Since 2023, our team has created over 500 virtual tours, covering a wide range of facilities including libraries, schools, community centres and town halls. Virtual tours are ideal for showcasing your venue to potential hirers and visitors, as well as helping existing hirers comply with any accessibility requirements their users may have.

Here are eight of our top tips for managing and creating the most effective and efficient project:

1. Make sure staff know what to expect. It is not unknown to turn up to a venue and have confused staff looking back at you! Make sure they are informed what will happen to facilitate a smooth onsite capture. If a public building, like a library, put posters up informing members of the public that filming is taking place.

2. Remove seasonal decorations. To give as much longevity as possible to your tour, ensure you have removed the Christmas tree and Spring bunting. Just like decorations, out-of-date posters or branded items from past events will make your tour appear outdated, so it is wise to remove or hide them.

3. Tidy in advance. A little obvious, but in our experience, it doesn’t always happen. Make sure the building is as well presented as possible. Think about the arrangement of furniture – be creative and help potential hirers and users really get an idea of how the space could work for them. Edits can be made to hide and tidy smaller items, such as misplaced litter, but it is always better to invest some time in tidying your spaces beforehand.

4. Consider what you want to show and its relevance to the user. Do you want to include the toilets? Are there multiple entrances? Are some areas for staff only? Is there outdoor space worth capturing, exit routes only or pathways into the building? It is wise to “over capture” as it is easier (and cheaper!) to remove the shots you decide you don’t need, as opposed to arranging another visit.

5. Use information points to display text and images. This will signpost the virtual visitor to certain features or services they can access. Make sure you use plain language so they are easy to understand. Link to relevant URLs for further information. This can drive the accessibility benefits.

6. Keep doors open. Open doors are more inviting and support the natural journey through a building, rather than teleporting through closed doors. By contrast, keep doors closed for areas that will be inaccessible.

7. Test neutrally. When reviewing the initial tour and considering the user journey, imagine that you have never stepped foot there before. Does it flow naturally? Are there confusing elements? Are there too many or too few steps to understand the building? Try to be dispassionate and put yourself in the shoes of someone that is seeing your venue for the first time.

8. Consider logistics. To manage costs, you will want the tour captures to run with maximum efficiency. If you have multiple venues, then group together local sites to minimise travel time. If engaging our team to capture the tours for you, in advance of a project, they will create a Google Map containing each site and work out route that minimise wasted time in the car.

Our experienced team are trained in the use of the latest camera technology to capture still and 360 degree footage of your facilities, as well as full editing of your end project.

If you are considering commissioning a virtual tour project why not speak with our team? You can contact us through the forms on this website, at hello@bookingsplus.co.uk or by calling 01604 677 764.