How Grand Velas Riviera Maya Used a Virtual Experience to Boost Bookings

Finding a creative and engaging way to stand out in a crowded market is no small task. Hoteliers and hotel markets know this particularly well. With the growth of Airbnb and similar peer-to-peer companies, hoteliers have learned that in order to compete, they need to highlight the unique features that make their property right for potential guests.

One way hotels are doing this is through virtual experiences. Virtual experiences enable potential visitors to explore a hotel and its surrounding area to get a real understanding of what it’d be like to book a stay. This is accomplished through a combination of media, including traditional photos and videos, as well as panoramas and virtual reality.

In 2015, Grand Velas Riviera Maya partnered with YouVisit to add a virtual experience to its website. The goals for adding the virtual experience were to:

  • Reach a substantial number of guests
  • Increase engagement with potential guests
  • Activate a marketing asset with a significant conversion rate

Throughout 2015, YouVisit monitored Grand Velas Riviera Maya’s virtual experience. What we found after examining a year’s worth of data was that the luxury resort’s virtual experience achieved its goals, including being viewed more than 136,000 times. That’s more than 370 times a day.

To read a complete breakdown of how Grand Velas Riviera Maya’s virtual experience performed in 2015, click here.