How Often Should You Update Hotel Photos
High-quality photography is an important marketing tool for hotels and hospitality businesses. It’s important that a hotel launch starts off on the right foot with standout original images. However, once the first photoshoot is completed, it’s important to not rely on those photos for too long.
In certain instances, the contract you make with your photographer might specify that the images are only licensed for a certain amount of time. Even if you are given a perpetuity license for your hotel images during the initial launch, updating your hotel photos is still essential.
So how often should you update your hotel photos?
I would recommend updating your hotel photos at least once every two years. I’ll be giving some examples as to when it might be useful to update your hotel photos earlier and where they should be updated.
When Do You Update Your Hotel Photos Early?
There are a few instances when it'll be necessary to update your hotel photos earlier than a regular update:
Hotel Renovations: if your hotel has new suites available for guests, or there is a design change to the rooms or exterior of the building itself, then you’ll want to make sure that everything is up to date. You’ll want new guests to enter the property and see that it’s the same as what is advertised in the photos on your website and social media.
New Staff: For any lifestyle photos featuring your staff, you want to make sure that any current photos you're using feature active employees on your property.
Offering New Amenities: When you first open your property, you might not have had a restaurant or spa as an amenity (or they were set to launch at a later date). Once these amenities become open to the public, you’ll want to make sure to promote them on all of your marketing channels with new photos.
Seasonal Campaigns: This one goes without saying, but if you launch seasonal campaigns, you’ll want to make sure that the photos you’re promoting are aligned with the actual season. It’s also beneficial to not use the same seasonal campaign each year.
Where Should You Update Photos
Understanding the importance of updating hotel photos, you should update the images on any and all channels where you market your property:
Hotel Website: Whether it’s the gallery of rooms and suites that guests directly book from through your website or your page featuring all of your amenities, you want to make sure that every page on your website has up-to-date images of your property.
Social Media Pages: Future guests might come across your property through social media channels like Instagram. It’s a good idea to actively promote your property on these channels with new content.
Email Newsletter: For potential guests that sign up for your email newsletter, including current images of your hotel is essential.
