For care homes, sheltered accommodation and retirement villages, infection control is a major concern in ensuring the wellbeing of residents and staff alike. So, during the Covid-19 pandemic, there’s been a steep rise in the use of virtual tours within the care sector as a means of attracting new residents.
Through use of immersive 3D virtual tours, and 360o photography, care homes can showcase their accommodation, grounds and facilities to prospective residents and their families, so that they can get a good feel of the place without even visiting in person.
Virtual tours also aid residential care homes in boosting their eco credentials by minimising travel and thus reducing your company’s carbon footprint.
With the addition of Openhouse Live, care home staff can host a guided tour of their site where they ‘meet’ the prospective resident and their family within the virtual tour. This enables staff to begin to build a rapport with the potential new resident – a vital step in what can be a daunting process for someone in the position of moving into a home. And, while staff can guide new residents and their families around the premises, the prospective resident can also take control of the tour themselves and explore areas of the site that are important to them. This can offer both the potential resident and their families huge reassurance that they’ve left no stone unturned in securing the right home for their loved one.
This feature also means that new residents are able to familiarise themselves with the layout of the whole care home site, putting them at greater ease with their surroundings when they do visit in person or choose to move in.
As Openhouse Live can be used with 4 individual users at any one time, it is and ideal platform for scenarios where whole families wish to be involved in the process of finding a loved one the perfect home. Especially when various members of the family live geographically far apart. The portfolio feature also means that care home chains are able to showcase multiple homes in one viewing – offering greater choice and chance of satisfaction to your customer and saving them and you, time, money and energy in the process.
Audible information points can be useful for residents with poor eyesight – communicating important information or interesting anecdotes about specific spaces within the site. These might include details about mealtimes, health and wellbeing groups, craft clubs, entertainment and socialisation that further reinforce the ethos of the home. Additionally, they are a good place for key members of staff to introduce themselves through professionally filmed video, so that residents find it easier to put a face to a name when they arrive on site.
With the addition of Facebook messenger embedded within Openhouse Live, families are able to message their contact at any time to discuss any points that spring to mind throughout the sales process – creating a seamless conversation channel and sales pipeline.
It’s clear that virtual tours in the care sector are quite invaluable and Openhouse Live is an equally valuable addition when it comes to recruiting and welcoming new residents and their families into the home.
If you’re a care home with an existing virtual tour, why not take a test drive of Openhouse Live, so you can see what it’s all about?