Earlier this week I launched a new feature where readers can send me their travel rants to either publish or get off their chest. The response has been excellent, and over the coming weeks I hope to bring you even more travel rants.
Misleading hotel photos
Katie from Tripbase ranted about the authenticity of photos on some hotel websites. Some hotel rooms that look nothing like the huge deluxe suite you see on the website, its misrepresentation so how come hotels get away with it?
Complaining about hotel website photos
If the photographs are misleading on the website then I would suspect that either trading standards or the advertising standards authority would be the places to complain to in the UK, but that could be different depending on the country.
Consumers should always complain to the hotel before they check-out and if the complaint has not being dealt with satisfactory then put it in writing, recorded delivery and make sure you receive a response.
Alternatively, you could leave a review about your experience and upload photos.
Poor quality or staged photos
The main problems I find with hotel photos is the quality, and when the photo was taken, usually when it was first built. You will also find that most of the photos are taken in the best rooms, or very well staged.
So I am interested to hear your experiences with dodgy hotel room photos.
Related posts
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Colin | 16 May, 2009 at 7:20 pm
We can safely assume that the hotel will not use pictures of their worst rooms on their website. I don’t think that would be ‘misrepesentation’.
Darren Cronian | 16 May, 2009 at 9:12 pm
@ Colin
I don’t think you get the point. Of course the hotel are not going to use the worse photos (even though many do use bad quality) the point Katie was making (and myself) is that hotels that use false photos, or photos that were taken many years ago, when it first opened.
Colin | 16 May, 2009 at 10:57 pm
@Darren
Sorry Darren, I think I am being a bit stupid here, but when you say false or misleading photos, do you mean that they are from a totally different hotel?
Terry | 17 May, 2009 at 8:38 am
This is why it is so important to read recent reviews of people so their actual “experience” of the hotel is first-hand.
Darren Cronian | 17 May, 2009 at 9:48 am
@ Colin
No need to apologise 
Misleading could mean 1) the rooms are totally different, or the photos were taken at an angle to make it look a bigger room, or were taken 15 years ago when the hotel was first opened.
The Global Traveller | 18 May, 2009 at 6:10 pm
Pictures of the view from the room can often be misleading. Different room category than the one displayed, or perhaps the view shown is only available from a small number of rooms.
Old pictures can be a problem – hotel had fine views when opened only since then another hotel has been built in front, for example.
Sam Clark | 19 May, 2009 at 4:45 pm
As a travel company we actually have a problem with this. Being independent we have no need to encourage customers to book one hotel over another – but we definitely do want to manage expectations. Unfortunately we are often sent official photos which, with the use of lighting and angles, make the rooms look far better than they are. Same with the swimming pools. By contrast – when we take our own pictures which we like to think are generally not bad – hotel rooms are notoriously hard to get looking anything like as good as they actually are!
Andrew | 19 May, 2009 at 7:56 pm
This is a common problem especially amongst the older hotels in my experience, however, I don’t think this issue will go away. All of the complaint methods are absolutely correct, however, I would go even further with regard to the last suggestion with regard to reviews and uploading photos and encourage consumers to email the Management of the offending establishment with a link to the review on the web to ensure visibility. In most cases this is bound to elicit a response!
Darren Cronian | 22 May, 2009 at 11:29 am
@ Sam
Yes, I suspect for a travel agent they have the same problems. I know examples of photos on tour operator websites that include a pool for example and when we arrived the pool was shared with a twin hotel over the road. A little naughty.
@ Andrew
I agree, it is up to the consumer to complain if they are not satisfied with the photos and information provided by the hotel. If you think you have been misleaded then its consumers right to complain.
Kim Palacios | 2 June, 2009 at 4:20 am
I refer to this issue “WYSYWIG Advertising” (WYSIWYG = What You See Is What You Get) and one of the major guiding principles of my blog is to “reward providers who practice it and expose those who don’t”. It’s bad enough that the whole star/diamond rating system (in the U.S., at least) is so flawed, and hotels that misrepresent themselves via their web sites make it even harder for consumers to make educated choices about what to expect. One of these days, time permitting, I hope to establish a WYSIWYG Award, which would formally acknowledge hotels and chains that offer a consistent experience to what is advertised.
Savannah | 4 June, 2009 at 8:25 pm
I think hotels may use out dated pictures or the use the prettiest, nicest and most eye catching photos to lead you in. I have never been to a hotel that the pictures did not match the hotel/rooms. Many hotels now-a-days have 360 degree views which help a lot more.
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11 responses to “Misleading hotel room photos rant”