If you’ve looked up an Okanagan restaurant, ski hill or shop on Google Maps, there’s a good chance you’ve seen one of Sean Phillips’ photos.
The Vernon resident spent eight years as a Google Trusted Photographer (Street View). He photographed hundreds of BC resorts, attractions and local businesses, and created Street View virtual tours that let people step inside them online.
8 years in the program
7,738 photos
43,995,344 views
Through Google’s Business View program, he took Street View off the road and inside businesses, then connected those interiors to the map. It was pioneering work more than a decade ago. A programmer by background, he also built tools on Google Maps and added many locations that weren’t on the map before.
Almost 44 million views and counting
Those photos add up. As of October 25, 2026, Google Maps counts 7,738 of his photos across three contributor profiles, with 43,995,344 views between them.
One photo alone, of Swan Lake Motors in Vernon, has passed 1.4 million views, according to a milestone notice Google sent this September. The photo is dated September 3, 2017, and Swan Lake Motors was one of the first places Phillips photographed in the Okanagan.
Another, of JC Bradley Jewellers, has passed 100,000 views and was still drawing more than 1,000 views a week this September. Here are Google’s own milestone notices for both photos:
“I never set out to rack up views. I just wanted people to see how good these places looked before they got here. Every one of those views is someone checking out a local business or planning a visit to the Okanagan,” says Phillips.
Virtual city galleries and Virtual Big White
Phillips also filmed for chambers of commerce and city tourism departments, building virtual city galleries where the public could browse a city’s businesses, attractions and services by category, all in one place. Highlights included the Virtual Vancouver, Virtual Vegas and Virtual White Rock projects, along with Virtual Big White, one of his personal favourites: a popular walking virtual tour that took people inside every store and attraction at Big White Ski Resort.
His work included every property marketed and rented through Big White Central Reservations’ owner relations group, a job that took years to complete, along with many properties at SilverStar Mountain Resort.
Like many early virtual tours, the original resort tours have since been retired as Google Maps evolved, but his photos are still on the map and still drawing views from travellers and skiers years later.
From Google Maps to free local tools
Today, Phillips works as a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Executives Realty in Vernon. He’s put the same mapping know-how into free online tools for the community, including a hill-aware walking and e-biking rating for homes, and a tool that shows the listing details for a for-sale sign you’re parked beside.
“Choosing where to live is about a lot more than the house. The tools are free for everyone, whether you’re buying or not,” he says.
Reporters and editors: photos, a fact sheet and Google’s own milestone notices are on the media kit page.
Contact
Sean Phillips
Okanagan Lifestyle Real Estate Agent
Coldwell Banker Executives Realty, Vernon
236-599-5898
Unit 101, 2907 32 Street, Vernon, BC.
Call or text: 236-599-5898
Email: [email protected]
Book a time: calendly.com/chaletsean
Published October 27, 2026 by Sean Phillips, REALTOR®, Coldwell Banker Executives Realty.