When it comes to the metaverse the big question on everyone’s lips in travel is: Do we really need to engage with this? Some are even think the whole thing could be ‘virtual insanity’, pointing out that nothing could ever replace real-world experiences. There’s certainly lots to suggest that all but the most forward-thinking of travel companies might want to wait a few years before making their move.
Firstly because there are quite a lot of barriers stopping consumers from trying out the metaverse right now. You need expensive kit you can’t buy just anywhere (Oculus Quest 2 headsets start at €300 ($297) and can’t be bought in just any electronics store). Then setting yourself up involves a tutorial and, guess what, you need a Facebook account. An app is obligatory, as is high-speed internet.
Basically, the user is several hours in before going much beyond the basic interface. Headsets are also heavy on the head and some complain that certain experiences make them nauseous.
Most surprising of all is that the metaverse everyone is talking about in the media – that of SimCity type worlds – basically doesn’t exist yet.
Decentraland is the one gaining all the news, but there isn’t a virtual reality version yet (or even a mobile or tablet version). They also require crypto coins to pay for anything, yet another quite big barrier to entry for most.
Make no mistake about it, the modern virtual reality experience is out-of-this world (no pun intended). You are literally transported to other planets and feel like you are physically present due to not only the graphics, but the fact that you can touch things. But nothing that I can see currently really goes beyond gaming applications.
So is there anything happening yet that’s relevant to travel? Of course, there are some exceptions. There’s an App called Wander that lets you, well, wander through Google Maps Street View. That’s not a bad way for someone to experience a destination and in time could be enhanced.
Meanwhile, some hotels are putting themselves in the Metaverse too, for example Riu’s flagship hotel in the Plaza de España in Madrid can be experienced virtually. Meetings can take place virtually too, but you do need to have your own avatar (yet another hurdle).
Could this mean that the Metaverse will just be a fad that travel doesn’t need to embrace?
Thinking that way would be like dismissing the Internet in 1995 would have been. In fact there a great many applications for its use that could be highly relevant to the travel industry. Certainly at the inspiration stage of a booking experience the metaverse is going to be very influential. It won’t take too long before a failure to have a metaverse presence for a destination or travel service would be like not having a website now (or even 10 years ago).
For intermediaries it becomes not just another point of sale, but one that could be really powerful in selling – taking ‘let me show you some pictures’ to a whole new level. Likewise providers themselves can sell in this space too, direct to the public. Imagine being able not only to inspect a hotel room but to test the bed or request different sheets?
There’s also a great chance to enhance customer service. Imagine if you could experience the restaurant ambiance, the interior decoration, and the customer service before making a reservation? Want to see what’s on the menu? You literally can, perhaps in real-time, so that nothing that’s run out is offered by mistake, or you can pick which of the two steak cuts they have left you’d prefer.
Or maybe fancy some well-deserved ‘me time’ at the hotel spa but wonder how the space and the service would be? Let the augmented Spa Manager to show you how. It also makes ‘the manager’ much more accessible for a (virtual) face-to-face chat when needed.
Giving VR sets to passengers on airplanes to give the illusion of space is also one of many other great uses too being explored currently. No doubt more uses will be invented quickly that we can’t even begin to imagine now.
In other words then, the question for travel companies is not should we be embracing the metaverse but rather a question of when. There certainly will be a lot of winners and losers to talk about when someone writes the history of the metaverse 20 years from now, but overall travel should come out of this as a winner.