Not too long ago I was attending a boutique hospitality conference where participants from around the world were sharing case studies and highlighting trends in everything from F&B, to hotels, and even AI - all things boutique. The conference was BLLA’s Stay Boutique. The time was early March. Then, 5 days later Los Angeles’ Stay At Home Orders hit, a world pandemic was announced, and all things hospitality seemingly came to a standstill.
I bet everything you’ve heard since probably spells doom and gloom for the hotel and travel industries, right? Cuz, Corona, right? Maybe… or maybe not. Now, more than ever, there’s a public out there thirsty for their future getaway. A public who, in this time of Safer at Home, are also living on Instagram more than they already did - more than ever, in fact. During the COVID-19 pandemic social media engagement rates are at a 2020 high. So what does that all mean? I’m getting there, hold your horses.
This week I had the pleasure of contributing a guest blog for the very same organization who’s conference I attended, BLLA. In it I outline why the above tidbits, and many more, present a great opportunity for smart hotels with great photography to put themselves in prime position post-Coronavirus. Check an excerpt from my guest blog below but to read all 5 Reasons Why Smart Hotels Are Revamping Their Photography Portfolio During COVID-19 click over to Stay Boutique.
I’ve detailed at some length how to best coordinate successful hotel photoshoots. This includes the importance of staying one step ahead of your photographer in order to understand where and when to redirect foot traffic, cleaning crews, and more. Right now, however, the need for extensive logistics and coordination is greatly reduced since most hotels are sitting empty or at significantly reduced capacities as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. Now is the ideal time to capture clean design and architectural shots of your hotel. I’ve had shoots where we’ve had to scratch spaces from our shot list on the day because they were either decorated for holidays, or were set up for a last minute conference, and the hotel is either left without this space in their portfolio or forced to schedule a follow-up shoot. Or, it’s often the case that more time has to be spent on post-production, removing from photos unwanted objects or individuals obscuring the hotel’s great architecture and features. Smart hotels are taking advantage of this once in a lifetime moment when they are able to showcase every one of their spaces in all their glory to schedule photography.