The Marriott Marquis in New York City has a free trip just for you. Choose between the black sand beaches of Hawaii or the top of London’s Tower 42 skyscraper. It’s free for everyone, but you can only go for roughly 100 seconds. How is this possible? Marriott Hotels and their marketing team at Relevant Partners joined up with Framestore, the virtual reality experts behind the Ascend the Wall Game of Thrones experience, to create the first ever Marriott Virtual Reality Teleporters.
Turning consumers’ conventional travel research on its head, a step inside the teleporter offers a realistic, 4-D experience simulating a walk on a soft, sandy beach or staggering views from atop a 42-story building. Air pumps and mounted nozzles create the sensation of a misty sea breeze while “scent dispensers” transport you to an ocean-side bungalow.
Sitting in front of your computer screen, browsing travel site after travel site, doesn’t quite have that same effect. You can even re-watch your brief trip on YouTube, courtesy of the teleporter’s cameras that capture every morsel of your dream vacation.
The visuals alone do not do these destinations justice, but could the added sensations of tropical temperatures and towering heights be enough motivation to travel? Will the experience be enough to inspire not only travel to these high-priced locations, but loyalty to the Marriott brand? Michael Dial, the Marriott’s VP of global brand marketing, certainly hopes so. After 3 months of production time, the Teleporters were one of the most labor-intensive — and most expensive — entertainment projects ever created.
If the Marriott is going to see a return on this enormous investment (just how much they’ve spent is still under wraps), these Teleporters will have to be placed strategically in each city to target the right people. Otherwise, it’s just a fun way to pass 100 seconds.