Marriott Hotels teamed up with Relevent and Framestore’s Virtual Reality Studio to launch VR Postcards, “intimate and immersive travel stories that users experience in 360 3D via a virtual reality headset.”
The first three VR Postcards were shot in the Andes Mountains in Chile, an ice cream shop in Rwanda and the streets of Beijin, but more will follow. You can get an idea for the postcards in the behind-the-scenes video above, but it’s hard to tell without being given the full experience if this is just a cheap gimmick or something more.
“Travel expands our minds and helps push our imagination,” said Matthew Carroll, vice president, Marriott Hotels. “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.”
The VR Postcards offering will be available to Marriott guests partaking in VRoom Service, another new offering from Marriott described as “a first-of-its-kind guest service that allows guests to order inspiring virtual reality experiences to their rooms,” as well as the general public (or, more accurately, those with Samsung Gear VR headsets) via the Samsung Milk VR premium video service. The program is being tested at the New York Marriott Marquis and London Marriott Park Lane, but should receive a wider release shortly.