The year gone by has seen a rapid transformation in the online hotel industry. Thanks to a quickly growing online travel agency presence, an ever expanding mobile space, escalating social media footprint and corporate channels, travelers today, have more options for researching and booking travel accommodation than ever before.
At this point of time, most businesses have well-accepted the fact that social media is an integral part of their marketing strategy. The travel and tourism industry is fast reaping the benefits of this new found digital advertising medium. According to a report, 30% of travelers use the hotel’s social media page to issue rants or raves about their experience at a particular hotel!

Visual appeal is an instant decision maker. Images provoke emotions, and emotions are considered the most powerful in persuading people to make decisions. Hotel photography makes for the first impression about the property. These days photos that don the hotel’s website or social media page make a critical impact on the business’s bottom line. And now that everyone’s a photographer armed with a DSLR or a smart phone, it is even more important to stand out from the crowd. However it is also important that the quality, quantity, and content of hotel photography provoke the exact emotions your marketing strategy is aiming at.

According to a 2011 statistics, 75% of travelers in Europe visited about 4-7 hotel websites, before making their choice. This means that after pricing, which by far remains the main factor, it is attractive hotel photographs that entice travelers. Another survey states that about 26% tune into a hotel’s social media page to view or post pictures of the hotel and the services that in turn are accountable for their decision to book a particular hotel.

But a resourceful and competent hotel marketing agency will inform you that just having great photographs on your website is not enough. They also need to be kept up-to-date and monitored on a regular basis. Professional hotel photography is an investment and shows the management’s attitude. If a hotelier falls short of respecting himself by investing in and promoting his business with a professional approach, the customer would not like to risk his money on booking a hotel that lacks good presentation, the next hotel being just a click away.

The most recent addition to the digital media world, Instagram is an online photo-sharing and social media site that enables people to share photos the fun way. With a $1 billion acquisition and over 90 million active monthly users as on January 2013, Instagram has revolutionized into a platform to watch out for. Destinations, hotels and restaurants are increasingly making use of the potency of this mass-favorite channel.