Hilton Garden Inn Photo Art Direction
Weekend lifestyle photography for a business travel brand
The Client
Hilton Garden Inn
My Role
Creative Strategy Talent Sourcing Art Direction Post-Production
Project Team
Amanda McKinley Jon Gothold Jon Blais Gillean McLeod
About this project
The Goal
Direct a photoshoot that focused on weekend moments
Hilton Garden Inn wanted to shift beyond business travel positioning. They knew their guests were already creating weekend memories at their properties but a lot of hospitality marketing felt sanitized and generic. They needed a photo library that could support their "Long Weekend" campaign and show the brand as a place where real connections happen.
The Problem
Manufacturing authentic moments that don't feel manufactured
Hospitality photography defaults to polished perfection. Staged families laughing at breakfast tables. Couples gazing thoughtfully out windows. The visual language feels manufactured. But HGI guests were telling different stories. Girls' weekends, concert trips, sleeping in on Saturday mornings. Real life is messier than hotel marketing usually allows.
The Solution
Real stories and real people made it easy to capture genuine moments
I started with the stories we were hearing from actual weekend guests. A family trying to take the perfect selfie. Friends grabbing beers while watching the game. The luxury of sleeping until noon when you're away from home. Those moments shaped my shot list and talent sourcing. Instead of hiring picture-perfect models, I cast people who felt like they belonged in those stories. We worked with editorial photographer Jon Blais, who captured spontaneous energy and the perfect amount of vulnerability.
The Impact
The photo library became a cornerstone asset for the "Long Weekend" campaign, giving HGI visual storytelling that matched the human truth of how people actually experience their brand.
About this project
