The cover image is the hotel’s visual business card

The impact of the cover image on bookings

I’m a big hotel researcher. Before we travel, I always go through the photos on booking.com, and if the hotel passes the test there, I move on to TripAdvisor. Hotels that take themselves seriously usually have at least one good photo, but the guest-uploaded images rarely meet my expectations. Partly because one looks worse than the next. And partly because the hotel’s official photos often don’t reflect reality. Sometimes the pictures were taken years (or even decades) ago, and the rooms have since suffered heavy wear and tear. Other times, the photographer’s images are too sterile or over-retouched. This creates an instant, glaring contrast between the guests’ and the hotel’s photos. And at that point, I move on without hesitation to the next possible option.

A premium hotel’s online perception often depends on a single moment, as my example shows. According to Google, users decide within an average of 7 seconds whether they stay on a website or move on.

Research shows that guests’ first impressions focus on the main photo—multiple studies confirm that the visual experience significantly influences decisions already at the search results stage. As both a professional photographer and a guest, I know this precisely: the very first thing a guest notices is not the description or the price, but the photos. And above all, it’s the cover or opening image. This is the visual gateway through which the guest enters the hotel’s world—or turns away immediately.

The role of the cover image in first impressions

The first image—whether it’s the lobby, the terrace view, or the pool bathed in sunset—is the hotel’s visual business card.

This image stops the scroll / defines the hotel’s style and price category / creates emotional associations (luxury, intimacy, nature-focused experience).

What does the guest look at first?

According to eye-tracking studies from Cornell University, when a guest first encounters a hotel’s online listing:
1. Main photo (47% of attention) – the eye automatically lands here.
2. Price (22%) – quick value assessment.
3. Rating (19%) – trust factor.
4. First sentence of the description (12%) – only if the above three are positive.
This means the photo outranks both price and reviews in the order of attention.

The impact of the first image on bookings

According to the Revinate Hospitality 2024 report: hotels with a strong main image achieve a 38% higher click-through rate in search results. Properties that refresh their main photo every 6 months see a 19% higher conversion rate. In business terms: a strong main photo means not just clicks, but actual revenue growth.

Through the eyes of a potential guest, the hotel’s first image is the entry ticket to the entire online experience. If this photo doesn’t convey quality, style, and atmosphere, then neither the price, the description, nor the reviews will persuade them. As a professional photographer, my advice is always this: invest energy, time, and intentionality into this one photo—because it can be the difference between an empty room and a fully booked weekend.

Interested in how to make your main photo stand out? Get in touch with me!