Seeing is believing

Customers are more skittish than ever and expect to see a virtual tour before committing to buying. 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 completed for the Accor Hotel group. SO Bangkok.

Virtual Only

Millennial consumers are ready to spend: After months of being locked down, customers are playing it cautious, but many who’ve been working from home are ready to get out and start enjoying themselves again. Pre-booking campaigns coupled with a virtual tour 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 images help with SEO: Google favors virtual images with a 2:1 preference for thumbnail display on Google. In other words, when a business has a virtual tour tied to their Google My Business listing, Google will display those 360 thumbnails over traditional photography. Virtual tours also lead to 16% growth and 12% increase in engagement in Google Search and Maps appearances.

Many location based businesses end up seeing ROI from virtual tours in less than four weeks. Thailand based businesses are in the perfect position to start setting up these systems for consumer engagement before things start to change drastically again.