TRISARA Phuket has launched a digital studio to help guests create compelling stories of their holiday in photo, video or even virtual reality formats – a first in the industry.
Resorts must come up with new points of differentiation to please younger clients and face up to today’s disruptors such as Airbnb and OTAs, said Kitt Pattamasaevi, son of Narong Pattamasaevi, chairman of Montara Hospitality Group which owns the luxury resort.
The Director’s Den (D-Den), equipped with the latest equipment and manned by an in-house team of professional producers and digital artists, will make movie directors out of guests. Its former purpose as a library has given way to this new value.
“Most people do not have the time, expertise and resources to master the art of producing top-quality photo, video or VR keepsakes. Plus, most people today do not just want to consume content, they want to create it,” Kitt said.
But apart from being a service innovation, D-Den is also a sales and marketing tool as invariably, photos, videos and virtual reality are made to be shared – these days widely on social media – with the resort actually controlling the quality of the production by offering such a service.
“We have a lot of guests for whom storytelling is important. Our clients from every single market are now younger. Four years ago, their average age typically was 50 years, today it’s 42 years. As well, we have developed new markets such as China and Korea, and these markets comprise younger people, mostly honeymooners, so we have to find ways to engage them.
Younger people take selfies, love to share their holiday memories, but often don’t have the time or patience to do so in a compelling way,” said Kitt.
So D-Den provides them the solution. If clients just want someone to identify the most instagrammable spots at Trisara, a buddy will be assigned to accompany them. If they want to rent equipment instead of using their mobile, there are GoPro cameras for rent.
Clients can then select one of the storyboards which have been prepared for them and, with the help of dedicated producers, direct how they want the story to unfold and in what format – movie, digital or virtual reality (VR). D-Den has also prepared destination footages capturing, say, a sunset or a hermit crab moving in the sand, so they don’t have to waste moments shooting those scenes.
“For special moments, such as proposals, VR is so much more engaging than photos or videos. They can almost relive every moment in 360 degree – it’s as close as being there when someone watches it,” said Kitt.
Fully launched this week, D-Den is a profit centre and charges guests different fees for the services required. In conjunction with its launch, Trisara is offering a four-night stay with the fourth night free. This package comes with perks such as daily breakfast for two, round trip private airport transfers, free Wi-Fi. Priced from 97,400 baht (US$2,722) for an Ocean Pool Room, the offer is available till March 31, 2016.
