Establishing what time each Virtual Tour will be in your time zone…

THE TIME OF EVERY LIVE (ZOOM) TOUR LISTED ON OUR WEBSITE IS IN UNITED KINGDOM (INVERNESS) TIME – We receive bookings from all over the world, so it’s safest to list our own time zone here in Scotland for the Virtual Tours.

If date or the timing of the live tour doesn’t work for you, we are pleased to announce the launch of on-demand virtual tours via our new website and service – Virtual Tours of Scotland. Rent and watch our virtual tours at a time of your choosing here: https://vod.virtualtoursofscotland.com/catalog

We have set up an automatic time zone converter for each individual tour date and time listed on our website. Go to the Virtual Tour website page, then beneath each tour time listed, you’ll see a yellow box with red text which reads as follows (note, the one below is just an example of what to look for and isn’t operational, as tours are at different times):

TIME ZONE DIFFERENCE – Please CLICK HERE and enter the city closest to you to check what time this tour will be in your time zone.

Simply click the red text in the box on the website page of your chosen tour and it will instantly take you to a time converter which is already set to the date, location and time of that particular tour. It will look similar to the example in the photo below. All you need to do is type in the city closest to you in the blue bar and press enter and it will instantly reveal what time that particular tour will be running in your part of the world.

Setting up and using Zoom…

IF YOU HAVEN’T USED ZOOM BEFORE – it is very quick and easy to set up a free Zoom account, however, if doing so is left until the last minute, you may end up missing some of the Virtual Tour. So we ask that you set this up in plenty of time. Follow these steps…

Firstly, download the free Zoom App onto the device that you’ll be watching the tour from.

Then set up a free Zoom account in your name. You do not need any paid subscription with Zoom to create your free account or to take part in any of our Virtual Tours (we take care of the subscription).

You can access Zoom on your PC in a browser on the following website: https://zoom.us. However, we find that the App works better than the website and it is easier to use. Whether you download the App or use the website, it only takes a couple of minutes to set up your free Zoom account.

We strongly advise you to set up a test meeting with a friend before the Virtual Tour to ensure your Zoom Display name is correct and that your microphone, speakers and camera are all working on that device. If this is left until you join the Virtual Tour, then you may end up missing all or part of the tour.

We offer free 30 minute Zoom training sessions for people to dip and and out of as required so they can test Zoom and check that everything is working properly. If you’d like to know when our next free ‘Zoom for Newbies’ session is, please contact us.

Essential info…

PLEASE ENTER THE ZOOM MEETING USING THE SAME NAME AS YOUR BOOKING CONFIRMATION EMAIL WE DO NEED TO BE ABLE TO MATCH YOU TO YOUR BOOKING TO ADMIT YOU INTO THE MEETING – Each guest will enter into our Zoom ‘Waiting Room’ before the Virtual Tour begins, and as soon as we can match your Zoom Display Name to your booking, then we’ll admit you to the tour. If the Zoom account you’ll be using is in a different name to your ticket, then please write to us in advance to let us know, so we can put a note on your booking. If your Zoom Display Name is ‘iPad’ or ‘Mary’s iPad’ or ‘Mom and Dad’ or similar, then we won’t be able to identify you, and therefore can’t admit you to the meeting until you can let us know who you are. Note: we only see your Zoom Display Name and not your email address, so we have no other way of identifying you. If you need to change the Display name settings on your Zoom account before the tour, it takes one minute to do as follows. TO CHANGE YOUR ZOOM DISPLAY NAME: Sign into your Zoom account, click on ‘Settings’. Click on ‘Profile’. Your ‘Display Name’ appears here and can be checked and edited with ease. It takes less than one minute to check/amend your Zoom Display Name. We will message people in the waiting room to let them know if we are unable to identify them. If you are waiting there and aren’t admitted to the tour, follow the instructions in bold above to change your Zoom Display Name, then come back into the waiting room and we will admit you to the tour.

ONE DEVICE PER BOOKING – Please sign into the Virtual Tour on only one device. We can’t allow multiple devices on one booking as this will prevent someone else from being able to join the tour if it is fully booked. If two devices sign in using the same Zoom Display Name, both will be removed from the meeting and one will need to sign back in again.

HOW MANY TICKETS DO YOU NEED TO PURCHASE? – You only require one ticket to watch on one device with other members of your household. If you have booked more than one ticket for multiple devices, then you must let us know the other names and email address of the person(s) who will also be requesting entry to the tour on Zoom, or we won’t have a booking to match them against. If we don’t receive their details, they won’t gain access to the tour. We need to be advised of this in advance of the tour.

PLEASE CHECK YOUR SPAM/JUNK FOLDERS FOR YOUR EMAILS FROM US – You will receive an automated reply when you book and pay for a place. This is confirmation of your payment only and does not contain the link to join the tour. You will receive your Zoom link to access the tour the day before the tour begins and a further reminder 2 hours before the tour begins. Please check your spam/junk email if either email has not arrived in your main email inbox as we cannot be held responsible for where your email goes. If for any reason you have not received the link at all, then please ensure you contact us several hours before the tour begins so we can send it to you.

NO RECORDING OF THE TOUR ALLOWED – IT IS ILLEGAL – We do not record our virtual tours and we do not grant permission for any participant to record them under any circumstances. It is illegal to record a Zoom meeting without the express permission of the host and all the other participants. All photos and film used in our virtual tours are copyright and we do not grant permission for them to be copied or used in any way. Anyone suspected of recording or photographing any of our Virtual Tours will be removed from the tour immediately without apology.

TICKETS ARE NON-REFUNDABLE AND NON-TRANSFERABLE – If you don’t turn up to the tour you’ve purchased, or if we’ve been unable to identify you in the Zoom Waiting Room from your Zoom Display name, then unfortunately we are unable to issue a refund as there is a significant amount of administration involved for such a small amount.

THE ZOOM LINK MUST BE KEPT PRIVATE – Please do not share the Zoom link to access the tour with anyone who has not booked a place on the tour.

PLEASE LET US SEE YOU AND SPEAK TO YOU – Please have your camera and microphone switched on, so we can all see one another and talk as a group. We would very much appreciate this. It makes for a far more interactive experience for everyone, including us.

BOOKINGS ARE NOT OPEN TO RESIDENTS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM – Please note that these Virtual Tours are not open to residents of the United Kingdom. They are specifically for those unable to visit Scotland at this time.

PLEASE BEWARE OF SCAMMERS TRYING TO SELL FAKE/CHEAP TICKETS ON FACEBOOK – If anyone claims to have tickets for sale for our Virtual Tours on any of our Facebook Events pages, please do not purchase them. These are scammers who scour through Facebook events claiming to have tickets so they can con people into paying them for tickets they don’t actually have. The only way you can access our tours is by booking through our website. We make every effort to delete scammers as soon as we see their posts on our page, and we post on each event to advise people not to purchase them. However we cannot be held responsible if you agree to purchase tickets from someone without our knowledge or agreement.

IF YOU ARE FOLLOWING THE EVENT ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE – Please be aware that one hour before the event starts, we change the date of the event on facebook to the next Virtual Tour date. We do this for two reasons: 1) bookings close one hour before the event 2) to prevent facebook scammers targeting our followers – scammers tend to comment in as many places as possible to sell fake tickets during the final hour before the event. Changing the date on facebook stops that in its tracks. When we change the date on facebook an hour before the tour, it DOES NOT MEAN YOUR EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED OR MOVED. We will always contact you personally and directly by email if we need to cancel or change an event that you are booked on.

So we’re asking you to treat your booking on a Virtual Tour the same way you would if it were a physical tour. Basically if you’re not there when the minibus leaves, then you’ll miss the tour. The door is open, so please ensure you’re able to hop in on time and join the journey with us…