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The hospitality industry has taken one of the hardest hits during this pandemic with borders closing and travelling limited. As hotels continue to remain vacant, it is definitely challenging to market your accommodations without a present audience. Local hospitality groups have had to ramp up their strategies to cater to local customers just to keep their businesses afloat. But the big question is: how do we bring the experience of travelling to a client without them actually travelling out of the country? The tourism and hospitality industries are all about experiences and adventure and mimicking that in a local setting may seem like an ambitious feat. However, with the rise of technology and advancements, anything is possible. Virtual tours are a great way to elevate the experience while also posing as an effective marketing strategy for hotels and accommodations. Through this virtual reality technology, hotels can continue to reach their customers by creating a wanderlust experience. While we anticipate the reopening of borders and continue to serve the local market, here are some reasons why you should set up a virtual tour in Singapore to promote hotels and accommodations.
Having a 360 virtual tour in Singapore can set you apart from your competitors with its immersive and user engaging features. A virtual tour can include hotspots around the space for a more in-depth summary of each element using embedded videos and pictures. It can also add in a multi-language toggle for international visitors all over the world with an additional audio tour that can provide a realistic guided experience around the property. These are just some of the versatile ways a virtual tour can be used to market a space.
With the wide use of the internet and social media, virtual reality marketing provides a unique way of online marketing in the 21st century. Virtual reality marketing is essentially promoting a brand or a product by using the immersive technology of virtual and augmented reality to engage an audience and involve them in a virtual world that simulates a real-life environment. While these images in a virtual world may be just an imitation, they can still provide a realistic experience, which is why it is useful in the tourism industry that thrives off experiences. A virtual tour can be embedded into any website, which makes it accessible to a larger market of consumers through any electronic device from mobile phones to tablets. In this day and age, videos tend to gain more attraction with their visually engaging content and bite-sized information, which usually brings in a higher return on investment. Virtual reality marketing is a powerful tool that can truly benefit the tourism and hospitality industry.
1. Increased bookings
Selling your hotel and accommodation space can get competitive especially in a smaller, targeted local market that every other hotel is hunting for. Having a 360 virtual tour in Singapore can put you above the rest with its “what you see is what you get” advantage. While other accommodation booking sites may have edited photos and galleries of their rooms, a virtual tour can give a realistic expectation of one’s stay, making it easier for customers to decide to book your suite. Not forgetting future foreign travellers, these tourists will appreciate a realistic depiction of your accommodation to avoid any disappointment once they check-in after a long flight.
2. Creates an experience
As discussed, the tourism industry draws in customers by offering a once in a lifetime experience. A virtual tour does exactly that with its interactive features that can captivate prospective buyers from all over the world. The technology has so much to offer when strategically advertised. For example, instead of just having a regular 360 walkthrough of the hotel restaurant, you can improve that concept by allowing the head chef to give a comprehensive tour of their dining space and kitchen through an audio and visual guide. Furthermore, a virtual tour can roam around the pool space while also embedding infoboxes to give more information on the amenities as well as adding the menu from their pool bar. All these added elements create an appealing and inviting experience that can’t help but draw customers in.
3. Reaches a larger audience
If you know anything about Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), you know that businesses try their best to invest in an optimised site as this will improve their position on a search engine results page, gathering more clicks and viewers on their site. Some ways to get a better optimisation is to create content that makes viewers remain on the site for a longer period of time and virtual tours do just that. Studies have shown that real estate websites that feature a virtual tour on their site have a viewing duration of 5 times more than other sites as well as 4 times more clicks. Therefore, optimising your site with visual content such as virtual tours can reach a wider audience from all over the world.
4. Encourages upselling
Upselling is always an added bonus for any business and having a virtual tour in Singapore can help with that. When customers consider an upgrade for a hotel accommodations, its visual and amenities are extremely important to entice these buyers to fork out more cash. A virtual tour can span around a room and can even boast a stunning balcony view through the visual imaging of a 360 tour. By having these available options, customers are able to visualise the room and are more likely to consider an upgrade.
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Having a 360 virtual tour in Singapore has really proven to be an advantageous investment in many hospitality businesses and with the pandemic weighing down the tourism industry, corporations have to find other strategies to boost their sales. Whether planning for short-term goals or the future of a pandemic-free world, virtual tours have shown to be an effective virtual reality marketing tool. To learn more about 360 tours and the customisations it can offer, check out our services and portfolio.
