AN APARTMENT owner in Barrow-in-Furness is using virtual reality technology in a bid to stay ahead of his competitors.

David Clark, who owns the block of seven luxury serviced flats at Abbey Road, said he wanted to show prospective guests what they could expect from the accommodation.

To reach a wider audience, he hired photographer Richard Gill, of Sedgwick village, near Kendal, who creates 3D tours using a special camera from USA company Matterport.

He is also working with digital marketer and social media expert Jenna Vernon, of Collective Comms, based in Windermere.

David said: "If you're going to stay ahead of your competition, not only do you need to understand the fundamentals and mechanics of digitally marketing guest rooms, but you also need to ensure you have something that accurately portrays your accommodation.

"The apartments we have on Abbey Road, have been built and furnished to a very high standard and we needed a way to show prospective guests accurately what they could expect when they stay with us.

"We also had to be sure we could reach a wider audience of prospective guests. The collaboration of Richard and Jenna provided the answer for this."

Digital marketer Jenna said social media was now "a highly saturated field", and a combination of "great photos, video and immersive 3D virtual reality" was needed to stand out from the crowd.

Photographer Richard uses a 3D modelling camera to capture a building's interior which not only photographs it but also measures the space at the same time.

"The camera captures 10 million points per second as it spins around the room it is scanning," he said. "When complete, the camera provides a realistic doll's house model that anyone can fly through on any sort of device - desktop, mobile or tablet."

Abbey Apartments caters for leisure or business travellers, offering long or short-term stays in one or two-bedroom flats. For more, see abbey-apartments.co.uk