Life as we know it has been completely turned upside down by this year’s pandemic. It has affected our ability to freely interact with each other, postponed and transformed schooling, and heavily impacted our economy. It has even shut down some businesses all together. So many intricacies of our day to day lives have been drastically changed, and we are all now having to accept what many have labeled, “The New Normal”.
While the pandemic has been a difficult time for everyone, it has been very interesting to see how 3D Virtual Tours have been instrumental in shaping our New Normal. Individuals and businesses alike have been able to utilize this useful modern technology to interact, entertain, and even continue their businesses while still adhering to government guidelines.
In a world that seems to be full of terrible news, we wanted to share some thoughtful and creative ways in which 3D Tours have played a helpful and positive role in today’s environment.
COMMERCIAL & RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE
3D Tours have been used by realtors to show off listings for years now, but their use has seen a 300% increase since the outbreak of COVID-19. Many realtors are utilizing this technology to offer potential buyers the freedom to view a listing from the safety of their home. This is also helping realtors to narrow down prospective buyers to only those that are truly interested, thus saving realtors time in unnecessary appointments.
As a matter of fact, according to Realtor.com, 25% of home shoppers said that they would buy a home without stepping foot in it in April of this year, and that percentage has only risen since then. According to Zillow, 36% of individuals even said that they would be more likely to buy a home completely online because of the pandemic.
The same holds true for commercial real estate. 3D Tours allow for full transparency of a listing and can be accessed by prospects at anytime, anywhere, and on any device. This technology helps brokers to overcome many time consuming challenges in the sell/lease process.
TRAVEL & TOURISM
Many travel and tourism agencies are implementing 3D tours as part of their New Normal since travelling is not an option. According to Forbes, Google Keyword Planner data reports that the search for the term “virtual tour” increased by almost 9,000 searches just from February to March of this year alone.
Prominent sites such as the Sistine Chapel, the Great Wall of China, and even Yosemite are offering viewing access through Virtual Tours. Museums such as the Louvre, and the Smithsonian are offering 3D virtual walkthroughs through each of the museum’s exhibits. Disney World and Universal Studios are offering virtual tours of their parks, and even have virtual theme park rides! While many countries are still sheltered in place or reopening in phases, Virtual Tours are helping a lot of tourist attractions to stay afloat, while keeping future visitors interested and engaged.
ARCHITECTURE, CONSTRUCTION & ENGINEERING
According to a recent study, 89% of those in the AEC industry believe that reality capture is the future of the industry, and 82% believe that a 3D Walkthrough is the best way to communicate job site status. This is not hard to believe since 3D Tours save a tremendous amount of time and effort for AEC professionals. With today’s 3D technology, you can guide anyone directly to a site tour, extract schematic floor plans, take measurements while off-site, perform remote inspections, communicate key milestones quickly, and reduce site visits overall.
3D Tours heavily reduce design and construction costs all while integrating directly with the industry’s existing software such as SketchUp, Revit, AutoCAD, and other BIM Software, as well as BIM360 and Procore.
The list of benefits that 3D Tours provide for the AEC industry has only grown during this year’s pandemic, and the process of digital transformation has been greatly accelerated.
COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES
Spring can be a critical time for college bound students as they make their decisions about where they’d like to attend. Usually this exciting time is filled with trips to different colleges for in-person tours of the campuses. This year, of course, did not allow for normal in-person tours. As an alternative, colleges and universities across the world turned to modern 3D technology for these prospective students.
Virginia Tech’s 3D Tour pictured above.
San Jose State University is one of the many schools that adopted a 3D Tour solution for their prospective students, and even created a “virtual week” out of it back in April. You can experience the tour for yourself here. Virginia Tech is another great example of a school that utilizes 3D Tour Technology, and they do a wonderful job of showing off their beautiful campus here.
HEALTHCARE
Hospitals and medical facilities have a number of reasons to implement 3D Technology. Often the best way to display the benefits of a hospital or healthcare facility is through a walking tour, but it can sometimes be difficult to have in person tours. Patients may not be in a condition to walk, sections of the facility may be closed or off-limits at certain hours, and certain areas such as surgery rooms or intensive care units may not allow visitors at all. All of this was true even before today’s environment changed so drastically.
The St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital recently sent out an email to their subscribers encouraging individuals to tour their beautiful and brightly colored facility, asking their viewers to consider it a “virtual hug”. Within this virtual tour, you are able to view all of the different units within their hospital, hear different stories, learn about their history, and you are also given the opportunity to donate to their cause. The virtual tour was a great way to raise awareness of their facility and teach individuals about who they are. Be sure to check out this unique experience.
AUTO DEALERSHIPS
The process of buying and selling vehicles has been completely transformed this year. The ability to go to a dealership to shop around for vehicles is now limited due to the pandemic, and most establishments will only accept very serious buyers. Many dealerships have even made 3D Tours of their vehicles available for shoppers to view in order to increase buyer interest, and will deliver the vehicle right to your home!
RETAIL & SMALL BUSINESSES
Today’s modern technology has made it possible for many retail establishments to survive this economic crisis. Not only have shops and small businesses taken their products and services to the internet, they are now able to implement 3D Technology to show off their physical shop, provide information about their business directly within the tour itself, and link to their products and services using Tags.
We recently scanned a great little local Herndon shop, Crystalis Treasures. They now are able to show off their space in 3D directly on their website’s homepage.
WEDDING & EVENT VENUES
This pandemic has completely shattered the wedding industry. For a while, it seemed like every day you would log on to social media to see yet another disappointed bride post about having to postpone her wedding. With COVID cases continuing to rise, and all weddings and events canceled or drastically cut back until further notice, venues have taken an enormous hit. Even so, many venues have taken this opportunity to pause and rethink their marketing strategy.
The ability to allow an interested couple to view a venue without having to leave their home is essential given today’s conditions. A lot of venues have opted to have their spaces scanned in an effort to allow couples to take a lifelike tour without having to be there in person. This was a strategic move for venues even before the pandemic turned our world upside down, and is necessary now more than ever.
Check out this beautiful wedding venue we recently scanned in Purcellville!
FAMILIES AND HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Virtual Tours have not only succeeded in aiding a number of business industries this year, but they have also helped families and individuals find creative ways to keep entertained while having to stay at home.
One parent created an entire virtual escape room out of a 3D Virtual Tour of his family’s home for his kids. Nasa offers virtual tours of their research centers, observatories, the Hubble Space Telescope mission operations center, and the International Space Station. Along with museum virtual tours, many art galleries have also made their spaces virtually accessible, and there are a number of zoos and aquariums that have made virtual tours available as well!
When it comes to virtual technology, the possibilities are truly endless. 3D virtual capabilities are growing with every passing day, and the current pandemic created a strong push towards the widespread usage of this technology.
How have virtual tours helped you this year? Tell us in the comments below!
What could a 3D Virtual Tour do for You?
Virtual Tours are beneficial to any and every industry. Nova Virtual Tours has been the leading provider of virtual tours in the Northern Virginia area for over 21 years, and we have helped hundreds of clients show off their spaces to attract potential clients and customers.
Request a quote today and we will get back to you within 24-48 hours.