While most people associate VR with gaming, other sectors are jumping on board
certain contracted services because they believe the airline or hotel might not meet their standards. This was, for example, the case when Middle Eastern carriers launched their airlines, or when airlines today in- troduce new products – such as American Airlines’ new business class – and people believe the old product is ‘sub-standard’.” When it comes to hotel facilities, Sabre’s Everstin believes VR in the meetings and events sector is another method of showing venues to businesses. “It’s a good way to view features that would otherwise not have been visible – for example, seating arrangements and distances between rooms,” he says. For Paul Saggar, director of digital strat- egy at Capita Travel and Events, the buzz of VR is such that the technology could itself act as a major draw for businesses searching for something different. “There’s a lot of excitement in the live
events industry in particular,” he points out. “VR experiences offered by venues, hotels, airlines and destinations could benefit the incentive travel market – where the experience itself is being sold. And there’s a buzz about a new opportunity to improve
delegate experiences through capturing and sharing event content.” But, he warns, consideration must be given to the delegate experience first, and then the technology: “It must add value; if used as a gimmick the technology will just distract from the message and content.”
HELPING WITH CHOICE While hotels will be keen to show off their more luxurious product – whether in an immersive or out-of-this world style – busi- ness travellers mustn’t entirely forget the ‘reality’ part of VR. “VR can help travellers understand the
value of ancillary products, and help them to choose these accordingly – as long as it is in policy,” says Nestlé’s Zuber. “Content should be controlled. I don’t want my corporate travellers to lose productive time browsing or purchasing additional or different products than contracted – for example, a ‘superior’ room when using VR – when they should only book a ‘standard’ room. Content has to correspond to reality.” Everstin agrees: “When travelling for
leisure, people choose hotels often because they want to spend a lot of time in them enjoying the facilities. For business, it’s based more on location and convenience, so there may not be as much need to get so acquainted with the premises.” Whatever the product, TMCs looking for a head start with this potential game- changing technology should already be exploring how to exploit the growing range of try-before-you-buy experiences coming on to the market – virtually or otherwise.
Virtual meetings: ‘Headsets are good for venue sourcing, but not for
replacing the real thing’ Having experienced VR for himself, Toby Guest, Bayer’s global strategic sourcing manager, is for the time being ruling out the possibility of conducting business meetings in a VR environment...
“I’D CERTAINLY USE VR TO EXPLORE A MEETINGS VENUE – looking at meeting spaces, breakout rooms, guest rooms and other facilities. However, I do not see it as a replacement for the meeting itself, only to assist in its planning. I would not use VR for anything business-critical, as beyond the gimmick I do not believe VR provides a personal or physically comfortable experience for the ‘attendee’. “Will organisations soon invest in VR themselves to save travel costs? No, not until technology moves on to your more ‘Star Trek Holodeck’ experience. In the meantime, having a group of attendees sitting in a room with headsets attached to their foreheads is not something I see catching on just yet. It may be fine for gaming and short, one-off experiences, but having worn this kit myself, it’s not something that comfortably transcends the five-minute mark optically, physically or mentally.”
BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM
IN BRIEF
■ BRITISH AIRWAYS has introduced multiple mobile boarding passes. Previously, each person had to show their individual boarding pass on their own phone when going through security or boarding a flight; now, up to eight individual mobile boarding passes can be
viewed on one phone, provided everyone is travelling together with the same booking reference number.
■ HILTON AND UBER have announced an expansion of their partnership, which was first launched last year. Hilton HHonors members can now order an Uber
from the hotel’s app, and Uber riders can view their hotel stay and check-in information.
■ THE GBTA FOUNDATION, the education and research arm of the Global Business Travel Association, has launched a new travel risk management assessment tool. The organisation said the tool is designed to help companies evaluate their programmes and identify opportunities for improvement. The tool assesses each key performance area of a programme in greater detail and provides specific recommendations.
BBT MAY/JUNE 2016 21
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