Thankfully it feels like we’re now living in post-COVID times. In fact, demand is currently outstripping supply and the concept of post-COVID ‘revenge travel’ has emerged as people who have skipped their usual holidays are desperate to get away.
As a result, prices are inflated for hotels and flights whilst the macroeconomic outlook remains uncertain. Customers spend longer selecting their travel products as they look to stretch their budgets as far as possible.
Virtual Tours are a powerful tool for improving conversion rates for hotel and activity bookings. In a study by TIG Global and Omni Hotels, two-thirds of participants want a virtual tour when looking at a listing, and a virtual tour on a hotel website increases bookings and look-to-book conversion rates by as much as 64%.
Here’s an example of a virtual tour we produced for the Accor Group - SO Bangkok.
Online Only
Millennial and younger generations are already back spending big on tourism. Now that lockdowns are thing of the past how do you capture more of this revenue. Pre-booking campaigns and virtual tours can help double interest in business listings, strengthen brand reputation, and build trust. 18 – 34 year old prospects are 130% more likely to book a hotel or use a service based on a virtual tour.
The web is their main source of information, connection, and engagement. People have more time than ever for novel virtual experiences and tours keep people on your website 5 to 10x longer
360-degree content helps with SEO
Google favours 360-degree content with a 2:1 preference for thumbnail display on Google. In other words, when a business has a virtual tour tied to its Google My Business listing, Google will display those 360 thumbnails over traditional photography. Virtual tours also lead to 16% growth and a 12% increase in engagement in Google Search and Maps appearances. When we produce a Virtual Tour we add key highlights to Google Maps and have seen hundreds of thousands of impressions of this flagship interactive content.
Most location-based businesses see ROI from virtual tours in less than four weeks. Some of our clients have seen visitors spend on average 400% longer on the virtual tour compared to their website.
Conversions
If you want to convert more of your website visitors to customers and you feel your facilities are attractive and will impress potential guests, we can develop a stunning Virtual Tour which will improve your conversion rate and metrics.
If you would like to discuss the best approach for your business get in touch with the team.
