A virtual tour company says this kind of property viewing is now being adopted by holiday let operators as well as mainstream lettings and estate agents.

Made Snappy says that with the UK preparing for a bumper summer – with 33m people expected to enjoy staycations before the autumn – the holiday lets business has rarely been busier. 

It cites one of its clients – Hannah Challis of Quay Holidays – as saying: “Photographs are great, but holidaymakers know they can be manipulated to show the best angles. A virtual tour puts the prospective guest in control – they can wander through the whole property online, look out of the windows, stand in the garden and view it from every angle. 

“This gives them greater confidence to make the booking. Ironically, it also makes our job easier too, as the more the guest can see beforehand, the less they can reasonably complain about when they arrive.”

Quay Holidays managed to maintain 50 per cent occupancy across its portfolio during lockdown by focusing on business travellers. For those properties that were unoccupied, the company took advantage of the lockdown to start building up its stock of virtual tours, photographing as many of its 90-plus holiday properties as possible.

Made Snappy’s Mark McCorrie adds: “360 tours allow viewers to experience a property in a vastly different way than regular photographs do. We already work with many lettings agents and estate agents who appreciate the value.”

He says a virtual tour reduces wasted viewings and better matches potential renters and buyers with suitable properties.