At Marriott, Going To Hawaii Means Standing In A Warm, Misty Booth Wearing Goggles

Teleporters be teleportin’. Sort of. (Marriott)

You know how when you go to Hawaii, you sort of stand very still one, warm spot wearing weird goggles while the ocean breeze mists your face? That’s what it’s like, right? At least, at certain Marriott hotels, where guests can stand inside a phonebooth wearing virtual reality glasses and “travel” to Hawaii or London.

The hotel company will install the new “Teleporters,” which include Oculus Rift technology inside and sensory elements like wind, heat and mist, reports CNBC.com.

So what’s the point? Clearly standing in an immobile structure is not the same as traveling to a place (unless that place is Narnia) — this is just a way for Marriott to explore VR technology, and use it to check out different places they might like to go before they actually book a trip.

Or hey, maybe you’re sick of wherever you are and want to be anywhere but standing at that Marriott.

“It can inspire their decision of where they want to go and it could also be used to enhance their stay,” Michael Dail, vice president of brand marketing for Marriott Hotels told CNBC.

The first location to get a Teleporter is in New York City, but the booths will travel around the country, Dail said. But physically, not by stepping inside another booth. Inception. Whoa.

Marriott’s leaps into virtual-reality vacations [CNBC.com]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist