The Difference Between a Brand Film and a Promo Video

I get asked a lot about what I actually do.

And the honest answer is: I make brand films. Not promo videos. Not highlight reels. Not a thirty-second cut of your best rooms set to trending audio.

Those things exist. They have their place. But they're not what I make - and they're not what most hotels actually need.

The difference matters more than people realise. And once you see it, you can't unsee it.

So What Is a Promo Video?

A promo video is transactional. It shows the product. It hits the features. Pool. Spa. Restaurant. Sea view. It's the visual equivalent of a brochure — useful, clear, forgettable.

You've seen thousands of them. That's the point. You've seen them and moved on.

There's nothing wrong with a promo video if that's what you need. But if you're a hotel trying to build a brand that people genuinely connect with, a promo video isn't going to get you there.

What Is a Brand Film?

A brand film is a story.

Not a story in the manufactured, overly-scripted sense. A real one. The kind that captures how it feels to be somewhere — the particular quality of light through your windows in the morning, the sound of the sea from a room you didn't want to leave, the meal that made your guests slow down and actually look up from their phones.

Those are the moments that make someone book. Not the polished exterior shot. Not the logo on the wall.

I learned this in Bali, the first time I picked up a camera and just started filming. I had no brief, no shot list. I sat by the pool and waited for the light and moved furniture and watched the space until it started to tell me something. That feeling — of a place having a personality, a life, a story — was what I wanted to capture. And it was the moment I understood the difference between showing something and making someone feel something.

Why the Distinction Matters for Hotels Specifically

Hotels don't sell rooms. They sell an experience — and more than that, they sell a version of life that their guests want to step into.

That's an emotional sale. And emotional sales need emotional content.

A promo video can tell someone your hotel has a rooftop bar. A brand film can make them wish they were sitting at it right now.

That's what a brand film does. It doesn't just document. It converts.

The Practical Differences, Side by Side

A promo video tends to be fast-cut, feature-led, and interchangeable. If you removed the hotel name, it could be any hotel. It answers the question: what do you offer?

A brand film is slower, more considered, and specific to you. It's built around your atmosphere, your story, your guests. It answers the question: what does it feel like to be here?

One is forgettable. One stays.

What This Means for Your Content Strategy

If you're putting budget into hotel video content — which you should be — the question isn't just do we need a video? It's what do we actually need the video to do?

If you need a quick social asset to show off a new room, a promo clip might be right.

But if you want content that builds your brand, earns trust before a guest has even arrived, and performs across your website, email, and paid ads over the long term — that's a brand film. That's what makes someone stop scrolling and start dreaming about your property.

That's the work I do.

One Last Thing

The hotels I work with aren't always the biggest. They're the ones with something to say. A coast that shaped the building. A kitchen that actually cares. A design that means something. An atmosphere that photographs haven't been able to capture.

If that sounds like your property — and you've been wondering why your content isn't quite doing it justice — it might not be a photography problem. It might be a storytelling one.

That's what I'm here for.

- Els