When Cheap is Ohhhhh So Good! (And warm!)

By Jerry German
Published: 10/01/17 Topics: Comments: 1

For years I listened to friends and family talk about their trips to Mexico or some other sunny Caribbean destination. My wife and I were busy raising eleven children (yeah, you read that right) so money and time were scarce.

From the earliest days of my childhood, I have never been a winter person. Yeah, winter is beautiful and there are some fun things to do, but I hate cold, love hot. And I love to swim. And I like beaches.

And I prefer my wife in a bathing suit over a snowmobile suit. For twenty years of our married life, we lived in North Dakota, which has two seasons: winter and the 4th of July.

So at some point, having accrued enough cash to actually take a vacation, I began to try and persuade my dearest to take a little vacation with me to Mexico, but she would not hear of it. Too dangerous. Too many bad headlines.

Statistically, you're about a thousand times more likely to die the next time you get in your car and drive to the grocery store than you are to die on a vacation trip to Mexico, but there's still those pesky headlines.

Finally, while she was away babysitting grandkids, I had some time to do a little research on the web. I found this great deal at a resort that was just reopening after being closed for repair following whatever hurricane had just struck.

I called my sweetheart and said, "I never took you on a honeymoon. We've been married for thirty-six years. I think it's time. I'm not calling you to get permission, I'm calling you to let you know that I'm booking nine days at a resort on the Caribbean in Mexico."

There was silence for a moment, and then she said demurely, "Okay."

After one time in the water snorkeling, my better half was hooked, turning into a veritable Jacques Cousteau. I had a full-time job applying her sun screen. She fell in love with the sea, the climate, and the people of Mexico, as did I.

Three years later we bought a house in Mexico, in Joaquin Zetina Gasca, the "colonial" on the other side of the mangrove swamp from the beach town of Puerto Morelos.

In 2012, I retired and we began spending winters in Mexico. It was good. But I turned to her one day in November, 2015, and said, "Is this really what we signed up for? I mean, I want to be able to walk to the beach in a few minutes."

So we began a search, and now we find ourselves with suites to rent just a few minutes from the beach. It's a long way from North Dakota! We have to pinch ourselves every once in a while to make sure it's all real!

How's that for a rambling story? And what about my headline: When Cheap is Ohhhhh So Good? Well, this all started with trying to find a vacation we could actually afford, and as flights go,

Cancun is often the thriftiest international Caribbean destination available. Puerto Morelos is only fifteen minutes south of the Cancun airport, and the prices for everything here--rooms, food, entertainment, transportation, merchandise--are incredibly competitive.

Resorts are nice if you like that sort of Disney World vibe, but if you really want to go to Mexico, come see us in Puerto Morelos. Like my dear wife, you will be hooked.

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Author: Jerry German, Caribe Suites
Blog #: 0558 – 10/01/17

Sponsor: Caribe Suites – Comfy crafty caribbean condos just off the beach at Puerto Morelos Mexico, South of Cancun, but with all the village peace and quiet. Book online today and we promise Mexican hospitality at its best. A member of Goldener Inns & Resorts. – CaribeSuites.com

How to Become a Professional Lodging Photographer

By Ron Lee
Published: 02/21/17 Topics: AirBnB, Lodging Management, Marketing, Photography Comments: 0

Becoming a professional lodging photographer has never been easier.

All you need is a camera and business cards. Just put the words "Professional Photographer" on the cards and people will think you are a pro.

 

Can you imagine a doctor getting away with that? Would you go to a dentist who says, "I am a professional dentist" who didn't have the training? Yikes. Those people would be driven out of the industry.

Unfortunately, there have always been a greatly many people who love the idea of being an artist, a photographer. It sounds like such a great job. For Inns, Resorts & Vacation Rentals, photos are the way guests make instant decisions to view your property or pass on to the next.

No longer is it necessary to burn hundreds of dollars of physical film, toil in the dark room and only later learn if your photos were adequate. Now a good digital camera gives you a thumbnail view instantly that you can call "good enough."

But, great camera gear doesn't make you a true photographer any more than buying your new born child a piano and pronouncing them a "Concert Pianist."

Today, a new higher title has been added to the photography professional. Its called "High Dynamic Range," or HDR, and it is a vastly superior way of shooting, processing, and delivering world class photography. It is a requirement for almost all photos, but an absolute requirement for shooting interior architectural images.

HDR Photos are crisp, clean and brighter, but only enough to match what the human eye actually perceives. By comparison, non-HDR photos are fuzzy, bland, and actually underestimate and mis-represent the property.

Unfortunately, most professional photographers are no longer professional because they are more in love with being "Artists" than they are in spending thousands of hours mastering HDR.

That means more lodging operators are wasting lots of money hiring pros or don’t begin to understand HDR.

To see the difference between Pros and HDR Pros, all you have to do is spend a little time examining listings on your favorite websites like VRBO.com, Expedia.com, or even AirBnB.com.

A company called Evolve Vacation Rentals offers "Free Professional Photography" to property owners. Because Evolve does not have on site staff they must call any "professional photographer" they can find and hire them without realizing that non HDR photos are robbing their listings of maximum bookings.

Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Vacation Rentals does the same thing. Their recent foray into Matterport 3D photos is a good start, but ignoring HDR still photos causes them to lose bookings.

Turnkey Rentals out of Austin is trying to take over the world, but right there on their home page are fuzzy, out of focus, non-HDR photos. How could a management company call themselves professional when the number one listing tool - photos - are all messed up?

All of these companies talk the professional photographer game, but non walk the walk. And all because they refuse to spend the slightly more money necessary to find and employ high level HDR photographers.

Ignoring the absolute requirement for HDR photos is like the proverbial canary in the coal mine. If your manager does not understand the difference between truly professional HDR photos and want to be professional photographers, what else don’t they understand?

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Author: Ron Lee – Not a Photographer, Signatour Photo Team
Blog #: 0521 – 02/21/17

Sponsor: Signatours Photo Team – It is not enough to have a camera and cards that say you are photographer. Today's technology demands study, practice and perfection along with an artists eye. Every Signatour photographer has all of those along with a support and professional staff to ensure the highest quality HDR photos. – Signatours.com