Sustainability is coming to superyachts. Is that an oxymoron?

The luxury yachting industry, often criticised for its environmental footprint, is navigating a transformative wave toward sustainability. The trend for more sustainable superyachts is gaining momentum, driven by eco-conscious owners, stricter environmental regulations, and a broader societal shift towards sustainability. It does not make sense today to build more efficient hulls and power systems and then cover the yacht interior with super heavy materials such as marble and granite. This article explores the innovations in materials and power systems that are steering superyachts towards a greener future.

Innovations in Sustainable Materials

The construction and outfitting of superyachts have traditionally relied on materials that are luxurious but not always environmentally friendly. However, the industry is witnessing a paradigm shift with the introduction of sustainable materials that do not compromise on quality or aesthetics.

Recycled and Renewable Materials: Designers and shipbuilders are increasingly using recycled metals, reclaimed wood, and natural fibers such as flax and hemp for interior and exterior elements. These materials are not only sustainable but also add a unique aesthetic value to the yachts. Companies like Lürssen, Sunreef and Feadship are leading the way by incorporating recycled aluminium and eco-friendly composites into their builds.

Eco-friendly Paints and Coatings: The application of traditional marine paints and coatings has raised environmental concerns due to their toxic components. In response, the industry is adopting non-toxic, biodegradable alternatives that reduce the yachts' impact on marine ecosystems. These eco-friendly options are proving to be just as durable and visually appealing as their conventional counterparts.

Sustainable Teak Alternatives: Teak decking, a hallmark of luxury yachts, has been under scrutiny due to deforestation concerns. Innovative solutions include synthetic decks that mimic the look and feel of real teak, made from recycled materials and sustainably sourced wood from certified forests. These alternatives ensure the yachts' decks are both luxurious and responsible.

Advances in Green Power Systems

The propulsion and power systems of superyachts are significant contributors to their environmental impact. Recognising this, the industry is exploring and adopting alternative energy sources and technologies to reduce emissions and increase efficiency.

Hybrid and Electric Propulsion: Hybrid propulsion systems, combining traditional internal combustion engines with electric motors, are becoming more common in superyachts. These systems allow for silent, emission-free cruising at low speeds and reduced fuel consumption overall. One of the first hybrid yachts, Savannah, was built by Feadship in 2015 and has led the way in the larger yacht class. Fully electric yachts, while still in the early stages, promise zero-emission operations and are becoming a viable option for small vessels or tenders on shorter voyages.

Solar and Wind Energy: Integrating solar panels and wind turbines into superyacht designs is another strategy to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Solar panels can power onboard systems and amenities, while retractable wind turbines can generate electricity when conditions permit. These renewable energy sources complement the yachts' power systems, contributing to a significant reduction in carbon footprint. A leading yacht builder that has been innovating in more sustainable yachting since 2002 is Sunreef Yachts.  Using the efficient hull design of a catamaran, Sunreef has developed solar, wind and hybrid power solutions to dramatically reduce the yacht’s impact.  Nico Rosberg, Formula 1 World Champion and impact investor, is a partner and advocate.

Advanced Energy Storage: The development of more efficient and higher-capacity battery systems is crucial for the viability of electric and hybrid yachts. Lithium-ion batteries, known for their high energy density and long lifespan, are the preferred choice. Innovations in battery technology, such as solid-state batteries, promise even greater efficiency and safety, making sustainable yachting more practical and appealing.

The Future of Sustainable Superyachts

The move towards more sustainable superyachts is not just a trend but a necessary evolution of the industry. Owners, builders, and designers are recognising that luxury and sustainability can coexist, leading to the creation of yachts that are as environmentally responsible as they are opulent.

Regulatory bodies and industry associations are also playing a crucial role by setting stricter environmental standards and encouraging the adoption of green technologies. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO), for example, has set ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from shipping, which includes luxury yachts, by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008 levels.

Furthermore, the demand for sustainable yachting experiences is growing among eco-conscious charter clients, pushing the industry to accelerate its green transformation. Younger clients who have built their fortunes through technology products are embracing innovation and pushing yacht builders to use more sustainable materials.  Superyacht charters are increasingly offering eco-friendly amenities and activities, such as onboard organic gardens, eco-diving excursions, and wildlife conservation programs.

The journey towards more sustainability is an ongoing one, with challenges and opportunities ahead. However, the commitment of the industry to embrace innovative materials, green power systems, and sustainable practices signifies a promising shift. As these technologies and approaches mature, the vision of fully sustainable superyachts cruising the world's oceans is becoming an achievable reality, setting a new standard for luxury and environmental impact.

Should I Invest In 360º Video To Market My Venue?

Visual sales & marketing tools, as with many sales & marketing tools, provide a lot of options to choose from, some good and some not so good.  The most important thing to remember, as with any tools that assist you with your sales & marketing efforts, is to be clear about what your objectives are and how those tools best fit with those objectives.  

It’s also worth remembering that when a high-value tool is seemingly too cheap, then your natural instinct probably isn’t too far off and a buying decision could end up costing you much more in the long run (wasted time as well as financial expense). 

360º, particularly when combined with VR (Virtual Reality) is becoming an increasingly popular purchase as a marketing tool for hotels & venues.  However, we’ve also noted that amongst its earliest adopters, it is also fast becoming a tool that is discarded with venue marketers proclaiming it doesn’t live up to the hype or provide them with the solutions to solve their problems.  This is a worrying trend and one that we’ve seen particularly prevalent amongst North American hotels & venues, who began adopting 360º tools in the last 5-7 years, in most cases a good 2 years ahead of their European and Asian counterparts.  So, what’s causing them to abandon the tool, especially when European and Asian hotels & venues are adopting it?

What People Buy

The first issue is a psychological one that’s tricky to overcome.  People buy what they want, not what they need.  We’re all suckers for great marketing and the seemingly newest, coolest gadgets.  We’re all familiar with the idiom ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’, and if your competition has VR, then you need VR, right?  

Wrong.  Not if it doesn’t meet your specific objectives, and not if it’s not going to help you drive revenue.  

Understanding the Business Problem

Understanding and placing the business problem into the right context is essential before embarking on any new approach and/or solutions.  This is especially relevant when it comes to the deployment of technology, which - it is often forgotten - should be used to ENABLE.  Technology is not THE solution, it is what helps enable you and your teams to resolve your pain and it is this subtle yet fundamental philosophy that will allow you to unlock the value of technological use.  Business problems need to follow a simple process to achieve the right outcomes.  We identify this process as follows:

(a)   clearly understand the business problem(s),

AND

(b)   have clear objectives attached to them,

BEFORE

(c)   making a decision on how a technology should be used i.e. its principle purpose,

AND

(d)   deciding on what technology should be used to achieve the principle purpose. 

Far too often we see businesses fall into the trap of loosely understanding ‘A’ before bypassing ‘B’ and ‘C’ entirely, moving straight to ‘D’.  This process leads to technology pitfalls and poorly thought-out solutions, which lack engagement and end up costing the business more in the long run.

What is 360º video?

360º is, as you would expect it to be, a photographic image that captures the entire environment, enabling you to have a 360º view of that environment, whether it be an outdoor or indoor space.  By virtue of the fact that a screen is not 360º, we may often require hardware in order to gain the full advantage of 360º visuals, depending on how you intend to use it.

Video is “an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media” (Wikipedia).  

The critical words here are “moving visual media”.  Far too often, we see the words 360º and video coupled together despite the output not being video.  

A number of the 360º tools promoted within the hospitality industry and described as “video” are not, in fact, video.  They are a sequence of photographs stitched together to enable you to view a space in 360º and to click and move through that space.  This is very different to motion picture (video) which plays automatically and still allows you to navigate through 360º.  The latter, as you would be correct in surmising, is much more expensive to shoot, especially to achieve a high enough quality visual output.  For example, if you want to achieve 4k resolution output, you need be capturing the image in 16k.  However, capture and delivery are not the same; capturing 16k video is much easier than the actual delivery of the experience.  

How so?...  

The hardware required to deliver what has been shot requires improved file compression & delivery methods, view-optimized streaming, plus quicker & more stable bandwidth (we’re all used to complaining about the WiFi, right?).  However, that’s just the support infrastructure and delivery processes, the headset hardware also needs to improve to do justice to 16k video capture, which means improving (widening) the Field of View (FOV) and increasing screen resolutions to ensure we don’t get motion sickness.  To add a little more context, the human eye has a 160º FOV, yet the best headsets on the market currently only provide a 110º FOV.  Finally, you have to place all this into context in terms of scalability for commercial use.  If you’re going to go to all the effort and expense of capturing 360º/VR video, you want your customers to be able to engage with the content, beyond your attendance at one or two trade shows every year, but that means all of your customers are required to invest in expensive hardware to engage with your content.  In practical terms, we’re a long way away from this.  If you walk into any corporate or agency office, you don’t see teams of event planners donning VR headsets checking out venues.  So, back to ‘understanding the business problem’, has the deployment of this technology met with your objectives and your principal purpose?

360º Photographic Tools versus Video

Now we’ve established what 360º video is, let’s take a look at the 360º photographic tools that are being utilised in the industry, and contrast this with the use of video (not 360º video, but normal video).   There are key differences in the use of 360º photographic tools compared with the use of video, in precisely the same way as there are different and complementary uses of photography and video, which - ultimately - has a different use case.  Let’s take a look….

Photography

Useful for your website, social media, sales brochures and for inserting into proposals.  Shot well, photography can have the impact of drawing a customer into your sales funnel and enabling you to begin the conversation.  Invariably, the customer will need to physically visit your venue - particularly for larger events - and assess whether the impression provided by your photography matches with reality.  They will also wish to assess the broader features and location of your venue and - ultimately - decide whether it’s the right fit for them.  In a digital world, great photography is essential but is a media that supports the sales & marketing process rather than a major pull factor.

Photography is highly competitive and accessible, which means you need to be careful about quality control.  If you employ a digital agency to manage your website, then they may have a list of recommended photographers who have experience of shooting for web as well as for other digital media.  Excellent freelancers are also widely available and should be able to provide you with a portfolio of their work.

360º Photographic Tools

There are a range of different products on the market, and they can be a useful tool for your website enabling event planners to get a panoramic view of your venue. Providers have stitched together static imagery to enable an event planner to click through the space from one photographic frame to the next.  Whilst this has some use beyond standard photography, the usage is limited if you look at a typical sales & marketing funnel.  The tools don’t lend themselves very well to marketing initiatives to engage and pull in prospective customers as part of venue lead generation initiatives.

They may have some usability in the lead nurture (educational) phase but are reported to have greater usability post-purchase.  Whilst venues may wish to provide planners with tools to assist them with their event organisation post winning the business, the most important focus is being in with a shout of winning the business in the first instance, which means deploying tools that will assist with effective lead generation and nurture. 

In the intervening years, US venue clients have reported that the tools are not fit for the sales & marketing requirements and some venue operators have expressed their concerns at the unfettered ‘warts and all’ approach to capturing their spaces, which may not portray the venue at its best.  Further, capturing all of the venue space, in this manner, allows an event planner to effectively ‘wander’ around your venue unguided.  You wouldn’t allow this to happen if an event planner physically turned up at your venue, so the obvious question is why allow it virtually?

Video

Video is increasingly being used as a complement to photography and more and more venue marketers are considering video as a ‘must have’ but venue marketing budgets often don’t stretch this far.  Venue owners and operators need to start considering the opportunity cost of not having video given some of the consumer statistics that demonstrate a demand for video content.

• Over 1 billion internet users (⅓ of all internet users) are YouTube users*

• 82% of users watch video content on Twitter*

• 65% of executives will visit a website and 39% will call a vendor after viewing a video*

• Video ads make up 35% of total online spending* 

*Stats from Social Media Today

As for budget, venues should now be considering the opportunity costs of not investing in some form of video content.  If you’re running digital marketing campaigns, then it’s likely they’re not as effective if video is absent).  Those competitors with video will be utilising content across multiple channels and driving higher customer engagement and business conversion than you (70% of marketing professionals report video converts better than any other mediums*.

360º Video

As covered earlier in the article, 360º video has its use cases but it is expensive, adoption is low and the use cases have not been well established.  In fact, we believe VR will largely be bypassed as technology moves on and we see solutions providing AR (Augmented Reality) and MR (Mixed Reality).  All we can say on this is watch this space….

Interactive Video

Interactive video is a media that has been used in advertising for many years and is one of our areas of specialism.  Interactive video takes the power of motion picture video and provides a level of flexibility that generates engagement measured at more than 6x greater than standard video.  

The E X P L O R E tool is a white-label interactive video solution that enables venue sales & marketing teams to have a flexible branded video solution that operates across multiple platforms and provides video assets for a variety of functions, from web & social media use to field sales calls, exhibition stand usage, in-room television content, elevator content, you name it! E X P L O R E focuses upon interactive visual storytelling to lead audiences on a journey of discovery and provides them with the control to navigate to the content they wish to view, much like a website. You can check out our E X P L O R E product here.

Price

Although you can expect the price of each solution to increase from Photography (at the bottom) to Interactive Video and 360º Video at the top, the real cost can only be measured in terms of the opportunity cost of not delivering a solution that matches your objectives (and thus costs more in the long-run), and the opportunity cost of business lost to competitors / reducing market share.

Solutions to Match Your Objectives

Let’s use an example of the right approach using the ‘A’ to ‘D’ method outlined earlier, from the perspective of a venue sales & marketing team.

(a)   Clearly understanding the Business problems

We are trying to reach and attract event planners from different locations who do not have the time or budget to physically visit our venue.  Photography has its uses but it never does justice to our venue and it doesn’t set us apart from our competition.

(b)   Business objective

We require a more engaging way to showcase our venue and set ourselves apart from the competition.  We need to provide a solution to event planners who don’t have the time or budget to visit us in person, a solution that is informative for the planner and clearly identifies our unique selling points (USPs), as if we were providing them with a show round in person.  We require a set of tools that can be used for both sales & marketing purposes, not just one or the other.

(c)   What is the principal purpose of a solution and how could a technology be deployed to support this?

The way to properly answer this question is to do so from the customer's perspective.  A customer-centric approach will always ensure the right outcome for your business problem and objective.  The technology as a gimmick examples we provided earlier, demonstrated that the customer felt dissatisfied and short-changed by the experience.

So, the principal purpose is to create engaging content that is going to inform the event planner of the key pieces of information, including our USPs, that will help them make an informed decision of where to use for their next event.  In serving up this content, we need to consider

(i)              how we replicate selling to them in person because this has been assessed, practised, refined and we convert business more effectively this way;

(ii)            how, therefore, we control the narrative and what that narrative should be (see point i);

(iii)           how we invoke emotion and a meaningful connection with the planner;

(iv)           how we provide the planner with an element of control and functionality required to obtain more information;

(v)            how we deploy ‘calls to action’ to encourage the client further down the sales funnel

(d)   What technology do we utilise to achieve these business objectives?

Video and virtual reality technologies can certainly both be utilised to achieve the outlined objectives, but have you noticed how your perspective has changed on what the technology needs to achieve, and how it also transcends the technology itself to focus on the message?

Objectives (i) – (iii) focus on the narrative.  This requires specific expertise to understand what story you wish to convey, as well as how to execute that story, especially when seeking to create emotion and engagement.  These are not easy feats to achieve and the correct technology is simply the medium by which you will convey these critical messages. Objectives (iv) and (v) concentrate more on the user experience, and thus what the correct technology should be and how it should be used to satisfy the customers’ needs.  Both virtual reality and video (note I’m not being specific about 360º video as I don’t believe it meets these specific objectives), must offer an immersive and/or engaging experience that conveys ‘relevant’ information to the customer.

We predict the next big thing in hospitality will be a change of mindset, not a new technology or platform.  The right technologies and platforms already exist, it’s about the manner in which the medium is used to broadcast the message, and that requires a shift in perspective.

Why Video is Essential to Marketing Your Venue

YouTube has more than 2.70 billion active users in 2024. And as the famous McQuivey’s Forrester study states, video is worth 1.8 million words. His reasoning: if a picture is worth a thousand, then a video is worth 1.8 million. Video is being used more and more effectively these days, and the events industry should be embracing it.

Let's Look at The Facts

A Hubspot survey highlighted the need for brands and businesses to use video in their marketing strategy. A survey of 3000 consumers around the world showed that 54% would like to see more video content from their favourite brand.

It is proven that a video on the main page or landing page of a website increases customer conversions by 80%. But why is this? Video increases the length of time people stay on a web page, they are more likely to watch a video and follow the instructions within the video than they are to read an article or sales pitch. Additionally, having you or your team in the video increases your trust factor and that of your venue.

And in this study of people working in marketing roles within B2B and B2C organisations over 80% of their respondents said that video was becoming more important as a form of marketing content and used video on their websites and social media platforms. Video is named as the best content with the best ROI and 52% of marketers agreed.

Video in events

According to a Google study of ticket purchasers, video has the biggest impact on someone's decision to attend an event. Insivia adds to this, saying that 90% found video helpful in the decision process, and with 92% of millennials regularly watching digital video, this is a market that will keep on growing.

But that is only a small part of the process, a majority of customers will heavily research events before a purchase and within the same study, they found that 64% use the internet as their main source of research.

What Content Works?

Funny, entertaining, and informative content always works well within video. However, educational content is the real winner, as 61% of customers want to learn something from a video. The science of this is quite simple: we gain credibility amongst our peers when we have interesting and useful information to offer them. This reflects positively on the person that is sharing the information.

Event planners searching for a venue are trying to learn as much as possible about it: the location, style, meeting spaces, catering options, what type of delegate packages it offers etc. You already have this information, so it's time to implement it in a video, using E X P L O R E.

Are you using video within your marketing mix? If so, hopefully, you have learnt something here. If not, now might be the time to create a great promotional piece.

Harnessing Real-Time Customer Insights with E X P L O R E Virtual Tours for Tourists Boards and Destination Marketing Organisations

Understanding traveller behaviour and preferences is essential for tourist boards and destination marketing organizations (DMOs) looking to attract visitors and drive economic growth. E X P L O R E virtual tours offer an engaging way to showcase destinations while collecting valuable real-time customer insight data. In this blog post, we'll discuss the benefits of utilising this data to gain insights into current and future traveller behaviour, and how it can shape the tactical and strategic sales and marketing activities of tourist boards and DMOs.

Benefits of Real-Time Customer Insights for Tourist Boards and DMOs

1. Targeted Marketing Campaigns

With access to real-time data, tourist boards and DMOs can create marketing campaigns that cater to travellers' interests and preferences, resulting in more effective promotions and increased visitor engagement.

2. Identifying Niche Markets

Real-time customer insights can help tourist boards and DMOs identify niche markets and traveller segments with specific interests, allowing for the development of tailored experiences and offerings that cater to these groups.

3. Discovering Emerging Trends

Analysing real-time data can reveal emerging travel trends, enabling tourist boards and DMOs to adapt their strategies and capitalise on new opportunities.

4. Optimising Content and Messaging

By understanding what resonates with potential visitors, tourist boards and DMOs can refine their content and messaging to better communicate the unique selling points of their destination.

5. Enhancing Destination Development

Real-time customer insights can inform destination development strategies, ensuring that new attractions, amenities, and infrastructure investments align with traveller preferences and expectations.

6. Measuring Performance and ROI

Access to real-time data enables tourist boards and DMOs to measure the performance of their marketing efforts and calculate ROI, guiding future investment decisions and resource allocation.

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One major challenge faced by tourist boards and DMOs is the limited access to accurate and timely customer data. Often, they must rely on third-party sources for information, which may not provide a comprehensive view of traveller preferences and behaviour. Additionally, relying on external data sources can lead to potential gaps or inconsistencies in the insights obtained, hindering the effectiveness of marketing strategies and destination development efforts.

By using E X P L O R E, tourist boards and DMOs can overcome these challenges, as they become the owners of the customer intent data generated through these interactive experiences. Having direct access to this valuable data enables them to more effectively monitor and analyse traveller behaviour and preferences, ensuring that their strategies are based on accurate and up-to-date insights. Owning this data also allows tourist boards and DMOs to maintain greater control over their marketing efforts and make more informed decisions about destination development and promotion. In essence, E X P L O R E provides tourist boards and DMOs with a powerful tool to better understand and cater to their target audience, enhancing their ability to attract visitors and drive economic growth in their destinations.