Beyond Audio Tours: Creative Features You Can Build with STQRY

STQRY is much more than an audio tour platform. With web screens, built-in forms, gamification tools, and more, you can create rich, interactive visitor experiences. They go far beyond a standard audio guide. Here are some creative ideas to inspire your next project.

Immersive Soundscapes

Take your audio tours to the next level with layered, spatial audio. Instead of simple narration, create cinematic soundscapes that transport visitors into the scene. Ambient sounds, music beds, and binaural 3D audio make listeners feel like they're actually there. This works especially well for historical sites, nature trails, and immersive art installations.

You can produce audio content in-house, or get in touch with us. STQRY works with professional production teams around the world and can connect you with the right studio for your project.

▶ Listen to the tour introduction from Hilton Chicago app

▶ Listen to the tour introduction from Story Strolls app

Before-and-After Historical Photo Overlays

Let visitors hold up their phone at a specific location and see what it looked like decades or even centuries ago. By combining a historical photo with a recent phone, you create a powerful "then vs. now" experience. This is a compelling feature for heritage sites, city walking tours, and architectural tours.

Augmented Reality (AR) Experiences

Augmented reality lets visitors see digital content layered on top of the real world through their phone or tablet. STQRY supports AR in two ways. You can host 3D files directly within your app for offline AR, using USDZ and Reality files (iOS) or GLB (Android). Or you can embed Web AR content through a web screen for more complex experiences with animations and special effects.

From 3D reconstructions of ancient artefacts to historical figures overlaid onto a battlefield, AR creates memorable moments that keep visitors engaged.

Virtual Tours and 360° Previews

Virtual tours let remote visitors explore your venue before (or instead of) a physical visit. They work as a marketing tool to drive bookings and a preview to help visitors plan their trip. They're also an accessibility option for those who can't visit in person. And they double as an onsite enhancement, letting visitors there in person dig into extra details and stories as they explore.

With STQRY, you can achieve this in two ways. You can display a 360° image as a full-screen photo within your app. Or, for a fully interactive walkthrough, embed an external virtual tour platform into your experience via a web screen.

Gamification

Gamification turns a passive visit into an interactive adventure. Adding game-like elements, such as scavenger hunts, quizzes, digital badges, and score tallies, increases dwell time, encourages exploration, and keeps visitors coming back.

STQRY has built-in features for creating quizzes and badges directly within your app. For even more possibilities, use web screens to embed custom games.

Digital Photo Frame

Digital photo frames and social sharing turn visitors into ambassadors for your venue. Displaying rotating images, visitor photos, or curated galleries on screens around your site creates a dynamic, engaging atmosphere. Encouraging visitors to share their experience on social media extends your reach far beyond the venue walls.

With STQRY, you can use web screens to build digital photo frames for kiosks and signage displays. They can showcase visitor photos, promotional content, or visual slideshows. You can also embed social sharing prompts that let visitors post directly from the app.

Forms

Forms are a simple but powerful way to engage visitors before, during, or after their experience. Common use cases include consent forms and safety waivers for adventure tours, and CRM forms to collect visitor details like name, email, and group size. Feedback surveys at the end of a tour and membership or newsletter sign-up forms work well too. The data you collect helps you follow up with visitors, build mailing lists, and personalize future communications.

STQRY Form is available with built-in CRM integration for easy data management. Contact your Customer Success Manager for more information on setting this up.

Embed a Live Chat

Live chat has become a standard feature across websites and apps, letting users get instant answers without leaving the experience. In the visitor experience space, live chat is especially valuable. Guests at large venues, virtual tours, or events often have quick questions about directions, opening hours, accessibility, or exhibit details. A real person can answer them on the spot.

STQRY Chat is an AI guide that answers your visitors' questions in real-time, drawn entirely from your own content. Visitors ask in their own words (no menus or timetables to search through). It works on kiosk, mobile app, or via a web link with no download required, and supports 20+ languages. Contact your Customer Success Manager to learn more.

Push Notifications and Geofenced Alerts

Push notifications keep visitors informed and engaged at exactly the right moment. Location-triggered messages guide visitors through your experience without them having to search for information. That might be a welcome message on arrival, a prompt to explore a nearby exhibit, or an alert about an upcoming point of interest.

STQRY supports both time-based push notifications and GPS-based geofenced alerts, giving you full control over when and where content is triggered. To set these up, see How to Send Push Notifications on STQRY and Complete Guide to Setting Up Geofencing on STQRY.

In-App Ratings and Feedback

Collecting visitor feedback at the right moment leads to higher response rates and more honest insights. Prompting visitors to rate their experience at the end of a tour or after key moments gives you real-time sentiment data. Use it to continuously improve your offering.

With STQRY, you can place rating screens directly within your app. You can also prompt happy visitors to leave a public review on Google or the Apple App Store, turning positive experiences into social proof. To set this up, see Introducing STQRY's In-App Rating Feature.

Donation and Membership Sign-Up Pages

Visitors are most likely to support a venue in the moment, right after an inspiring exhibit or at the end of a memorable tour. Embedding donation pages or membership sign-up forms directly into the experience captures that goodwill before it fades.

With STQRY, you can add donation and membership pages via web screens, making it easy for visitors to contribute or sign up on the spot. Works well for museums, national parks, heritage trusts, and non-profit organisations.

Accessibility

Accessibility in visitor experiences is no longer optional. It's expected. Multi-language support lets international visitors switch languages on the fly, while sign language video tours ensure deaf and hard-of-hearing visitors can fully enjoy the experience. Text-to-speech narration helps visually impaired visitors engage with your content, and high-contrast or simplified layouts make navigation easier for everyone.

STQRY supports built-in translation, sign language video overlays, and text-to-speech narration to help you welcome every visitor regardless of language or ability. Read our case study on creating inclusive visitor experiences to learn more.

Apps Featured in This Article

• Hilton Chicago
• Story Strolls
• Finger Lakes Virtual Museum
• The Sherborne
• Wrexham
• Koala Trail Discovery
• Walt Disney Family Museum
• Howick's Heritage
• San Mateo County Parks
• SA National Parks Tours
• Salem On Your Own
• Korsak's Museum
• Savannah Book Festival
• GuideU

Need Help Getting Started?

These are just some of the creative possibilities available on STQRY. If you'd like help setting up any of these features, reach out to our team at support@stqry.com or visit our Help Centre for step-by-step guides.