In a journey to explore the future of travel, Marriott Hotels is taking a leap into virtual reality by teleporting travelers to the beaches of Hawaii and downtown London.
To create a virtual travel experience that truly feels like “being there,” Marriott’s partners, video effects and creative content studio Framestore and experiential marketing agency Relevent, to pioneer several new virtual reality innovations. This included developing a new technique for capturing 3-D, 360 degree live-action video, and then mixing that video with photo real CGI (computer-generated imagery) and 4-D elements such as heat, wind and mist.
The result is an unprecedented depth of immersion, a virtual reality experience that delivers the feeling of actually traveling to Hawaii’s Wai’anapanapa Black Sand Beach in Maui and London, seen from the dizzying heights of Tower 42. To learn more and see a behind-the-scenes video of the making of the virtual reality travel experience, go to TravelBrilliantly.com/our-innovations/oculus-get-teleported.
“Marriott Hotels is pioneering the use of innovative technologies that will transform the guest experience to heights unseen in the current reality experience in unprecedented ways, “said Michael Dail, vice president, Marriott Hotels Brand Marketing. “Marriott seized on virtual reality and teleportation to give the next generation of travelers the clear cut notion that more amazing travel experiences are coming and to encourage them to co-create the future of travel with us on TravelBrilliantly.com, where their best ideas enter Marriott’s innovation pipeline. Together, we are pushing the limits of what is possible.”
During the Marriott Virtual Travel Experience, guests enter the Teleporter, where they will put on virtual reality headsets and headphones to be completely immersed in a virtual world. From there, they will visit a virtual version of a new Marriott Greatroom lobby, and then virtually travel to a black sand beach in Maui, Hawaii and to the top of a skyscraper in downtown London, England. While “traveling,” 4-D elements kick in – the feeling of the warm sun on your skin, breeze in your hair, rumble of waves under foot and ocean spray in your face – to make the experience feel extremely life-like.
The Teleporter is touring eight select Marriott properties from September to November, offering hotel guests and the public the chance to teleport themselves at Marriott Hotels in New York, Boston, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Dallas, San Diego, San Jose and San Francisco.
- September 19-23: New York Marriott Marquis
- September 26-29: Boston Marriott Cambridge
- October 2-5: Marriott Marquis Washington DC
- October 9-12: Atlanta Marriott Marquis
- October 17-20: Dallas Marriott City Center
- October 24-27: San Diego Marriott Marquis
- November 6-9: San Jose Marriott
- November 13-16: San Francisco Marriott Marquis
Since the launch of Marriott Hotels’ transformational journey with its Travel Brilliantly campaign in June 2013 – Marriott Hotels has been engaging guests, experts and influencers to join with the brand in co-creating the future state of travel by asking “How can we make travel more brilliant?” The results are tangible with innovations including the brand’s new stylish, modern Greatroom lobbies, mobile check-in and checkout from anywhere, a mobile app for chatting between guests and property hosts, a healthy vending machine with fresh food on demand and digital power sources to juice up devices. Marriott is also co-creating with unexpected partners like the MIT Mobile Experience Lab. Marriott and MIT students – future travelers – co-created Six Degrees to reinvent the hotel lobby as a social hub, using a mobile app to connect people with similar backgrounds and interests.
