In-room entertainment options are growing at Marriott Hotels. The company announced Wednesday that it has launched a new two-week trial of “VRoom Service,” allowing guests to order virtual reality experiences that can be enjoyed from the comfort of their own rooms. The service is currently only available at the New York Marriott Marquis and London Marriott Park Lane properties.
VRoom Service, which comes from a collaboration between Marriott Hotels and Samsung Electronics America, allows guests to request VR headsets and headphones for a 24-hour loan. Once the equipment is delivered, the user will be able to take off on virtual journeys using Marriott’s new virtual travel content platform, VR Postcards.
Also launched Wednesday, VR Postcards are stories that users are immersed in and can experience in 3D; they allow users to follow real travelers in fascinating locations via virtual reality. So far, VR Postcards have been shot in Chile’s Andes Mountains, a Rwandan ice cream shop, and among the hustle and bustle of Beijing’s streets. Although there’s no shortage of sites to see in either London or New York, we can definitely see the appeal of adding a virtual trip to your travel itinerary.
“Our guests want to be in inventive spaces that help foster their creativity and thinking,” said Matthew Carroll, vice president, Marriott Hotels. “VRoom combines storytelling with technology, two things that are important to next generation travelers.”
Marriott has tested a variety of innovative technology to improve the guest experience, from making Netflix available on its in-room TVs to introducing an app to help travelers meet one another. It was even the first hotel to accept Apple Pay. It’ll be interesting to see how the test period goes, and if VRoom Service gets a wider roll-out.
