360º virtual tours are also beneficial to hotels and museums, providing prospective clients with information that they can use to book any stays or visits. The trend in modern day world has switched from glossy photos of hotel rooms or museums, to more of an expectation of transparency by clients. Most want to know precisely what to expect before they book a tour to the museum or check in in any suite. Simply going through reviews and comments, and online galleries may not be enough to convince clients to spend a dime, and therefore more of them expect 360-degree tours.
360º virtual tours can thus be said to be beneficial to hotels and museums in providing information that clients can use to book for visits or stays. Research has indicated that hotels that offer 360º virtual tours have 48% more bookings compared to those that do not. Companies such as Google in fact have modernized the way the service is offered, due to its high demand. Different sites within the property are considered as separate areas and are allotted independent tours i.e. bars, suites, gyms etc. Such improvements in 360º virtual tours have been noted to have significant benefits to these hotels. The tour in itself becomes a part of the profile of the hotel or museum.
Thus 360º virtual tours have become a necessity in this industry. In any search results, hotels or museums that offer tour provisions are immediately flagged with the tour itself being conspicuously showcased in the hotel/museum facility. 360º images of artifacts and art in museums and also suites and other facilities in hotels normally appear first before traditional 2D imagery in an online search, through search optimization. This can be attributed to the fact that 92% of online browsers claim that the ability to see panoramas or 360º images is one essential feature they look for while browsing.
