Imagine visiting the Tower of London or Maui’s Wai’anapanapa Black Sand Beach … without ever leaving your office. That’s exactly the technology that virtual reality headsets like Oculus Rift DK2 offers. Now, the innovative tech brand’s technology is being used by Marriott to demo a virtual travel experience.
The “Teleporter” is a traveling device set up by to help guests see, hear and feel what it’s like to be in destinations halfway across the globe and at Marriott Hotels of the future.
The device launched in New York City earlier this week, where it parked outside City Hall and allowed just married couples to try their hand at a virtual reality honeymoon.
To create a virtual travel experience that truly feels like “being there,” video effects and creative content studio Framestore and experiential marketing agency Relevent, used 3-D, 360 degree live-action video, and then mixed that video with photo real CGI (computer-generated imagery) and 4-D elements such as heat, wind and mist.
During the 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 lifelike.
Want to test it out for yourself? Here’s where you can go:
- 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
We don’t think this will replace real travel anytime soon, but it’s certainly a fun way to test out a new destination or take a quick break from reality!