When searching for a place to stay, travelers want hotels that can satisfy their needs, comfort, and luxury dreams. Styling hotels is the first step to producing high-quality photos that can make people book a room. I'm listing styling tips for luxury hotel pictures that have helped me work with top hotels across the country.

Styling Tips for Luxury Hotel Pictures

When styling luxury hotels for a photo shoot, you must create a vision to ensure a cohesive theme. From there, you can choose furniture carefully, include props, and highlight the amenities. Finally, keep the spaces free from clutter, use polished items, and ensure uniformity in the wardrobe for cohesive yet extravagant styling.

Over the years, I've found that learning how to style hotels is just as vital as your photography skills. There's a lot of work to do before you get to shoot. Here are luxury hotel photography styling tips for capturing eye-catching pictures.

Dog on a bag trolley, photographed in the middle of a hotel reception

Know What You're Trying to Achieve

Before anything else, envision what you're trying to achieve for the shoot. Discuss these when meeting with the hotel management or marketing department.

What kind of images do you need for the website?
What is the brand image you would like visitors to see?
Are there particular parts of the hotel you want to highlight?
What is the target audience of the hotel?

Asking these questions can help you develop a coherent visual theme.

Ensure Cleanliness

Cleaning plays a key role in styling hotels for a photoshoot. Coordinate with the housekeeping department to ensure tidy rooms and spaces.

You'll want visitors to feel the hotel's grandness the moment they step inside. Clear away clutter and prune plants in the lobby to create a sense of awe and pleasure. For the rooms, vacuum floors, polish metal works, and keep pillows and bedsheets free of wrinkles.

Accentuate the Amenities

According to a study, about 78% of travelers find photos the most crucial factor when choosing hotels. This is why people must see everything they need about a hotel, even in a few images.

A wide-angle lens will show a room's vastness. However, you must highlight extra amenities explaining a room's purpose.

For instance, strategically position a laptop on the desk and show a plush chair to complement the ergonomic table to attract business people. While you can include televisions and telephones, be sure to remove visible wiring.

Hotel room with a leather headboard, white mattress, and blue themed design

Set a Palette

Even though the colors will depend on the hotel's branding, you can use accentuating hues to add grandeur. Use gold or beige in hotel room decors because these colors have an eye-catching glow that brings out a comforting yet powerful emotion from a viewer.

You can also complement gold and beige with lighter colors, especially white. This combination creates a sense of space and airiness that add to the hotel's extravagance.

Choose Items Carefully

Furniture is among the most prominent part of hotel pictures. Every piece of furniture can show different functionalities that will cater to the needs of visitors. Have someone from the hotel help you move around furniture to stage the space perfectly and make it look welcoming.

Plush duvets: Luscious bedding is one of the best ways to show luxury in hotel rooms. Most hotels use crisp, white sheets because this assures guests that the beds are clean and fresh. Since they look and feel clean, they also radiate a sense of luxury and an overall deluxe experience.
Complementary chair: Chairs can have various uses in hotels. Those in the lobby can be for leisure, while those in rooms may be for working. Either way, they should look inviting and comfortable.
Deluxe curtains: While the primary purpose of curtains is to guarantee privacy, they also give the impression of aesthetics and comfort. The right palette and style can help visitors imagine how the curtains bring a luxurious ambiance.
Symmetrical lighting: Symmetry brings an additional feel of tidiness to rooms. Regal lampshades or ornate chandeliers can set a luxurious mood in spaces.
Woodwork: Woodwork sets a dramatic and professional look in hotels. Bring some wood tables or wood-crafted beds to add a classic and timeless look to spaces.

Incorporate Props

Props can add a nice touch to luxury hotel pictures. Simple props like a fruit bowl or fresh flowers can bring some life to your shots.

Additionally, put some artworks that can complement the room's decor. On the other hand, a room's kitchen or the hotel's dining area can show signature cocktails, eye-catching tableware, and elegantly plated dishes to establish a sense of extravagance.

Include People to Tell a Story

Styling hotels is more than using furniture and props. You can also hire models or include actual hotel staff in your photos. For example, show waiters or bar staff being attentive to the needs of the visitors. You can also show people enjoying a meal in their room to show that there's room service.

Woman wearing a cowboy hat and pink boots, sitting on a hotel bathtub while scattering rose petals

If you need to market a hotel as the perfect romantic weekend escapade, show couples of different ages enjoying the hotel. Meanwhile, a family-focused hotel would benefit from having a diverse mix of models that show various family structures.

When preparing for a hotel and a lifestyle resort photoshoot, have a stylist bring a wardrobe on set to ensure the clothes or uniforms match the hotel's vibe and the colors don't clash with the hotel's palette.

Conclusion

When styling luxury hotel photos, it's essential that you show how visitors can feel relaxed and satisfied during their stay. It's about knowing proper furniture placement, setting the lighting, and emphasizing the most important amenities. As an internationally renowned hotel photographer, I use these tips to create dynamic and profitable hotel pictures.

Styling Tips for Luxury Hotel Pictures