Hotel corporate video is a niche in the corporate video sector. When designed and shot in a skilful way, a hotel video can be a powerful advertising tool. Like any promotional video, there are many different ways to go about creating one. You could use testimonials, documentary, or a video portfolio. The possibilities are as limited as your imagination, and the goal is to showcase your hotel to the full extent of its personality. While it may seem daunting to display an entire hotel, there are some strategies to keep in mind to make your video as impactful as possible.
Decide on Your Purpose
Just like the general corporate video, hotel video can be portrayed in multiple ways. These include videos designed to sell rooms, build brand awareness, demonstrate a new service, or showcase the property through the eyes of a guest. You could use a timelapse, a 360° to show off a room, testimonials, demonstrations, or a ‘tour-type’ video. So the first thing to do is to determine what your goal is for this particular video, and begin to build a shot list from there.
Your video purpose will also determine the length. A social media ad, for example, would be short and powerful, to gain initial attention. A video featured on your website, by contrast, may be longer and include more basic information. This is based off the presumption that those that visit your website are looking for more details to help make their decision on where to stay.
Below is a hotel promotional video for Malak Regency, which is too long to be featured on television, but would be great to have on a website to provide further information.
You Don’t have to Shoot Everything
While you are deciding which parts of your hotel to film, keep in mind the things that guests will likely be most interested in. Footage of the guest rooms/suites and common areas are going to be the most important thing to show off. Next would be the spa/pool area and/or gym. If you are located in a particularly beneficial area, such as a city centre or on a beautiful landscape, consider showing some of this. Keep in mind, like any advertising video, less is more: you can convey a lot of information in a short amount of time, but you don’t want to bog-down the viewer.
Keep your visuals short and powerful: you want these images to stand out to any casual social-media browsers or television watchers. Colourful, well-decorated spaces are visually pleasing and will be prominent in their memory.
Include Useful Information
Is your hotel located near a popular tourist destination? Do you overlook a beautiful, natural feature, such as a lake? Are you close to an airport? Does your hotel offer helpful amenities, such as a chauffeur service or free delivery?
The Ritz Hotel video below features not only the elegant nature of the residence, but also the face that it is in the heart of London, where ‘everything is happening’.
Lighting is Everything
Especially inside hotels, which often have soothing low-level lighting in their guest rooms, setting up your shots with adequate light is crucial. Having proper lighting will make your video look much more professional, and help show off your amenities in a visually pleasing way.
For more details on technical equipment to use, check out this article on the beginner’s guide to hotel video production.
Show Something Fun/Interesting
If your brand is in good standing and it is appropriate to make a funny video, something lighthearted could help with your PR. The video below is an example of something you would post on your social medias and not necessarily air on television, but it does a good job of conveying the company culture.
Here’s a Marriott/Renaissance music video for an example.
Consider Making a Series
There is an endless possibility of the types of videos you can produce for your hotel. Consider making multiple ones featuring different aspects of the hotel,. An event video can be a great way to show off the hotel’s venues and amenities, as well as assist with credibility while showing people having fun.
Testimonials are a great way to put the human experience into your video ad. You can tell an emotional story, or a happy one.
Summary
In conclusion, a hotel corporate video should be rich with information and appealing visuals of your location. Editing should be skilful and concise—leave the viewer wanting to see more, which will make them want to visit!