Marriott Hotels is testing a “VRoom Service” at the New York Marriott Marquis and London Marriott Park Lane locations. This unique guest service allows guests to order inspiring virtual reality (VR) experiences through a Samsung Gear VR headset (and accompanying headphones) that are delivered to the guest rooms on loan for up to 24-hours. Created through a collaboration with Samsung Electronics America, “VRoom Service” is a tremendous example of how virtual reality can be used in the travel industry and the latest in a series of innovations by the Marriott brand that are changing how people travel.
Launched along with the “VRoom Service” is a virtual travel content platform designed for virtual reality–“VR Postcards.” These are immersive travel stories that users experience in 360° 3D via a virtual reality headset, either through the new VRoom Service or to the general public via Samsung Milk VR premium video service on a Samsung Gear VR headset.
Travel expands our minds and helps push our imagination. Our guests want to be in inventive spaces that help foster their creativity and thinking. VRoom combines storytelling with technology, two things that are important to next generation travelers.
— Matthew Carroll, Vice President at Marriott Hotels
Each story follows a real traveler on a journey to a unique destination; viewers are immersed in the destination and hear the travelers’ personal stories about why travel is important to them. The first three VR Postcards were shot in the Andes Mountains in Chile, an ice cream shop in Rwanda, and in the bustling streets of Beijing.
Marriott has again worked with Framestore’s Virtual Reality Studio to develop the technologies and techniques used in creating the VR Postcards experiences after the success of an immersive 4-D virtual reality travel experience with “The Marriott Teleporter” earlier this year.
VRoom Service is one of the first business applications of Samsung’s Gear VR technology. We’re tremendously excited to be collaborating with an innovative brand like Marriott on creating the future for travelers.
— Matt Apfel, Vice President, Strategy and Creative Content at Samsung Media Solutions Center America
More examples of the technological advances being used by Marriott Hotels to push the boundaries of innovation to create experiences that inspire its guests can be seen on the Travel Brilliantly website (www.travelbrilliantly.com) created by Marriott Hotels to showcase some of these innovations.
