Hotel Photo gig

[vsihkaahs]

Hello,

I'm a little new here, so sorry if this subject has been previously covered.

I just got an offer from a hotel booking site to travel around and take photos and video of 25-40 hotels across the Midwest and East coast. From what I understand, I'd be driving myself from hotel to hotel and would be able to sleep there for free. Once I'm there, I'd be capturing images of guest rooms, lobbies, gyms, pools, etc.

I'm trying to figure out if there's a standard rate for specific location shoots like this. Would you recommend I go with a daily rate and tally up or charge by some other means (i.e. driving hours vs shooting hours).

Has anyone had a gig like this before that would like to enlighten/caution me?

Thanks!

 

[Trever1t]

I have no experience with this but I'd want some $ up-front for travel expense. I'd verify lodging rates before departing as well. I'd want something on paper, contractually. It could be a real fun opportunity.

 

[orljustin]

I just got an offer from a hotel booking site to travel around and take photos and video of 25-40 hotels across the Midwest and East coast.

So, they don't want to use the images, they just want to pay you to drive around taking pics?

Just kidding. Seriously, though, what is their intended use? You need to work the costs of licensing into your equation.

 

[GeneralBenson]

Well, typically, something like this would be charged as a day rate, which could be anywhere from $250 to $5000 and up a day. My starting day rate for commercial photography (which is what this would be) is $800/day. Usually for something that involves a bunch of days, I will give a break per day. The other thing is the difference between you're ideal day rate, and what you'll actually get. Most photographers have their quoted day rate as the ideal number they'd like to make, or even a bit higher, knowing that they will end up getting negotiated down due to budget constraints and so on. But the higher you start, the higher you'll end up. But if you start too high, you'll scare them off. It's a delicate dance.

It also depends what level of photography you're at, and what their intentions for the photos are and what kind of rights they want. Are you a full time pro? Are you just breaking in? Are you in high demand? Are you an amateur that they think they can score cheap, decent photos from? Do they want full copyright transfer (never do it!)? Do they want permanent exclusivity? Can you re-license the images to other parties later on? Do they want to be able to use the images forever, or just for 6 months? Will the images be credited when used or will they run without credit (most commercial images don't get credited.)? All of this has an effect what kind of day rate you should negotiate for. But at the same time, don't go too low if you're just getting started. If you're god enough for them to hire you, then you're good enough to get a decent day rate. Never forget that these are commercial images, and they will be making money off them.

Other things that have been mentioned: Make sure you get compensated for travel expenses and travel time. Most commercial and editorial photographer have a travel day rate, because even though you're not necessarily working, it's still time that you can't be somewhere else making money. $100-$250 for travel days is fair. Don't forget the wear and tear on you're vehicle. Figure on about $.50 per mile for gas and wear. This trip sounds like it could easily be 2000-5000 miles, which would mean $1000-$2500 of gas and wear on your car. That's a lot. I would suggest telling them to rent a car for you, which would have unlimited miles, and they pay for all gas and other travel expenses (food and such).

Good luck negotiating. Don't undersell yourself or the industry!

 

[cnutco]

Welcome from just North of you!

 

[vsihkaahs]

Thanks for the wisdom here, guys! Here's a follow up...

When negotiating licensing fees, is there a certain percentage of the day rate that you could charge extra for a certain type of licensing? For instance (and I'm just totally pulling numbers out of the air here), if the rate was $1000 per day and they wanted to have exclusive rights for a year, could I charge an extra 5% per day ($1050)? And if they wanted to have non-exclusive rights forever, it could be 2% extra per day ($1020)?

Or does it work like music royalty points...every hit a picture gets on the website gets me a nickel?

I'm guessing a lot of it has to do with how much the website pulls in yearly (i.e. established corporation vs startup).

Thanks for the help. I'm really digging TPF...you guys rock!

 

[vsihkaahs]

Welcome from just North of you!

Howdy, neighbor!

 

[KmH]

Licensing fees are tied to usage type. Licensing is usually separate from a creative fee or day rate.

Web use doesn't cost the client as much as say point-of-sale use, or use in other printed media for advertising.

Many commercial photographers use fotoQuote Pro 6 to help them determine licensing fees. fotoQuote ? Stock and Assignment Photography Price Guide