Hotel gigs are by far one of the most challenging and complex gigs currently available. Depending on your location, you will need a certain level of street cred in order to do these gigs.
If you decide to do a hotel gig, make sure you have at least an hour of time (if not two!) to perform the gig. There are lots of pictures to be taken and lots of questions to be answered. Take your time.
This is the one type of Gig where you will absolutely need to get permission from the establishment’s staff before you start working. You can run afoul of the hotel’s security staff if you just start wandering the property taking pictures unescorted.
Once you contact the proper person at the hotel, make sure they will be able to show you a Standard Room and the Gym/Spa area. These are the two hotel gig questions that almost always will require you to be accompanied by someone with a room key for access. Answering most of the other hotel gig questions such as Lobby and Restaurant Photos can be accomplished on your own.
During peak times, there may not be an unoccupied room for the staff to show you. Be prepared to come back at a more convenient time when rooms are available to be photographed.
Arriving at hotels to do gigs at peak activity times like check-in (approx. 5-7 PM) or check-out (7-9 AM) may not be a good idea as all available staff members may be busy attending to hotel guests. However, the middle of the day is usually pretty good for doing hotel gigs as there is less activity then as most hotel guests are not on the property at that time.
Be aware of cell phone reception issues. Remember in order to use photos for Gigwalk there has to be some sort of network connectivity in order for the photo to be geotagged. This may be a problem if you are taking pictures of the gym or spa which is in the basement of a hotel or if you are shown a hotel room which has less than ideal cell phone coverage. Be prepared to reset your phone or to use the hotel’s free WiFi (if available) in order to ensure that geotagging and location services are active.
Uploading a hotel gig can take some time due to the amount of information which is being transferred. Use this time as an opportunity to sit in the lobby, charge up your phone and hook into the hotel’s free WiFi (if available).
