A Focus on Photos – Boosting your Site with Imagery
People love to look at pictures – family photos, travels afar, wedding portraits, beautiful landscapes and everything in between. Pictures enable us to share life experiences and enjoy the beauty of people, places and things time and again. Good hoteliers understand that pictures are more than casual eye-candy. On hospitality Web sites, images sell.
Images are the starting point of your guests’ entire experience. They may choose to stay or not stay because of images on your site. People want to know what they are getting when they book with you, so put your best foot forward with powerful imagery.
Of course, professional photography is preferred, and it’s a reasonable investment for mid-to-large size hotels and boutique properties. However, you may be surprised to find that professional photography is not required to put together a smart looking Web site. Creative development experts at WRS skillfully boost the power of your images by optimizing color tone, contrast and composition.
However, we can’t take the shots for you. We recommend keeping a good quality digital camera at the property, but that doesn’t mean it has to be expensive. If you’re willing to do an average amount of price-shopping, you can find a camera with all the features you need for under $300, maybe even $200 with rebates and special offers. You’ll need an 8-megapixel or more camera with an adequate zoom function.
Once you have selected a camera, the next step is easy. Take lots of pictures! You can’t take too many. No matter what your staff says about their hair or outfit, keep taking pictures. A few of them are bound to turn out.
Is there an upcoming wedding at your property? Ask the bride’s permission to take and use photos before their wedding on your site. Take pictures of the cake in your facility, the table setups, favor table and close ups of the floral arrangements.
Is there a nice floral arrangement sitting in your lobby right now? Snap a few pictures and see what you get.
Put your best bed forward. You can take pictures of the rooms with interesting angles, close ups of pillows on the bed, or room service arrangements in the rooms. Have a special promotion going on? Take a picture of your goody bags or prizes.
Meeting room set ups and buffet table displays also usually make great pictures, and help to sell your guests on the entire hotel experience.
Having a company outing? Take pictures of your staff having fun together, and promote the friendliness a guest can expect from your property by posting them to your Facebook page.
Allow guests to get to know your hotel and visually connect with the people and the property. You will be amazed what you can do yourself with a basic digital camera. If you have any questions, WRS is here to help!
Categories: Tips for Hoteliers
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