"It was a dark, and stormy night..."

Everyone remembers the opening line of Snoopy's ever-doomed novel... which never seemed to ever get quite past that point.

What's interesting is that this line actually speaks to one of the greatest tools in the Hotelier's toolbox... the psychology of hospitality photography.

Potential guests look at images through the lens of "Is-this-the-kind-of-place-that-I-want-to-check-in-to-when-I'm-exhausted-from-traveling"?  The major brands "get" this, and that's why there are very specific standards about when we photograph hotel exteriors, and how.

Almost all major brands specify that hotel exteriors should be shot at dawn or dusk... why?  Because we want your property to look like the refuge from the "dark and stormy night."  The skies are dramatic, the signage is lit brightly (like a beacon of hope), and the lobby is a warm glowing yellow... inviting and warm.  When we photograph the fireplace, it's always lit with a roaring fire... just like you'd like to come in to after a bone-wearying journey in the cold, harsh world.

I know, it's incredibly cheesy... but it's also very true, and very effective.

Hotel exteriors shot in bright sunlight make the entrance and lobby interior look dark... which has all kinds of negative psychological implications... forboding, dangerous, unwelcoming, "closed.."  Exactly the opposite of what we want potential guests to feel.

Four Points by Sheraton - Houston, TX by HotelOptics

Because yes... it *IS* all about feelings... and emotions... when hotels are booked.