A Virtual Tour to increase bookings?

[rich_sipe]

Nice tour except for what is up with that one bedroom. Looks like the person just got up out of bed! Plus they could have just slid the clothes out of the room, it looks like a clothing store. Everything else looks so nice and then you get into that room and it all falls apart.

[tansy]

Couldn't agree more rich_sipe...but I think we are looking at what can be done with a virtual tour?

I personally think that tour would possibly put me off as all I saw was banging my head on a sloppy(sic) ceiling...I lived with one of those for 14 years in our Victorian Lodge House in the UK..so maybe not the best example...the quality was very good though

[Alan Knighting]

Brooke,

For Quicktime for Linux give this a go:-

http://heroinewarrior.com/quicktime.php3

it might help.

Alan

[paolo]

banging my head on a sloppy(sic) ceiling

Sloping ceiling? Or perhaps it was sloppy with sick?

[vrooje]

Alan,

Thanks for the link! Unfortunately I don't think any of these are officially supported... I was able to download the movie but not view more than the first frame.

The java tour wasn't working either, although I have in the past viewed other Java virtual tours (such as the one Paolo linked to).

Alas, this is just reinforcing my views on the compatibility of virtual tours across platforms. I would like to see it, but it doesn't seem like it will work without a lot more work on my part (if at all).

Thanks, though!

[roxytoo]

Am having one of panoramic tours done so when it's finished will post it here!!

[tansy]

Paolo

shall I try under the eaves then ...

[Fraise]

"I personally think that tour would possibly put me off as all I saw was banging my head on a sloppy(sic) ceiling...I lived with one of those for 14 years in our Victorian Lodge House in the UK..so maybe not the best example...the quality was very good though "


Tansy- I absolutely agree!!I thought the place looked fantastic from the outside but the more I saw of the inside the more disappointed I became!Upstairs was not good!!I think in this case a tour is not a selling point!A photo of the front of the house would have been better!!

www.thepetitmanoir.com

[Ju]

Personally if I was looking to rent this property the tour would put me off completely, and I haven't even seen it. I am not on broadband and having to download a 10 MB plug in just to see some pictures would completely put me off.

I can see the point if you are selling a property, people can then see what they are getting before they buy, but I'm really not sure if it is worth it for a holiday. There are too many things which might put people off (sloping ceilings for example) which wouldn't show up on a well photographed site. most people book their holidays based on a brochure from a travel agents, with 2 photos if you are lucky. We can all offer more than that with our individual websites, but I don't think people need to see every nook and crany off the property. Especially for a summer property, where the surrounding area, local beaches etc would be far more important.

I would be suprised if a tour such as this could really increase the level of bookings.

Ju

[paolo]

I thought the place looked fantastic from the outside but the more I saw of the inside the more disappointed I became!Upstairs was not good!!I think in this case a tour is not a selling point!A photo of the front of the house would have been better!!

I would be suprised if a tour such as this could really increase the level of bookings.

Personally I wouldn't book this house either, but I think if you have an above average house the tour allows you to really show off the fact that it is above average. Otherwise, you could be better off with a few flatteringly composed pics.

I do agree that it is a pain to have to download the plug-in. Is there a simpler way of showing these tours without it?

[Alan Knighting]

This thread seems to be developing into an unsolicited criticism of a particular property in Annecy. I am starting to feel sorry for the owners who didn't invite this.

Can we get back to the real issues? What is a virtual tour? How do you achieve it? Is it an asset or a liability on a holiday rental owner's Website?

[Fraise]

This thread seems to be developing into an unsolicited criticism of a particular property in Annecy. I am starting to feel sorry for the owners who didn't invite this.

Can we get back to the real issues? What is a virtual tour? How do you achieve it? Is it an asset or a liability on a holiday rental owner's Website?

I disagree here Alan.I think it shows that a tour is not a good idea in all circumstances.As Paolo said, it may well be if you have something that is really a cut above the rest, not necessarily so otherwise!


www.thepetitmanoir.com

[vrooje]

Hmm... Alan has a point, though -- what if the person who owns this house were to come browsing this forum?

Perhaps I'm just jealous because I can't join in the slaughter due to software compatibility issues.

But what I'd really like to know is, does the virtual tour help or hinder the image of the house? How useful is it compared to standard photos of this house?

Using the property reference on the page given above, I believe this is the full advert page on french country cottages: www.french-country-cottages.co.uk/uce/c ... Ref=F74137
(The page won't load without a www in front, else I'd have taken it off to avoid auto-generating a link.) Someone who can actually view the tour should confirm that this actually is the house, though.

Unfortunately, there are no interior photos. So I'm not sure how to compare photos vs. virtual tour in this situation.

For the link that Paolo gave, I think the tour definitely added a little extra something, even though the still photos that were there were very well done.

[tansy]

I agree with Alan and also agree with Fraise...the problem being is that this house is the only one put up for us to see.

But from it we should all gain one thing - look at your house long and hard before doing a virtual tour!

Ouir house on the west coast is a tardis (I believe the police box is due to change !!) I think it may benefit from a virtual tour - but guess what - the roof slopes upstairs...so I shall be viewing it very critically....I did refuse to publish the still photos - so going back to cost factor - this is a very interesting point that has been raised!

[Alan Knighting]

Fraise,

The point I am trying to make is that if a virtual tour is no good it is because a virtual tour itself is no good, not because the property used as an example is not to everyone's liking.

Let's test the concept of a virtual tour on what it might have to offer not on the fact that the example property has sloping ceilings in the bedrooms.

Sloping ceilings have nothing to do with virtual tours other than perhaps being a very good reason for not having one (sloping ceiling or virtual tour - take your pick).

To avoid any doubt my view is that virtual tours can be a very attractive feature but have little to offer those with personal holiday rental Websites. To make the situation worse, it seems that they are not even cross-platform.

There it is, I have had my say. I am now off to contemplate my navel again.

Alan