Hotels are embracing new technology and gamification to transform the guest experience.
By utilizing virtual reality and other interactive technology, hotels can offer guests virtual tours, the ability to customize their room layout, and interactive and gamified experiences sure to create a unique and unforgettable experience. In this blog post, we will explore some of the latest innovations, and how they enhance the guest experience.
Virtual Tours
Virtual Reality (VR) has been around for a few years but has recently become more widely used in the hospitality industry. Increasingly, hotels are using VR to provide virtual tours of their properties, allowing guests to explore accommodations and amenities before they arrive. VR can enable guests to compare available room types, layouts, and furnishings, preview the view from their room, and even select optional customizations, such as additional furniture. This technology provides a more realistic preview experience that goes beyond just looking at photos or videos. It gives travelers an accurate idea of what sort of experience they can expect, even before they book a stay. Technology to create VR tours can be surprisingly affordable and easy to use.
Interactive Installations
Imagine stepping onto an elevator and being transported via video walls to a local attraction, or finding yourself immersed in your favorite team’s recent victory celebration, or being surrounded by a 360 google earth panorama from your hometown, or a scene from your favorite movie. Hotels can incorporate interactive installations throughout the property, enabling guests to do things like customize colored room lighting, or trigger soundscapes when they enter or leave a room. The InterContinental Hotel Group has incorporated virtual reality into its elevators at select locations, allowing guests to explore various destinations while riding the elevator. When thoughtfully designed, planned, and executed, hotels can use these technologies to offer guests immersive experiences that are sure to engage and delight.
Gamification
By incorporating game design principles – such as points, badges, and leaderboards – gamification taps into the innate human desire for challenge, competition, and achievement. Hotels can use gamification to engage guests, enhance their experience, and increase loyalty to the hotel and/or brand. For example, guests might earn reward points by taking photos at certain locations and posting them on social media, solving interactive puzzles, or answering interactive digital trivia questions. Some hotels have explored mobile games that allow outside participants to act as virtual concierges, answering questions about local attractions and restaurants. Others have gone as far as creating immersive entertainment experiences, like escape rooms.
—
VR, gamification, and other emerging technology offer endless opportunities to customize the guest experience in ways that delight, engage, and create unique and elevated experiences. Would you like to add interactive and/or gamified features to your next renovation? Contact us today, and let’s collaborate on something new, exciting, and unique.
