Stroll through the hotel lobby as if you were there, go from meeting room to conference area, visit the rooms or even the presidential suite: rather than traditional photo galleries, the Radisson group is inviting you to take a real digital tour of the property. Its digital transformation strategy is now materialising through 3D virtual toursaccessible via computer and smartphone. It's an immersive experience that really comes into its own when you're wearing a VR headset.
Through digital replicas, travellers can discover, as in situ , the Radisson group, which likes to present itself as "one of the first to adopt these revolutionary technologies" . After an initial pilot project developed in-house in 2020, 86 hotels have integrated these virtual tours to their web pages, including the Radisson Collection Brussels and the May Fair in London. Remote, interactive visits have not only increased the time spent on the page and the number of clicks, but have also resulted in an increased number of conversions from visits to bookings. This is especially true in the case of meeting rooms.
According to Radisson, since the launch in 2022 of a MICE booking engine incorporating these immersive experiences, booking conversions have grown by +12%, while qualified enquiries have increased by +35%. Floor plans, room exploration in all their possible configurations: organisers can project themselves onto the site as they wish. Another advantage is that they can book the room directly from the solution, or send a request for a quote for a specific space from the site. For their part, hotel sales and events teams have at their fingertips - via their smartphone or virtual reality goggles - a practical tool for showing potential customers around their premises.
" This technology has proved invaluable, particularly for our Meetings & Events business, as it allows us to show busy meeting organisers the range of flexible and customisable options we offer in our portfolio." said Raul Alvarez Barrera, Vice President Global Digital Experience, Radisson Hotel Group.
Radisson will continue to roll out this immersive experience in around a hundred hotels by the end of 2023. At the same time, the hotel group will further extend the range of languages in which its website is accessible. Already available in 29 languages - the highest number, reaching almost 70 % of potential customers in their mother tongue -, the offer should increase to 31 languages by the end of the year. In addition to translation, Radisson is pursuing a cutting-edge localisation strategy with its site, enabling visitors to be offered personalised functions based on local societal codes, customs and values, in more than 60 regions. To take this a step further, Radisson plans to add innovative new features, which are currently being developed for the website and mobile application.
