It’s been a difficult few years for hospitality. In between strict COVID-19 measures and hesitant guests, resort owners and hoteliers have had difficulty achieving their business goals. Though life is slowly returning to normal, the hospitality sector still has a long way to go.

A few lucky ones have developed creative adaptability and managed to thrive.

Among other original and flexible solutions to the pandemic, virtual marketing has been able to keep the traveling spirit alive. People have successfully replaced cars and planes with scrolls and taps. Gorgeous imagery felt almost as tangible as the real thing throughout social media.

The technique responsible for creating these hyperrealistic images is called 3D rendering.

No, 3D rendering is not the same as photography. It may not be easy to notice, but the sunkissed resort above is fully computer-generated. This kind of imagery has been helping other resorts and hotels survive COVID-19 through marketing and virtual travel. Here’s how.

Rendering lets you present physical space in a digital environment.

During the global lockdown, the internet had become a gathering place for people from all walks of life worldwide. Every business unable to see that as an opportunity to enter the digital market has failed in real life. Everyone and everything is online.

It’s only natural that this rush to the digital environment has created fierce competition in every sector. The digital presence and competitive edge are both measured in imagery when it comes to the hospitality industry. The goal is simple – making people want to travel again.

That is easily achieved with photorealistic 3D rendering.

As a hospitality professional, you can use rendering to showcase your physical space in a digital world, but that’s only the beginning. This kind of imagery allows you to blur the lines between what’s real and what’s not, engaging the travelers and rekindling their spirit.

Easy to highlight what makes your hotel stand out

3D rendering is a sophisticated and powerful marketing tool.

Take a look at the render above. After being isolated for a couple of long years, you can’t stay immune to a sight like that. The summer sky is recalling fond memories, and you’re resisting the temptation to book a ticket to somewhere sunny and peaceful. Then, there’s that pool.

No doubt the highlight of this resort, the sunkissed pool, is the shining star of the render. It is an excellent example of how you can use 3D rendering to showcase the best qualities of your resort or hotel. The more realistic it looks, the better. Authenticity gets more likes and shares.

That is the goal of your marketing strategy right now – to ensure competitive advantage.

Rendering can help you secure that by showing off your unique selling point. Once it gets you the attention you need, you can pair it with other marketing devices to convert your social media followers to actual guests. For the time being, allow yourself to focus on digital visitors.

Adding a variety of media for a more immersive experience

Realistic imagery is not the only digital tool beneficial for your hospitality business. Until COVID is officially over, the fact is that leisure travel will be less frequent than before. Most hospitality professionals don’t have the luxury to sit and wait for that to happen.

The next best thing to actual travel is virtual experience.

To achieve a complete, immersive, and life-like travel experience in the digital environment, you need more than just one media. 3D rendering is an excellent place to start. On top of that, you can add other elements that help increase the thrill and authenticity of virtual travel.

For example, you can complement a 3D render of your star feature with a short video and a blog post. This variety of media forms gives you more space for conveying your marketing message. It also allows you to target different audiences and include multiple CTAs.

Why virtual travel is better than venue photography

The primary purpose of 3D rendering is to showcase designs that are yet to be built. This application is as necessary as it is effective in terms of marketing. However, when it comes to hotels and resorts that already exist, the question arises – why render something that you can photograph?

Aren’t photographs more authentic and less expensive than renders?

Not necessarily.

A lot can go wrong during a photo session. For summer and winter resorts alike, weather conditions are a big problem. Hospitality professionals can hardly hope for the perfect photo in the scorching sun or snow. Clouds and bleak weather are not any better.

3D rendering eliminates all these uncertainties, but that’s not all. Hyperrealism is a distinctive trait that’s hard to achieve with a camera. That’s what potential visitors want – an image that captures how the place looks and how it would feel to be there.

More often than not, renders are simply better-looking than venue photography.

Preview opportunities, events, upgrades, and more

We’ve already mentioned that the primary purpose of 3D rendering is to show how something will look, not how it looks at the moment. That is another thing that hospitality can use to its advantage. A hospitality business must always look forward.

Novelty is appreciated in every competitive market, including hospitality, with businesses regularly renewing or upgrading their offers to survive. A fresh color palette and decor are just as important as brand new amenities and features. Anything new is welcome.

It’s a good thing that 3D renders can capture your plans for the future.

Conclusion

3D rendering treads the fine line between digital and the real world, making it a picture-perfect tool for this moment in history. The reality is that many passionate travelers are not ready to remove their masks yet. Until travel is in its full swing again, hospitality must embrace digital.

Renders are realistic enough to turn virtual travel into profit, which counts for something.  

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