta. When students choose their colleges and universities, campus visits are an essential component of their decision-making process. Touring campuses virtually helps students and their families get to know more about institutions and campus life. Corporate campuses and hospitals with large grounds use virtual tours to familiarize employees with the campus before they ever step foot on it. Cities and towns are also using virtual tours to welcome visitors with tours that introduce them to local restaurants and shopping centers. A Chamber of Commerce might use virtual tours to create a local business directory. A virtual tour may also be a solution for your organization if its web traffic has been reduced.
Virtual Tours Supporting Organizations
Even if your audience cannot visit a location physically, virtual tours can help to familiarize them with it. Students who can’t visit campus can picture themselves on campus with a virtual tour. The virtual tour allows students to tell their stories in their own words. An organization can showcase important information exactly how they want to present it with a virtual tour, whether it is to attract visitors, donors, or employees. With virtual tours, you can let your audience ‘try it out.’ For businesses and organizations seeking new customers, the tours provide the information they need to make an informed decision. Providing virtual tours can be an effective method of engaging audiences. Upon the opening of the landmark or destination, visitors will be able to explore your destination independently with virtual tours. You can track the interest of your audience through virtual tours. With analytics, you can track downloads, time spent touring, and popular content. Virtual tours let organizations gain a deeper understanding of their audiences.
The Amazon Explore
Nearly six months have passed since Amazon launched Amazon Explore – a virtual tour platform featuring virtual expert tours all over the world. At the time, Amazon appeared to be filling a void created by COVID-19, an opportunity recognized by others such as Airbnb, Tripadvisor’s Viator, as well as Klook and GetYourGuide, which both launched their own online experiences in April. Even as borders and destinations reopen, Amazon and other virtual experience providers say they will continue to develop virtual products – as an alternative to in-person travel as well as a new way to experience the world.
From culture and landmarks to food and drink, wellness and beauty, nature and outdoor activities and – naturally – shopping, Amazon Explore now offers more than 250 experiences starting at $10 in 20 different geographies. Intrepid Group’s Urban Adventures are just one of their many big clients. Personal hosts like Ken Sakata of Ken’s Tours Tokyo run tours as well as the mentioned big players like Intrepid Group.
A spokesperson for Amazon says the company will “explore expanding the service to other regions based on the findings gathered during the initial launch period” for the moment, since the experiences can only be streamed by customers in the United States. According to Amazon, the shopping experience is a key part of their strategy. However, they would not share numbers regarding bookings. According to the spokesperson, Amazon is always looking for ways to enhance the shopping experience for customers and is always innovating on behalf of them. The Amazon Explore program allows customers to find unique products, connect with new people, and learn new perspectives and skills.”
“Amazon Explore was intentionally created as a virtual service, and will remain a virtual service once travel resumes,” Amazon says in response to a question about if customers will be able to book in-person experiences as travel resumes. Customers can always use virtual experiences to preview vacation locations and destinations as travel reopens.”
Case Study of Tiqets
Tiqets is based in Amsterdam and offers online experiences in a different way, but echoes the view that these options will still exist even if the pandemic no longer affects travel. In collaboration with its venue partners, Tiqets created one-time virtual experiences that transported visitors inside museums and attractions themed for holidays such as Halloween and Valentine’s Day.
There have been more than 55 venues and 21,000 participants at the free events. “This campaign was created in an attempt to connect our venues that were closed at the time with consumers that were stuck at home, wishing they could travel, but not be able to leave, giving them inspiration for when they can travel again. From a business-to-business perspective, our focus was making sure the brands of the venues were still relevant,” says Daniel Hackett, Tiqets’ regional director for the Americas.
The virtual experiences are aimed at providing unique, compelling content rather than replicating the in-person experience at these museums and attractions. Hackett says, “To create an enticing message that consumers can’t get in person, you can use a virtual platform.” The company is exploring ways to use Facebook Live and Instagram Live to market its events, but it does not intend to turn them into revenue-generating channels. Hackett expects Tiqets to continue offering virtual experiences to its venue partners. “We are not looking to replace or monetize the in-destination, person-to-person experience. This provides consumers with the opportunity to engage with venues pre-travel and possibly post-travel, but it is not a strict replacement for the traditional booking process”, he said. Virtual Tour Services in Atlanta!
Case Study of Walks
Steve Oddo, Walks’ CEO, is focused on building virtual experiences to compliment in-person travel. Since March 2020, when Italy, Walks’ largest market, effectively closed, the company has focused on virtual experiences as a priority. In April, Walks offered over two dozen “Tours from Home,” which narrated in-person walking tours with the company’s 800 guides, as well as videos, photos, and narratives.
Walks has since added a “Spotlight Series” – presentations on current topics, such as walking tours of Wuhan, China, as it reopened, and one last summer featuring street artists and musicians in New York – as well as live online experiences with guides in six cities. There have been about 10,000 bookings for virtual experiences since Oddo began offering them, with individual tickets priced at $10 up to about $1,000 for large corporations like Cisco and Google. The virtual tours do not generate a lot of revenue for Walks, but they have provided income for some guides as well as allowed Walks to stay in touch with past clients and attract new ones. In fact, only 14.8% of tour operators who used virtual tours during the pandemic said they generated a lot of revenue, according to a recent survey by the Tourism Marketing Agency. According to 39.3% of respondents, virtual tours did not generate revenue, but did increase brand awareness.
Oddo says that if some of those customers tour with us in the future, those are customers we never have to pay to Google or whomever. According to Oddo, “My relationships with those customers, the good experiences they had, are things we are hoping will pay off in the future.” Considering that borders are now open and international travel is returning to pre-pandemic levels, Oddo says he sees opportunities for virtual experiences to market to travelers both during their travel planning stages as well as after their trips. “Take a virtual experience with us before you book, and we will convert that into the booking so it’s free,” Oddo says. Our virtual tours were also taken by past customers who had previously taken those tours with these guides. They loved reconnecting with them. “Once you create a virtual experience, you can keep delighting the same guests”, he adds further.
Virtual Reality Tours in Real Estate
Technological advancements are transforming industries all the time today. VR (virtual reality) and virtual tours are the newest technological developments in the real estate industry. Right now, virtual reality is created by using a helmet and remote to create a virtual world based on plans created in 3D. Virtual tours on your site are essential to running your real estate business today, as they allow clients to see exactly what they want, which allows them to make more informed buying decisions. Furthermore, VR allows you to view a house without physically moving around.
Brings Imagination to Life
Virtual tours can be used to let potential buyers see what a property will look like once it’s completed. Before construction begins or once the property is completed, buyers can leave comments. In addition to building an emotional connection, helping your clients visualize each property can engage them better than 2D photos.
Site Traffic is Increased
The VR experience also holds the attention of viewers for longer than text or still images. Your site will receive more traffic as a result. Virtual reality will also help potential buyers visualize living in the property. VR tools, like mortgage calculators, can increase a buyer’s motivation to close the deal.
Saves Time
It is believed that VR could really assist real estate agents in saving time, especially when it comes to properties in remote areas. Viewing properties in remote locations or abroad is possible with this technology. To give them a clear, 3D view of each room, buyers can click on bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, etc. VR frees up real estate agents’ time and resources that could be used to schedule an open house, acquire new clients, or retain existing ones!
24/7 Availability
In addition, using VR technology in real estate makes all listed properties available around the clock for viewing. Through virtual reality headsets, homebuyers can tour properties at any time, day or night, without having to travel with an agent.
Reaching a Global Audience
When you arrange property visits, show clients around a property, negotiate terms and prices, you spend a lot of time. But with VR you don’t even have to worry about where your clients live. Through VR, you can showcase properties even to buyers who live far away. You can then work with more clients and respond to more inquiries at your desk as a real estate agent!
Saves Money
You may think that purchasing 3D virtual tour equipment is an expensive investment. On the contrary, it is a worthwhile investment. You not only stage homes but also take high-quality pictures of them. It only takes a panoramic camera and basic editing to create 360-degree videos and computer graphics.
Improved Online Communication
Through VR, clients can interact more directly with the property by commenting on any aspect. A client might want to know what type of flooring or insulation to purchase. You can provide instant feedback to the agent from your office and do so in real time! Virtual Tour Services in Atlanta!
No Need to Prepare Your Home for a Tour All the Time
In order to increase your home’s chances of being sold, agents recommend deep cleaning it to increase its appeal. However, keeping your house spotless for several days or weeks is not easy. Many home sellers even move out of their home while visiting. By using VR, you can clean your house once, shoot the property, and go about your daily routine.
The Buyer Saves Time
Organizing property tours can be challenging. You might not be viewing all properties in the same neighborhood if you are viewing several homes. Virtual reality might not entirely replace physical property viewings, but it could be used to introduce buyers to properties. You can also see properties online.
No Rush
You don’t need to feel rushed by the agent or the seller when viewing a property. Take your time. It’s also easier to review a property at your leisure. Virtual Tour Services in Atlanta!
The Future of VR Tours
It won’t be long before VR can even simulate flavors and smells. Potential buyers may subconsciously consider the kitchen to be better after smelling freshly baked cookies during a virtual reality visit. Furthermore, virtual reality will simulate touch with haptic technology (VR touch). You could then feel the texture of the walls and furniture! It is the goal of VR experts to make virtual tours as realistic as possible so visitors can experience them as if they were physically there.
This article was originally published on momentumvirtualtours