Produce It Yourself:
Before You Begin

Small Business Marketing Video Production for:

What equipment and skills will I need?

What Should Your Hotel Video Include?

Before you begin writing a script or planning your shots to produce a primary video that introduces your hotel to clients, review the following marketing research findings. (Collected 2/8/18 to 4/26/18).

Maximum Video Length Average: 83 seconds

Video Element	Recommended?	Want	Indifferent	Do Not Want
Owner Narration	No	14%	49%	37%
Story of Hotel Origin	No	8%	36%	46%
Animated Logo Intro	No	14%	45%	41%
Background Music	No	23%	45%	32%
The Rooms	Yes	89%	8%	3%
Amenities	Yes	81%	15%	4%
Building & Surroundings	Yes	79%	13%	8%
Lobby	Yes	60%	32%	8%
A Funny Skit	No	6%	31%	63%
Pricing/Deals	Depends	85%	9%	6%

Industry Overview:

< br/> The most prevalent fear among consumers when booking a hotel is that it won't look as good as the pictures. People want an honest and complete view of especially the rooms - multiple rooms. 91% of all consumers would use the internet to find a hotel or vacation rental. 13% of consumers have not booked a room in the past 3 years. Most consumers chose 3 to 5. 70% of all consumers say they would watch a video before choosing an hotel if available and in need of the service.

Things that Improve Customer Interest:

Nice rooms (large, spacious nice layout, up to date, 3D view, multiple rooms shown, large windows, full size showers) 33
Desirable location (seeing safe, accessible, nice nearby attractions & restaurants, scenery) 27
Appealing amenities (pool, hot tub, gym, continental breakfast, wifi, large TV, blowdrier, balconies) 24
Overall appearance of hotel is nice, well kept (clean, nice decor, tranquil, spacious, luxury) 22
Good pricing/deals 22
High quality food service/dining and bar area (happy hour) 6
Realistic views/honest picture/footage felt authentic/no surprises upon arrival 5
Professional, friendly staff 5
Concise/sticks to facts/gets to point/quick 4
Well lit/good lighting 3
Shows all areas (parking, building, surroundings, lobby, dining area, room, bathroom) 2
Nice grounds/landscaping 2
Appealing atmosphere (inviting, warmth) 2
Nice views 1
Free parking 1
Shuttle options 1
Something distinctive that makes the hotel stand out 1
Kid friendly 1
Good video production (clear, authentic footage) 1
Good music 1
Close proximity to trip purpose 1
It depends on the type of trip 1

Things that Scare Customers Away:

Undesirable rooms (Small, cramped, dated, bad beds or lack of seating, bad TV) 29
Unclean or unkempt 29
Undesirable location (impractical proximity or bad part of town, not secure) 21
Undesirable decor (run-down, dated, cheap-looking, does not like theme) 21
Exaggeration/staged/unrealistic/misleading/cherry-picked shots, cheesy or pushy sales pitch 10
Video gets off track/too long/not concise 8
Lack of amenities (no pool, gym, free breakfast, wifi, fridge, microwave, coffee machine, balcony or large closet) 7
Overpriced 7
Low quality production, vague or unclear shots, poor audio 6
Parking (not free, none available, potholes) 4
Poor lighting 3
Signs of unprofessional staff 3
Bad/loud background music 2
Party atmosphere/Too many bars near by 2
Crowded environment 2
Manager speaking in video 2
Simply having a video 2
Building or grounds look run-down 2
Fails to show a variety of shots 1
Fails to show bathroom 1
Poor views 1
Bad reviews 1
Low availability 1
Shady-looking guests 1
Sexist images 1
Presence of pets 1
Being unable to get info other than video 1
Fails to excite 1

General Advice

32% of consumers said they would not watch a small business video online. The 4 most popular reasons they gave were that videos are…

Biased, exaggerated, overproduced, flashy, only showing the business in the best light, not a true representation
Cheesy, dated, gimmicky and annoying
Too long, too slow, failing to get to the point, not concise, clear, rambling
Fail to provide the needed information, waste of time, adds no value, only necessary for visual products/services

On the flip side, 68% of consumers surveyed say they would watch a video before choosing a small business. Some of the top things consumers are hoping to see in a video are…

Real footage, true representation, authentic, honest, not overproduced
Message is concise, clear, short and to the point
Full footage and information provided, nothing is left out
Message is calm and sincere, not pushy or aggressive
Does not try to entertain

Many consumers said they would rather watch a video review from an unbiased third party than to watch a video from the business itself. Small business owners tend to want to show only the best aspects of the business in the best light. It may feel counter-intuitive, but including the business's shortcomings demonstrates honesty and earns customers.

Review over 30 hotel marketing video examples here: Hotel Marketing Video Examples.