Imagine yourself checking into a hotel, stopping for a moment to appreciate the understated beauty of the lobby, it’s vaulted ceiling and elegant yet tropical decor. Through the lobby and past the pool, you pass by people relaxing, others swimming. You hear the sounds of the islands – steel drums and carefree island songs.  Walking through landscaped terraces to the beach, you take in the bright beautiful day.  There you stand, watching the waves, taking in the view and you begin to feel the calming effects of the ocean and shore.  NOT SO FAST!  You’re sitting at your computer experiencing the magic of Virtual Reality (VR) through a CD-ROM visual brochure. 

“Go there before you get there,” is, according to David Chesler, the mantra of today’s business and leisure travel planner. Chesler is General Manager of South Florida based HotelView Corporation. HotelView produces Web site enhancement of narrated video tours with hyperlinks to a network of distributors, i.e., travel sites, hubs, reservation providers, tour operators. The intermediaries will include HotelView because rather than charge a commission, HotelView is paid a small fee for each website “hit”. 

The future is now!  Interactive media has come to the hospitality industry; virtual reality marketing and website “hits” are the sales calls that are taking our industry into the new millenium. As technology has advanced and all of our worlds have become smaller, so too have the dynamics of hospitality sales changed, becoming more technologically advanced ---- and much more effective. 

An age-old axiom of the hotel industry is that the most opportune time to book a piece of business is immediately following a site inspection.  “The hotel will sell itself.”  That site inspection entails the time and money involved in bringing the meeting planner and/or decision-maker to the property.   More often, our sales efforts are relegated to the traditional, expensive and far less productive sales’ call to the client using print media, trade shows using printed brochures, etc.  No longer a futuristic potential, virtual reality (VR) and CD-ROM marketing are very much available today. The site inspection takes place on the client’s territory, by way of digital corporate communications. 

Citing the time value of the reduced number of site visits, Chuck Wilson, Executive Director of National Systems’ Contractors Association, says he relies heavily on interactive media.  “Why would I go on a site visit when I get the same information by CD-ROM?” 

One of the pioneers in CD-ROM technology for hotels is HyperDisk Media, an Irvine, California based digital media provider.  Although not exclusive to the hospitality industry, HyperDisk has been active in this venue for five years.  For clients such as the Hotel del Coronado, the Miami Intercontinental, the Queen Mary, and others, HyperDisk Media has completed full comprehensive presentations utilizing virtual reality and 360° panoramic views. 

The interactive paradigm of digital brochures makes them much more effective than video, according to Nick Singer, President of HyperDisk Media.  The beauty of these presentations is that you can “build a theme, create the environment and atmosphere you want to convey, and present your property in that manner.”  Combining sights and sounds of your property in a dynamic, interactive resource, which the consumer can then navigate, provides a medium for all the senses.  You can’t taste the food on the plates, but when you are “on the beach” in front of the Sheraton Moana Surfrider, you can hear the surf.  You see the ocean breeze play at the windows as you navigate a 360° tour of a guestroom. 

“We have a passive nature and looking at things is very effective,” says Singer. The interactive environment is also a natural for other departments in the hotel.  HyperDisk Media has produced corporate training videos, wherein the adaptive nature of the medium provides individualized testing; the concurrent scoring provides the employer with a real understanding of an individual’s aptitudes and abilities. 

HyperDisk also has a broad medical-oriented clientele; this technology is particularly effective in the medical laser and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) fields. 

Meeting planners are looking for high-tech solutions to meeting needs; they want video conferencing, fiber optics communications’ systems, etc.  Using “digital brochures” or other interactive media sends the signal that your hotel has the level of sophistication and the technology available to service their business. Chuck Wilson says virtual tours are now commonplace; “if a hotel is to be competitive in the future, they have to have make use of this medium.” 

There are more benefits to this technology than just reduced time and travel; interactive media allows the client to concentrate on and re-visit the areas that are important to their needs.  Also, in many instances, one person does not make the decision or the booking; this medium facilitates complex and multi-level decisions; all involved become familiar with the destination hotel, and can feel more comfortable in advance that the property will suit their needs. 
CD-ROMs and other interactive marketing techniques can become part of your entire sales package, used much the same way as print media.  Because they are more adaptable, CDs can be used in the following ways. 

• As a sales force tool via laptop computer;
• As a direct mailer to prospective clients;
• As a centerpiece or attention grabber at tradeshows or conventions;
• As a press kit or promotional and marketing packages;
• As a magazine insert;
• As the core of a comprehensive World Wide Web marketing page
• As a Digital Postcard sold in gift shops. 

Destination Hotel Resorts (DHR), the Colorado based owner of 23 major properties is very oriented to digital marketing.  A sister company, Destination Europe has up-scale properties throughout England and Europe.  Dave Metz, Manager, Marketing Services for Destination reports that they use the medium not only for sales and marketing, but for employee orientation and training programs.  “Looking for an emotional connection, our orientation piece makes the existing employees feel proud about their participation, and makes the new employees very excited about being a part of Destination Hotel Resorts. “  Proud, motivated employees are a valuable resource.   So too, according to Metz are the digital and interactive environments as marketing tools. 

A Destination Hotel Resorts website to order the CD-ROMs averages 5,000 orders per quarter; the company also uses digital technology to provide in-room newsletters.  CD-ROMs are sold in the gift shops as souvenirs of their stay.  Metz says, “Having a Sales Manager leave a CD behind on a sales call, after viewing it with the client, is powerful.  It says ‘this hotel is high-tech’, and meeting planners want that.  People don’t toss out CD-ROMs.” 

There is still a perception among some in our industry that meeting planners aren’t conversant with the technology.  This appears to be unfounded, as many meeting planners see it not only as an option, but, in greater numbers as a necessity.  Tom Wilke, Director Midwest Sales for the Saddlebrook Resort, says that “four years ago, we ‘contemplated’ using this technology.  Today, it’s a no-brainer.  In tracking the source of our business over the years, ‘CD-ROM’ is coming up more and more often.”   As to the meeting planners, Tom relates a story of a special meeting for a national trade association.   The planner was unable to come to the property, but using a CD-ROM on a laptop, projected it to a screen for the decision-making group and booked the business. 

There is a proliferation of providers laying claim to high-tech services aimed at marketing hospitality products.  Given the investment in the technology and in your property’s marketing effort, and reputation, the selection of an experienced vendor is important.  Some important considerations: 

• Use a company that knows the hotel business.
• Use a company that has experience
• Make sure the company you select does not have a cookie-cutter, or one-size fits all approach.

Stephen P. Taylor, CHA, is president of TaylorGroup. His 25 years of hospitality experience provide an invaluable background for clients and readers alike.