When a potential guest stumbles upon your park online, you have a matter of seconds to grab their attention and keep it. Maybe they’re scoping out a family road trip. Maybe they’re planning a reunion or just want to get away for the weekend. Whatever their reason, they’re likely scrolling through dozens of options, trying to decide which place feels right.
Unlike traditional photos or videos, a 360 tour is made up of panoramic images that are digitally stitched together to create a seamless, navigable view of a space. Users can click and drag to look in any direction, up, down, and all around, and move through different areas, much like using Google Street View. These tours often include clickable info points, and floor plans giving guests an immersive understanding of the property. They “walk” down your gravel paths, past your shaded tent sites, take a look inside your rental cabins, and pan across the lake as the sun sets in your real sky.
They’re not guessing what it’s like to stay at your park. They’re already there.
This is the power of a virtual tour.
Today’s traveler is digitally savvy and visually driven. A study conducted by Invision Studio found that properties with virtual tours receive 87% more bookings compared to those without and another study found visitors spent an average of 5-10 minutes longer on websites that featured virtual tours compared to those that did not. (Vivestia)
Why? Because people crave confidence. And there’s no better way to build that trust than to show, not tell.
Let’s say a mom named Erin is looking for a spot to take her family camping this summer. She’s got a browser full of tabs open — GoCampingAmerica listings, KOAs, state parks, hotels, etc.
She lands on your website and sees a button: Take a Virtual Tour.
Curious, she clicks.
Suddenly, she’s standing at your main lodge. She scrolls forward to see the bathhouse (clean, modern, a relief). She turns around and explores the cabin sites. She jumps ahead to check out the playground. Her daughter leans over her shoulder to admire the splash pad.
In under two minutes, Erin has seen more of your park than any single photo gallery could show her. She feels confident. Her questions are answered. She doesn’t wonder anymore, she knows your park is the right fit.
One of the most powerful aspects of a virtual tour is that it works around the clock. It’s your personal tour guide and it doesn’t need a day off. Whether someone is browsing at 2 p.m. or 2 a.m., your park is open and ready for them to explore.
As more and more guests rely on digital tools to guide their travel decisions, adding a virtual tour to your marketing strategy is a competitive edge. Parks that embrace this technology position themselves as transparent and guest-focused.
That’s where services like Campsite360 and TillerXR come in — both proud OHI Supplier Members offering virtual tour solutions tailored to the Outdoor Hospitality Industry.
Campsite360 visits your park to create high-resolution, interactive tours and offers OHI members a 20% discount on their services, while TillerXR provides flexible options including a build-it-yourself plan and the ability to add site booking links, which you can learn more about here.
The result is a powerful visual storytelling tool that you can embed on your website, share in emails, post on social media, and include in your listings on GoCampingAmerica.com and beyond.
A virtual tour is a marketing tool. It’s an invitation. It says: Come on in. Let us show you around.
And sometimes, that’s all a guest needs to say yes.
