Dragonfly Image Partners: food and beverage

According to Hotels.com survey results just published, food seems to be high on the minds of travelers these day. According to the article the number one and two amenities hotel guests value are a free breakfast and the restaurant. As a constant traveler, I know that starting or ending a day with a good meal makes all the difference in the world.

Hotel Photography of a breakfast on a balcony overlooking tropical ocean

This serves as a great marketing opportunity for hoteliers that is often under utilized.

As hotel photographers we have always known that a property's photography serves two primary purposes; to represent the property to potential guests and the second is to build an emotional connection with the viewer and there is no better way than with food. Whether it's a healthy breakfast to give a road warrior the power to succeed, a comfort meal after long hours traveling or a culinary adventure, food speaks to us in many positive ways. Coffee & Tea in the Lobby is another amenity on the top 10 list making F&B 30% of the top 10. (Oddly enough, Air Conditioning is #9 on the list making me wonder when the last time was that I stayed in a hotel without it?)

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”
― Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own

Food powers us and is often one of the few enjoyable respites from the rigors of travel and in many cases the original purpose for travel. Everyone is a People sharing photographs of their meals is so popular on Instagram and other social media sites that it has become a cliche.

If you offer an inclusive breakfast, you have a golden opportunity to show it to it's best advantage and leverage you investment in your guests experience into more bookings. Steal that market share from your competitor by showing how fabulous your breakfast can be. Many full service F&B operations can also increase both the market share of the meals sold once the guests are on property, but also actively increase the market share of hotel bookings by actively marketing the Food and Beverage offerings to elevate the perceived value of the overall hotel experience.
Our world literally begins and ends with meals, so if you want to connect with your audience in a way that other hotels often neglect have a good look at developing how you present and market your F & B offerings to leverage bookings, not just diners.

Hotel Photographer-Room Service Breakfast Photograph with fresh fruit and coffee

I have photographed food for over twenty years. Food has always been a passion in my life that was passed down to me by my father. When I was a child, my dad and I didn't bond over a ball game- we made pasta, plum tarts anything else that struck our fancy. During these cooking sessions dad passed along skills that have made me a confident cook. It was a natural progression to combine my passions for food and photography.

Food is a basic necessity and should be pretty easy to sell, and for the most part it is- people have to eat. But how do you expand on market share and increase sales? Show them the food to engage them. Humans have a visceral reaction to images of food. Make it look fabulous and you'll draw them to the restaurant or get them to call room service. They are already tired from traveling, work or a day out and about. Make it easy for them to choose to stay in and relax. Stock photos can work to some degree, but showing potential diners Your food makes the biggest difference. The prospect of great food can also be the deciding point for brides and other event planners working with your banquets sales team.

When we shoot food for marketing in hotels and restaurants we keep a very editorial look that makes it appear to be excerpted from the pages of a food or travel magazine.

Often these food shoots will happen in conjunction with the photography for the rest of the property, but we also do Food & Beverage only shoots for properties wanting to increase sales in those areas.

It's a simple matter of show and tell. If you don't show them what you have to offer, they won't know. Independent restaurants know that they have to have images to accompany press releases, entice people on their website and get media attention. Yet many hotels often under serve the marketing of this aspect of their property and are not seeing the full potential of their Food & Beverage dept.

A recent development, is the need to control your image to some degree in social media. Most online review sites allow customers to post photographs along with their comments, most often with truly mediocre results. The photography most often uses smart phone with a dirty lens ( when was the last time you cleaned the lens on your phone before taking a photo?). Often it is in a dark room and they use flash- the same light that makes fabulous starlets look blanched and strung out when they are caught by paparazzi leaving a nightclub late at night. Having beautiful photography of your restaurant, lounge, food and drinks that YOU can post, puts the other customer's photography in perspective and give you back the control of your public image.

Hotel Guests are Eating it up

What's Cooking good Looking?

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