Digital convenience at its best – More efficient rentals via virtual 360° tours

360° walkthroughs with real “on-site” feeling

Users will soon experience virtual viewings as a new feature in the potential tenant app. According to current plans, potential tenants will be able to take virtual tours via the existing property service as they look for the right home, where viewings for the respective rental property will be stored. In line with our generic approach, the 360° viewings in the potential tenant app can additionally be made available via a separate “Virtual Viewings” service.

The viewing mode

Only the “Viewing” mode of the 360° tours will be available in the potential tenant app, since the respective landlord is responsible for creating and editing the walkthroughs. In the viewing mode, users can navigate through the apartment by clicking on “hotspots” (room change points) (Figure 1).

Additionally, a list of all hotspots can be called up. When you select a list entry, the viewer animates the angle to centre the selected hotspot. This enables users to also find their way around when there are many hotspots (Figure 2).

The room designation for linking all hotspots can also be displayed and hidden by clicking on the tooltip icon in the navigation bar. The user therefore always has an overview of the link to their hotspots. And there is the option of zooming, an autoplay mode for an animated view of the room, and a full screen mode.

Create 360° walkthroughs

To create virtual viewings, our landlord app will be expanded to integrate the 360° viewing feature. Landlords will be able to make 360° viewing via a new “Virtual Viewings” service in the “Viewings” tile. For this purpose, they select the rental object for which a virtual tour is to be created from a list. They should then be able to assign a start image file and designation to the property (Figure 3).

The copyable sections function can be used to store additional image files and room designations. The user creates a list of rooms which is later used to link to hotspots. After uploading the image files and room designations, the walkthrough is loaded by clicking the “Design” button.

The design mode

Unlike in the potential tenant app, both the viewing mode and the design mode are available in the landlord app. First, the saved start image file is loaded in viewing mode. If the user now switches to design mode, the cursor changes to a crosshair so that the user can precisely place room change points in the room by clicking.

In contrast to viewing mode, a subsequent click on the hotspot does not change the room, but opens a side menu in which the room to be linked can be selected. In order to avoid the user having to switch between modes unnecessarily, there is also a button for changing the room (Figure 4).

When you click on the “Move Hotspot” button, the corresponding hotspot is highlighted and can be moved anywhere in the room via drag-and-drop (Figure 5). The position is then confirmed by clicking on “Complete” above the navigation bar. Alternatively, the user has the option of deleting a hotspot before resetting and assigning it at any point in the room. Thanks to the intuitive operation, this can be done in no time at all. Of course, hotspots can also be permanently removed using the Delete button in the menu.

360° outlook and conclusion

A responsive integration of the 360° walkthrough solution is being planned. This means that the viewings will be available as a web application in addition to our native apps. This will make it easy to visit from any location – no matter which device is used.

The virtual viewings are an absolute win-win situation for both sides. People already mainly search for real estate digitally today on their smartphone, tablet or PC, so offering digital viewings is a logical next step and an adjustment to customer needs. Potential tenants can view the property at any time and from any place, free from scheduling stress. This eliminates the time-consuming communication and appointment-making with the landlord or administrator for a viewing, only then to potentially determine that the apartment does not meet one’s search criteria. However, if the potential tenant has a positive impression and still wants the apartment, the landlord or administrator knows that there is genuine interest and can take the next steps directly and much faster, such as requesting the necessary documents. This selection therefore represents a significant simplification and efficiency boost for the rental process. There are no more mass viewings and endless communication loops. Instead, this pre-selection enables an accurate, efficient and modern real estate letting service.