Preparing for a Hotel Shoot: 9 Things to Do Before the Crew Arrives

What determines the quality of a hotel shoot is not the model of the camera. It's what was done there before we arrived.

I've shot twice in the same hotel, with the same crew, with the same equipment. One finished in two days and the client used that set for their catalogue for three years. The other stretched to four days and half of it was reshot. The difference wasn't equipment. The difference was preparation.

The list below is a simplified version of the preparation list I send clients at the proposal stage. Do these, and on shoot day we only shoot.

1. Choose the rooms in advance and block them

The most common problem: the room to be shot has been sold. "It'll be free in the afternoon" is not a plan. Decide in advance which room types you'll shoot (standard, family, suite, villa) and take one of each off sale for the shoot day. Leave a spare room too. Plumbing failure, a late checkout, a broken air conditioner — I've lived through all of them.

2. Agree on the clock with housekeeping

A clean room isn't enough. The room must be shoot-ready. That's a different standard: the bedline taut, pillows symmetrical, towels folded with the hotel logo visible, curtain panels even, remotes and brochures out of frame.

Housekeeping needs to have finished the room at least an hour before the shoot. We restyle the room, but we don't tidy it from scratch. That isn't our job and it steals time.

3. Prepare landscaping and the pool a day ahead

Pool water must be clear, the robot cleaner must not be in frame, leaves must be collected. Dry branches, yellowed grass, a stripped sunbed cushion — all of it can be fixed in post, but fixing means money and time.

Align the sunbeds and umbrellas. The human eye doesn't notice misalignment. The camera does.

4. Settle the staff dress code

If staff appear in frame, uniforms must be clean, pressed and from the same season. If three waiters are wearing three different shirts, that frame is unusable. Name badges, mobile phones and personal jewellery all need to be discussed.

And ask this in advance: which staff members have given written permission for their image to be used? A staff member is a person too, and their consent must be obtained.

5. Update signage, menus and printed material

If the restaurant menu carries old prices, if the signage shows an old logo, if the spa price list is out of date, those frames become rubbish within a year. A shoot must record the brand's most current state.

6. Have flowers, textiles and small props ready

What makes a room feel lived in is detail. Fresh flowers, a folded newspaper, an open book, two glasses, a plate of fruit. These are the stylist's job to place but the hotel's job to supply. Asking "do we have flowers?" on the morning of the shoot is already too late.

Ask us about colour choices. A flower that clashes with the hotel's brand palette ruins the frame.

7. Discuss power, sockets and lighting permissions

We will build light. That means we need sockets, sometimes a generator, sometimes to switch off the ceiling spots. Having one person from the technical team accompany us on shoot day speeds the work up considerably.

Also clarify: in which areas can we shoot while guests are present, and in which can't we? Lobby and restaurant are usually the difficult ones — set specific hours.

8. Model, staff or guest — decide in advance

If you want a lifestyle frame, there will be a person in it. Three options: professional model, hotel staff, real guest.

A professional model gives the most controlled result and requires extra budget. Staff are cheap but not used to a camera, and looking natural takes them time. A real guest is the riskiest: written consent is required, and you shoot whatever mood they're in that day.

Make this decision at the proposal stage, not on set. If we're working with a model agency, we need to talk at least ten days ahead.

9. State the delivery format and usage scope from the start

This item is the most skipped and the most expensive one to skip.

Where will the frames be used? Website, social media, booking platforms, printed catalogue, billboard, trade fair stand? Each has a different aspect ratio. A frame going onto a billboard is shot horizontal; one going into Instagram Reels is shot vertical. If I don't know this on set, I shoot every frame twice and the schedule stretches.

Usage rights should be discussed upfront in the same way: which channels, for how long, in which countries. That subject deserves its own article, but for now this is enough: a right negotiated after delivery is an expensive right.

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In a hotel that does these nine things, the shoot fits into two days. In a hotel that doesn't, the same job takes four days — and the hotel pays for those four days either way.

The ordinary waits for shoot day. The rebellious arrives ready for it.