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hometour360°™ Frequently Asked Questions
- What virtual tour products does Homestore™ sell?
Homestore™ offers a range of imaging products to REALTORS® and Service
Providers. hometour360°™ is the brand name for the Homestore™ virtual
tour solution. Homestore™ offers full-service and self-service virtual
tour solutions. Each of those products is sold and serviced differently.
Additionally, Homestore offers the PicturePath™ solution to Service
Providers that use an alternative virtual tour technology.
- What is a Full-Service hometour360º™ virtual tour?
A full-service hometour360º™ virtual tour is a complete end-to-end solution which
provides the capture, process, technology, hosting, and distribution
of virtual tours. Full-Service hometour360º™ tours are offered by Homestore
local Authorized Service Providers. These Service Providers (or photographers)
will handle the complete coordination of your hometour360º™ virtual
tours from order to billing to distribution. One simple call does it
all. To find the Service Provider in your area, visit the "Service Areas"
of the REALTOR.com® Web site at: http://hometour360.realtor.com.
- What features are included in a Full-Service hometour360º™ virtual tour?
The following features are included in the Full-Service hometour360º™:
- A fully coordinated tour from order to distribution
- World-class, established and proven 360x360 iPIX® patented technology
or a flexible panoramic technology
- Desktop Tour, Send-to-a-Friend, Full Screen Tour, Map Property, Listing Information Display, Printable Brochure, Photo Gallery, Agent Photo and Agent Contact features
- Find Out More lead generation and tracking tool
- Web hosting for one year or the life of the listing
- Distribution via the REALTOR.com® Virtual Tour Distribution Network (except Homebuilder.com
or Homestore.com's Apartments & Rentals channel)
- Distribution via REALTOR.com®, the official site of the National
Association of REALTORS®
Note that the feature set varies slightly for Full-Service hometour360º™
product sold to new home builders or apartment managers and owners.
Importantly, it does not automatically include distribution via the
REALTOR.com® Virtual Tour Distribution Network or distribution on REALTOR.com®. Contact
your Homestore service team for more details if necessary.
- Where do I order my Full-Service hometour360º™ virtual
tours?
As of April 22, 2002, all full-service hometour360º™ virtual tour
for resale homes are sold and serviced by Service Providers (photographers)
that are located across the United States. We've partnered with the
most experienced, professional virtual tour photographers (Service Providers)
in the industry. Many of these Service Providers have already been working
with you to film and upload your virtual tours. Now, ordering, filming,
processing, and uploading your tours will be faster and easier than
ever before. To locate the Service Provider in your area, visit the
"Service Areas" section of the iMarketing Web site at: http://hometour360.realtor.com.
New Home Builders or Apartment owners and managers should continue
to contact their Homestore.com sales representative directly to order
a Full-Service hometour360º™ virtual tour.
- Why do I order my Full-Service hometour360º™ virtual tour from
an Authorized Service Provider instead of from Homestore?
In our ongoing effort to improve our virtual tour products and service
we have made some significant and POSITIVE improvements to the way we
sell, deliver and support virtual tours. One of the key changes is the
implementation of the Authorized Service Provider Network. Our professional
service providers are committed to delivering value, service and satisfaction
to our customers. This change has been designed to improve the customer
experience - rather than coordinating through a centralized office in
Toronto, Canada now you can coordinate your tours directly with the
local Service Provider in your area. This will provide you with customized
service, faster turn-around time and allow the service providers to
post your tours to the Web more quickly than ever before.
- What is the price for a Full-Service hometour360º™ virtual tour?
Service Providers set their own pricing. Contact the Service Provider
in your area (or Homestore.com if you are a new home builder or apartment
owner and manager) to discuss the best virtual tour solution and pricing
for you.
- What if I have questions about an existing virtual
tour?
If you have a specific question about the processing or posting of
a hometour360º™ virtual tour that was filmed on or before April 22,
2002, please call the Customer Care Department at 1-877-353-4749. For
tours filmed after April 22, 2002, all order, processing, service and
support issues should be directed to your Service Provider. For questions
about virtual tours processed or posted for New Home Builders and managers,
please call 1-888-347-2211. For questions about virtual tours processed
or posted for Apartment owners or managers, please call 1-888-525-2546.
- What if there is not an Authorized Service Provider
in my area?
If there is not a Service Provider in your area, email: hometour360@realtor.com.
We may be able to find an alternate hometour360º™ Service Provider for
you.
- What is a Self-Service hometour360º™ virtual tour?
The hometour360°™ self-service solution enables real estate professionals
and local Service Providers to simply and easily film their own virtual
tours using the hometour360°™ camera kit, software, technology and accessories.
The self-service tour also includes hosting on reliable and secure servers
and distribution to the largest network of real estate Web sites, the
REALTOR.com® Virtual Tour Distribution Network, including the #1 real estate Web site,
REALTOR.com®.
- What features are included in the Self-Service hometour360º™ virtual tour?
The hometour360º™ Self-Service virtual tour solution includes all the
same great features of the full-service tour, except the capture and
process. The hometour360º™ Self-Service solution is available everywhere
in the U.S. The following features are included:
- World-class, patented iPIX® technology with a complete 360 x 360
immersive view
- Desktop Tour, Send-to-a-Friend, Full Screen Tour, Map Property, Listing Information Display, Printable Brochure, Photo Gallery, Agent Photo and Agent Contact features
- Find Out More lead generation and tracking tool
- Web hosting for one year or the life of the listing
- Distribution via the REALTOR.com® Virtual Tour Distribution Network
- Distribution via REALTOR.com®, the official site of the National
Association of REALTORS®
- Where do I order my Self-Service hometour360º™,
"keys" or camera equipment?
Self-service hometour360º™ customers can now shop for keys, software and camera
equipment online at the hometour360º™ Marketplace. Or, you may continue purchasing tours through
your Homestore Regional Sales Manager or through the online iPIX® store. If you don't know who your
Regional Sales Manager is please
contact: hometour360@realtor.com.
Additionally, the Self-Service Customer Care number will remain the
same, 866-483-4749.
- What is the price for a Self-Service hometour360º™
virtual tour?
REALTORS® or Service Providers interested in the self-service solution
should contact your Homestore™ Regional Sales Manager or email: hometour360@realtor.com.
- Who do I call if I have questions about Camera Kits
or the Wizard software?
Any questions or concerns about camera kits and the Wizard software
should be directed to vtsupport@homestore.com
or 866-483-4749.
- What is the difference between the 360x360 immersive
hometour360º™ virtual tour and the panoramic virtual tour?
The hometour360º™ virtual tour solution is supported by two technology
platforms. Virtual tour technology varies from location to location.
Talk to your Service Provider about the technology platform used in
your area. The Self-Service hometour360º™ virtual tour is only supported
with the 360x360 technology.
- The "immersive" iPIX® technology provides a complete 360 x 360 degree
view of the property with the ability for the viewer to pan up and
down and right to left to view the full image. The patented technology
ensures that potential buyers will see as much of the property as
possible. Tours can be shot, processed and distributed even faster
than ever before.
- The "panoramic" technology enables a customer to provide a full
360-degree view of the home or to create partial panoramas of the
images from 60-degree rotations to 360-degree rotations. This flexible
alternative allows customers to display only the most desirable scenes
of the property. Tours can be shot, processed and distributed even
faster than ever before.
- Will my hometour360°™ appear on REALTOR.com®?
All hometour360°™ tours for resale homes are integrated automatically
with the appropriate property listing on REALTOR.com® and into the REALTOR.com®
Virtual Tour Distribution Network. Depending upon where your listing is placed,
you can choose to have your hometour360º™ tour automatically distributed
to a number of other national, broker, MLS, and local real estate Web
sites. You can promote your tours nationally, regionally, locally, or
all of the above. hometour360™ tours purchased by New Home Builders directly
from Homestore sales staff will be distributed on Homebuilder.com.
- How do I get my tour posted to my Web site, to my
broker's Web site, to REALTOR.com® or elsewhere?
When you provide your Service Provider with your listing information,
request distribution to the various Web sites where you would like the
tour to appear. Once the tour is captured and processed, the link will
be automatically sent to the REALTOR.com® site (or, Homebuilder.com
if for a New Home builder) and the other real estate sites of your choice
and posted as soon as the listing is active on that site. If there is
a Web site you would like to send your tour to that is not part of the
REALTOR.com® Virtual Tour Distribution Network, you will receive a link to your virtual
tour that you or your webmaster can post on that Web site.
- How long will my virtual tour be on REALTOR.com®?
Tours remain on REALTOR.com® for the lesser of one year or the life
of the listing. New Home tours remain on Homebuilder.com for one year.
Additional months of distribution may be purchased by the new homebuilder
for a small fee.
- What is PicturePath™?
PicturePath is a solution for virtual tour technology providers who
don't use hometour360º™ technology but want to benefit from the distribution
of their tours to REALTOR.com® and the REALTOR.com® Virtual Tour Distribution Network.
PicturePath is utilized to host and distribute all virtual tours to
REALTOR.com® and to the numerous professional real estate Web sites
that are part of the REALTOR.com® Virtual Tour Distribution Network. Service providers
interested in the PicturePath™ solution should contact PicturePath@homestore.com.
- Can I purchase non-hometour360°™ tours and post
them onto REALTOR.com®?
Yes. Customers can work with Service Providers that participate in
the PicturePath™ program. Such providers, referred to as "Distribution
Partners," or "Picture Path Partners" offer alternative virtual tour
technologies that are supported technically and that are compatible
with the REALTOR.com® Web site. REALTORS® working with Distribution
Partners receive a number of the benefits available to hometour360°™
customers including integration of their tours to the REALTOR.com® Virtual
Tour Distribution Network. hometour360°™ customers will receive more benefits,
including more lead generation features, enhanced branding and other services
designed to allow the customer to market the home as effectively as
possible. To locate an alternate provider in your area, visit: http://picturepath.realtor.com.
New Home builder customers may also post non-hometour360°™ tours on Homebuilder.com,
but for a small fee. Contact your Homestore sales representative for
more details.
- Can I purchase non-hometour360°™ tours and post
them onto REALTOR.com® if the company doesn't participate in PicturePath™?
No. Although customers can purchase virtual tour solutions from companies
that do not participate in the PicturePath™ program or that do not use
hometour360°™ technology, such tours will not be integrated automatically
on REALTOR.com®. As a result, such tours will receive less visibility
than other tours, generate fewer leads for agents and likely result
in a lower quality consumer experience.
- Who should I call if I have a concern about a Service
Provider?
Homestore™ has partnered with the most professional, experienced Service
Providers in the industry including the Virtual Imaging Corporation
and our expansive network of professional Authorized Service Providers.
They are experienced photographers that have a long history of working
with MLS's and real estate professionals to film residential real estate
around the country. They have agreed to work closely with our hometour360º™ customers and to meet certain service levels to provide even better
levels of service. However, if you have an issue that has not been handled
to your satisfaction, please contact your Homestore Regional Sales Manager
or the Homestore Customer Care Center via: email: vtsupport@homestore.com
or 877-353-4749.
- How can I find out who my Homestore™ Regional Sales
Manager is?
Contact the Homestore Sales Team at: hometour360@realtor.com.
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Equal Housing Opportunity.