Best Western International launched its 360-degree “virtual tour” program for each of its 2,400 North American properties.
The world’s largest hotel chain says all properties by next summer will be able to offer five distinct virtual tours of every property in the US, Canada and the Caribbean.
Each property will have a 360-degree display of the hotel’s exterior, a standard guest room and other areas such as pools, meeting rooms and restaurants.
Best Western says this initiative was launched because of the growing importance of visuals.
Said David Kong, president and CEO for Best Western:
“With nearly half of our bookings originating online, it’s critical that we provide consumers with the information and images they need and want to make decisions.”
In the past year, bookings on the company’s Web site have risen nearly 48%, he added. On average, the site has been booking $1 million in revenues per day since last January.
“We expect the virtual tour feature to provide us with a distinct advantage in the mid-scale market and to propel the growth of our online revenue even further,” said Mr Kong.
Report by David Wilkening
