SALES & MARKETING
having to start over .”
Another Gettys project with a VR component is at the Marriott Lincolnshire Resort outside Chicago , in which the company is a part-owner . The lobby renovation will add an M Club and coffee shop , and overhaul an original , circa-1970s restaurant .
“ It really helps the clients get it . It ’ s easier for them to point things out and say , ‘ that ’ s really amazing ,’ or ‘ that corner does look a little bare , what should we do about it ?’ It ’ s more interactive and engaging of a process for us to talk about the design ,” McDonough says .
WHAT ’ S NEXT McDonough sees a lot of potential for VR in allowing clients to interact with potential designs , or showing them “ reality-based ” ways that lighting
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IT ’ S MORE INTERACTIVE AND ENGAGING OF A PROCESS FOR US TO TALK ABOUT THE DESIGN .
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— CHRIS MCDONOUGH
can change in a space over the course of a day , or how spaces – like a hotel lobby with coffee service in the morning and a bar setup at night – can accommodate changing requirements . New-build hotels can use the VR results to sell meeting and ballroom spaces before the brick-and-mortar spaces are ready . “ The technology is getting there , but for us it ’ s not just about selling the design but collaborating and designing with our clients ,” he says .
For consumers , the next iteration could be the ability to take a virtual tour with a hotel representative , Greenberg says .
“ I believe travel will always grow as long as we can reduce the friction to getting there ,” Soler says . “ If we can have VR as a trigger for crazy or interesting destinations , that ’ s great .”
360-DEGREE
Last summer , St Giles Hotels enticed guests and social influencers to record experiences around its hotels with a 360-degree camera . Abigail Tan- Giroud , head of U . K ., Europe and North America for St Giles , talks about the “ Be Central , Be St Giles ” campaign , which resulted in VR videos of sites like the London Eye and Penang Hill .
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO USE VR ? We wanted this phase of our campaign to be fun , engaging , interactive , as well as cutting-edge and memorable . More important , we wanted it be guest-focused , to let them drive the narrative , and see how they experience the city , which drives our core brand experience . VR checked all of the above .
THE LOCATION , NOT HOTEL , IS SHOWN . WHY ? Each of our hotels is in our portfolio due in part to its location . Our aim was to have our guests show us if we are indeed placing them closest to where they want to be . In these videos our guests connect to each other and to travelers while strengthening the connection of each St Giles hotel to the city .
MARKETING
Guests of St Giles hotels and social influencers explored cities including Sydney with 360-degree cameras . Their videos became part of a marketing campaign .
WHAT RESULTS ARE YOU SEEING ? We were inspired by the footage our guests captured to create themed packages with complimentary access to key activities and places of interest featured in the films . This allowed us to generate revenue that wasn ’ t initially part of the campaign .
HOW HAS YOUR MARKETING EVOLVED ? We obtained a deeper insight into the importance of directly engaging with our guests . Instead of a campaign that said , ‘ This is how you should experience the city ,’ we said , ‘ Show us what is important to you and how you experience the city your way .’
ARE YOU USING VR IN OTHER WAYS ? We are enhancing our concierge services with VR headgear and 360 videos . We are exploring ‘ roomscale VR ’ that will allow the user to physically walk around a space built in VR . For example , walking up to the T-Rex in the Natural History Museum .
TAKE YOUR ( 360-DEGREE ) SHOT
Benji Greenberg ’ s tips for 360-degree videos :
• Your customers will be wearing a headset , so limit videos to less than five minutes .
• Do more than the typical hotel tour : “ Don ’ t put the GM in there to talk about the amenities for 20 minutes .”
• Keep the quality high ; poorly shot video reflects poorly on your brand .
• Post the results on Facebook , whose VR offerings are evolving quickly .
52 hotelsmag . com May 2017