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Hotel Photography Packages
When it comes to Hospitality Photography there are few methods to price the work both from the photographers and the hotel side. In this article, I will review the options available the advantages and disadvantages.
Scope of work:
First, we must understand the scope of work for the project.
Are we capturing a new hotel, after partial/full renovation, or maybe just a new addition.
When you reach out to a professional hospitality and hotel photographer, it is recommended to provide a short brief description about the project and to provide a shoot list for better understanding the project, scope of work and timeline.
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Consultation:
A professional vendor would always provide great feedback and information about how is best to capture the project, both the number of photos needed schedule and timeline.
While I am sure you know best what you need and how you want things to be done, it is important to engage in a conversation, The photographer’s ultimate goal is to provide you with the best solution possible.
Licensing:
Before we talk about photography packages and pricing it is important to understand the licensing structure as it impacts the pricing and package options.
Usually working with leading hotels there are two photo license options, a “buyout” and “usage/time”
Buy-Out: A Buyout license is pretty straight forward, the hotel request from the photographer to “transfer all the rights to the images” allowing the hotel to use the photos how and when they want to including transferring the photos to 3rd party.
In most cases, most hotels prefer this option as they don’t want to reach out to the photographer to renew the license or to negotiate future usage or transfer of photos to their vendors and partners.
This option is the most expensive as it eliminates the photographer future royalty fees and option to sell the photos to other vendors (designers, architects, construction, linen and other companies involved in the project)
Usage / Time: Is pretty straight forward, you are paying for what you are planning to use the photos, for example: photo usage for 3 or 5 years in any media, not including 3rd party usage.
It is a great way to save on licensing as most hotels and resorts renovate every 3-5 years and require new photos anyway, also they should not “sponsor” commercial use of their vendors on their “dime”
Pricing Structure:
When it comes too pricing, the most common pricing structure is based on per project, per day, or per photo.
Per day: Pricing is based per 6-7 hours of work, sometimes including or excluding post-production work.
This is great when you are on top of your photography schedule allowing you to have your photographer in standby if needed.
Also sometime different photos can take different times like exterior photos might take double then interior ones.
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Per Photo: When you have a small number of photos needed or different types of photos such as exterior, interior, day, and night time it might be best to work based on Per Photo pricing as the photographer may take more time to create one picture than the other.
Per Project: When you have a set budget, you might want to book per project pricing, allowing you all the time needed to complete the project without additional costs in many cases.
Packages that work for you:
After we talked about basic planning, licensing and pricing now let’s talk about packages.
As opposed to other photography professions in hospitality we don’t “package” our work for various reasons.
In weddings, you might want to book a photographer, videographer, and maybe prints and albums, packages are meant to “bundle and save” the more you spend the more you get discounts.
Similar to Portraiture, you might be looking for “all-inclusive packages” that include photo sessions and portfolio prints.
When it comes to hospitality most hotels already know that the impact of professional photography on their brand and revenue can be significant.
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You don’t want to “ buy more stuff “ that you don’t really need.
But it doesn’t mean you can’t create a package that work best for you when it comes to multiple services you need.
Best Packages for you: If you are working on a large scale of projects for example a semi/full renovation, a brand new hotel, or just re-branding your property, you might want to discuss your options with your vendor in order to create a package that is right for you.
For example: If a “day-rate” is priced at $6,000.00 and you need several days or weeks of work, you might want to request (if the photographer didn’t offer) a large project discount (package).
The same applies to “Per Photo Rate” as you might need dozens of new photos done, instead of paying $1,000-$1,500.00 per photo (including buyout rights) you may want to create a package with your professional to reduce the costs and increase the photo count.
“Per Project” Can be a great way as well, assuming that you have several hotels and resorts or different type of Venus/Spaces you might want to build a bundle for your vendors to keep the visibility the same instead of them reaching out to different photographer that might impact your reputation in the future.
In conclusion:
Your goal is to focus on who can provide you the best service and not the best package/bundle.
Hospitality Photography is always about the “bottom line” meaning the value for your money and results, results, and again results.
When it comes to the large scale of the project it is best to request the photographer for a project discount or photography package.
We look forward to helping, consulting, and being your photography partner nationwide.