Is a VR site survey as good as an on-site survey?

As VR onsite inspections continue to improve as the technology improves—and more venues join in on VR onsite inspections—are meeting planners ready to ditch the IRL version?

Walk the show floor at any convention industry conference and you’re bound to see at least one convention and visitors bureau offering a fun and snazzy virtual reality (VR) city tour that soars above skyscrapers and zooms in on close-ups of convention centers.

While they can be a fun gimmick for trade shows, most agree that VR’s most obvious applicability is for virtual site inspections. Planners who are always pressed for time like this idea, and with more and more hotels and conference centers offering VR site survey options, can VR site surveys really replace real-life site surveys?

Few would argue that VR live inspections are no better than viewing still images or even videos on a website, as they do give you a fully rendered 360-degree, more immersive experience than images alone. This may be why, according to a survey by BIzzabo, 70% of venues are starting to offer VR tours of their venues.

One of the earliest adopters of the technology was the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, which offers virtual tours of every floor of its 160,000 square feet of meeting space. Another is the W Hotel in Rome, which offers VR tours of meeting spaces, guest rooms and rooftop views.

VR on-site inspections can also save time and money. On the planners’ side, VR allows them to explore venues around the world without leaving the office, saving time and travel costs. The venue also saves time due to having to have staff on site to conduct site inspections, as well as the costs involved in hosting potential clients. In addition, VR site visits can help shorten the sales cycle, allowing customers to make decisions faster and easier.

But while VR technology does offer many advantages, most planners and venues say it still falls short of delivering a fully immersive experience. While high-resolution monitors and wide-field headphones can provide an immersive experience, and 3D audio systems can create fairly realistic soundscapes, they still can’t fully replicate the ambient sounds, air quality, and tactility of the place.

Additionally, VR site visit experiences are more curated than on-site tours, so planners don’t have the opportunity to fumble around on their own and explore all the nooks and crannies, let alone have candid conversations with guests, staff or even other session hosts and attendees at the venue.

So while VR site inspections are a great way to sift through an initial list of venues to come up with a shortlist of venues you’d actually like to experience in person, planners can’t just put on a headset and get the same answer to this question as an in-person site visit. The experience may still not be possible, especially for important events, where planners need to be able to assess the specifics to ensure the venue meets all its requirements.

As technology continues to advance, the gap between virtual and in-person inspections may shrink, but for now, VR is a complementary tool in the meeting planning process rather than a complete replacement for traditional on-site inspections.

You may also be interested in…

9 key trends driving the future of meeting spaces

AMEX GBT: The trends are as follows

Trends shaping the future of hospitality