Vacation Rental Managers Turn Towards Virtual Tours to Boost Bookings
September 1, 2020
Guest experience is at the heart of the travel industry. By giving your potential guests a great experience before they book you can directly increase your booking rates. With virtual tour technology, vacation rental managers can turn still images and 360-degree panoramic shots of properties into a fully immersive tour. You can use this technology to increase your bookings and boost your online presence. Virtual tours can be added to listings, websites and can be viewed on most devices. Professional photography is a must, but it’s hard to capture every detail of a property with static images. Virtual tours allow guests to see every detail of a property, such as the amenities, the layout, and the look and feel of the home. When a guest can imagine themselves in a rental, it boosts their confidence and trust and helps them in their decision-making process. When potential guests are offered more engaging visual information, it shortens booking window and decreases guest inquiries about the property. Virtual tours will help your listings stand out in a cramped online platform and differentiate yourself from competitors.
Adding a virtual tour to your listing or website is proven to boost booking rates, according to a study regarding virtual tours and vacation rentals, those who experience a virtual tour through a listing are twice as likely to book that property. The study also found that people that are 18-34 years old are 130% more likely to book if the listing includes a virtual tour, as opposed to basic listings that only include static photos and a description. In another study conducted, potential guests are 115% more likely to book a rental after viewing a virtual tour.
Virtual Tours Help Double Interest In Business
Virtual tour technology can be used to engage potential guests, expand your customer base, and strengthen your online presence. Here are the top companies offering this technology to vacation rental managers:
TruPlace
TruPlace offers a comprehensive look at a property. Unlike other virtual tour companies, their tour interface makes it easy for potential guests to navigate through a home. TruPlace also offers an interactive floor plan along with the virtual tour. This makes it easy for guests to navigate through rooms in a home by hovering over a blueprint and while being able to toggle between an image and a panoramic view. According to a study done by VRM Intel, there was a 17% increase in reservations at properties that had a virtual tour done by TruPlace. (Qualified Xplorie property partners can also enjoy the benefits of TruPlace. Contact your Xplorie representative for full details.)
Matterport
Matterport offers an all in one 3D platform that can turn any property into an immersive experience. Matterport works with vacation rental managers by helping them create the best booking experience by providing the most realistic virtual tour. With Matterport you can easily embed your virtual tour directly to your website and publish it to Google Street View. According to a study conducted by Vacasa, there was a 14% increase in bookings when property managers used Matterport.
Digital Era 360
Digital Era 360 offers virtual tours that can be used across multiple platforms such as tablets, smartphones, and virtual reality headsets like Google CardBoard and Daydream. Along with virtual tours they also offer provide tour integration with Google Maps, multiple social media providers, and provide custom code for placement on your website.
Zillow 3D
The Zillow 3D Home app offers a more ‘do it yourself’ approach to virtual tours. This free app allows vacation rental managers to take photos and upload them to the app to create a 3D tour for their listings. This app allows for easy virtual tour creation, by uploading images to the app, it stitches together images and panoramic shots to create a virtual walkthrough.
Virtual tours give potential guests the best visual experience to make a more well-informed decision about their next stay. This technology allows guests to take their own journey through your rental and experience it the way they want and at their own pace. Adding a virtual tour will help your listing stand out from the crowd and create a captivating experience for travelers.
