The Value Of Professional Resort Photography For Your Accommodation Website

You get what you pay for. Or, in other instances, you get what you don’t pay for.

When it comes to your website’s photography, this isn’t an area where you want to skimp. Why?

When you own a hotel or bed and breakfast, you’re selling an experience. You portray that experience through the photography on your website.

In this post, we look at the value of professional resort photography for your accommodation website.

People are Visual Learners

With more than 65% of the population identifying as visual learners, you can see why your photos matter.

Visual learners use images, pictures, colors and visual media to mentally organize, learn and take in information.

Appearance is everything in today’s digital world, and if you want your website visitors to learn about your property and convert into paying customers, you have to draw them in with professional photography.

Photography Converts

Studies show that high quality photos help lift your website’s conversion rate. (tweet this)

Using quality images improves your website’s readability as well as the general user experience.

Photos catch readers’ attention and break up boring patterns of text. In other words, your professional photos are “worth 1000 words.”

In reality, the only way to show your website visitors exactly what your property is like is through your photography.

You want to portray the atmosphere and the feel of your hotel. You want to engage your customers and earn their trust. Photography is one of the best ways to do this.

Give your website visitors confidence in your property, and they’ll be more likely to convert.

Improve Your Website’s SEO

When someone is looking for a place to stay, they are often attracted first by the images they see during their Google Search.

Google search images can be a huge source of traffic for your website.

We can nearly promise you that amateur photos aren’t going to bring people to your website. It’s the professional resort photography that draws them in and makes them click to your accommodation website.

Most businesses underestimate the potential of the image search. More than 60% of your website traffic can be generated from image search traffic alone.

The only way to attract potential website visitors to your site is with beautiful, catchy, real images of your property. Make their browsing easy – provide photos that are so amazing they can’t help themselves from clicking through to your site.

Make a Good First Impression

First impressions always count.

Outdated websites or websites with grainy, poor quality images nearly always garner an immediate bounce.

Our digital world is incredibly visual, and if your website doesn’t entice with gorgeous photos, you’ve made a terrible first impression.

What makes a good impression for first-time website visitors?

• Professional photography
• Clean, modern lines
• Mobile friendliness

These things all work together to engender trust in your property.

Let’s say your property is located in a resort town, and you are hands-down the best hotel in town. You provide the best service, your property is the most comfortable, and your on-site restaurant is five-star.

Now, imagine that your website has blurry, grainy, old photos that were taken by an older model cell phone. Your competition has an updated website with high quality photos, but his property lacks cleanliness, it’s located in a bad part of town, and it always gets bad reviews.

But, your website visitor doesn’t know that because the impression you made was of a low-rent, undesirable property simply because of your poor quality website photos.

Bottom line – your customers first perceive the value you provide by the quality of the photos on your website. They don’t even bother to read your reviews if your photos are off-putting.

Use a Professional

Professional photographers are artists, gifted and skilled.

If you’re wondering about the financial investment that comes with the professional photographer, it’s good to know that it’s usually backed up with education and experience.

Professional photographers know how to frame an exquisite shot. They are experts at using composition, lighting, shadow, texture, color and focus to create mood and energy.

They know how to get the most out of their human subjects, and they are masterful storytellers. This is a superb reason to hire a professional photographer because they can convey your brand message through pictures.

Stock Photos Are Boring

You should try to never use stock photos on your accommodation website because they just might show up on another hotel’s website.

When you use professional photographers, you get original work.

The photos are yours to use as you wish, and no one else will have a photo just like it. You certainly don’t want to see your stock photos on dozens of other hotel websites.

Show Authenticity

Using a photographer to shoot your property gives your photos authenticity.

You can use the photos to create a story on your website that shows your visitor your real property.

Today’s website visitor wants to experience what you have to offer before they pay for the privilege of using it. The best way to do this on your website is with professional photos.

Tantalize your customers. Make them want to click “make a reservation.”

The more professional and enticing your website’s photography, the more likely you’ll be to convert your website visitor.

It’s worth noting that authentic photos aren’t just pretty pictures. They are photos shot to tell your story and portray your property in the best way possible.

You also want share-worthy images so that website visitors share them with friends and family.

Final Thoughts

Now that we’ve convinced you of the value of professional resort photography for your accommodation website, we have one parting thought.

Once you’ve decided to hire a professional photographer, it’s of equal importance to find just the right photographer. (tweet this)

You’ll most likely find plenty of professional talent in your area. Look for one that will be the perfect fit for your property.

Be sure and look at their samples and talk to their past clients. Do your research so you can find the best photographer for your job.

Do you have a website with professional resort photography? If not, we can help!

At Hotel Propeller, we build functional, beautiful websites. You’ll find everything you need to attract guests to your website through your email marketing. Take a look at our showcase and contact us today.

Images:  Marek Levak and Suttipong Surak