The gap between marketing and letting commercial space is often measured in months. A landlord with a well-presented suite at a competitive rent shouldn't be losing three months to back-and-forth scheduling — but that's the reality when the only way to assess a space is to book a viewing. Decision-makers at prospective tenants — the managing director, facilities lead, and finance director — rarely align diaries easily. Many aren't even in London. A 360° virtual tour changes that dynamic. Prospective occupiers can walk through a space on their own timeline, qualify it against their brief, and arrive at an in-person viewing having already made 80% of their decision.
Quick takeaways
- A 2022 analysis found only 4% of UK property listings include a virtual tour — commercial landlords who do are a clear minority, and stand out accordingly (Giraffe360, 2022)
- One scan session delivers 360° tour, floor plans, and LiDAR point cloud — useful for leasing, FM records, and refurbishment planning
- Floor plans generated from scan data are accurate to 20mm — suitable for desk counts, fit-out feasibility, and space planning
Why remote viewings work differently for commercial tenants
Commercial property decisions involve more stakeholders than residential. The person who found the space isn't the person who approves the lease. That creates a problem: getting the right people to the same property at the same time, when those people might be spread across multiple offices, cities, or countries.
A virtual tour solves the stakeholder alignment problem. The agent shares a link. Decision-makers review the space on their own timeline. The tour handles the initial qualification round — and by the time an in-person visit is scheduled, everyone has already formed a view.
A 2022 analysis of live UK property listings by Giraffe360 found that only 4% of homes and commercial units listed for sale were marketed with a virtual tour. For landlords and agents who do include one, that scarcity is an advantage — a listing with a virtual tour stands out rather than blending in. According to Matterport's own published research, properties with virtual tours receive 49% more qualified leads, meaning those who do enquire have already pre-qualified themselves. For commercial property — where a wasted viewing might involve coordinating access to a vacant building with multiple attendees — reducing low-intent viewings has direct operational value.
What a commercial 360° tour includes
A standard commercial tour covers the lettable floor area from scan positions that give an accurate read of scale, natural light, and configuration. For larger or multi-floor buildings, the scan extends to each floor and includes relevant shared areas — lobbies, lift cores, welfare facilities.
From a single scan session, you receive:
- Hosted tour link — shareable directly, embeddable in your listing, with no recurring fee options available
- Embed code — for Rightmove Commercial, CoStar, your own website, or your agent's platform
- Floor plans — to PDF and DWG, generated from scan data rather than manually drafted
- Optional LiDAR point cloud — .las, .e57, or .rcp files for fit-out planning, FM records, or technical due diligence
Floor plans generated from scan data are dimensionally accurate. For prospective tenants who need to run a desk count or test a fit-out hypothesis before committing, that removes one of the earliest friction points in the letting process.
Before the scan: what to prepare
Commercial spaces scan well whether vacant or occupied. A few things are worth arranging beforehand:
Lighting: Turn on every light in the space. In offices with glazed facades, check whether direct sunlight is creating strong contrast — early morning or overcast days often give cleaner results than midday bright sun.
Clearance: Remove temporary items that will date the tour — personal belongings, ad-hoc storage, contractors' materials. A CAT A space photographs best when it reads as lettable, not in-progress.
Back-of-house: Decide upfront whether you want plant rooms, service areas, or roof terraces included. These add scan time but can be useful for technical tenants evaluating the building's infrastructure.
Access coordination: For occupied buildings, scanning in evenings or at weekends avoids disrupting existing tenants. Most commercial scans complete in a single session.
Beyond leasing: FM records and fit-out planning
The same point cloud data that generates your floor plan also has a second life. Facilities management teams increasingly maintain digital records of their buildings — a LiDAR scan of each floor produces a permanent, accurate reference useful for maintenance planning, asset tagging, and contractor briefing without repeated site visits.
For refurbishment projects, the point cloud is the starting point. Rather than beginning a CAT B fit-out from drawings that may be decades out of date, a fresh scan confirms existing conditions with 20mm accuracy. Architects and project managers can work from that data directly — and the scan typically pays for itself in avoided rework.
What you receive on delivery
Once scanning is complete, processing and delivery takes 3–5 working days. You receive a live tour link for immediate sharing, an iframe embed code for your listings and website, floor plans in PDF and DWG, and optional raw point cloud files (.las, .e57, .rcp) for technical use.
Hosting is flexible. See3D offers options including permanently hosted tours with no recurring fees — your marketing asset stays live as long as you need it, without a subscription renewing in the background. Every scan is handled personally, with no outsourcing.
Get in touch to request a quote for your commercial property — we'll respond with a tailored proposal based on your floor plan and scope.
Sources & references
- Giraffe360, May 2022. "Only 4% of homes listed for sale in the UK were marketed with a virtual tour." introducertoday.co.uk