The Challenges and Journey of Hotel Promotion Videos

Orinas: Thank you for your time today. To start, could you introduce your company’s business?

Takagi: I&F Building was established in 1973, and 2023 marks our 50th anniversary. As a real estate business centered in Osaka’s Umeda district, we manage office rental buildings and operate the Binario Hotels & Resorts brand together with our domestic sister hotels (Hotel Gran Binario / Hotel Binario), a spa resort, and restaurants.

For this project, Orinas supported video production for “Yusen no Yado Yuamu,” one of the resort properties in the Binario Hotels & Resorts group located in northern Hyogo Prefecture’s San’in Yumura Onsen area.

Personally, I oversee overall marketing: planning, cross-department coordination, analysis, website management, PR and advertising — mainly internet-based customer acquisition — and I also handle print pieces such as leaflets. That said, for creative work I only handle part of the direction; we generally outsource to specialized partners.

Orinas: How did you come to know Orinas?

Takagi: A sales representative called us. Our head office is in Osaka, and your first approach happened during the COVID-19 period, just when we were getting used to online meetings. If it had been before COVID, we might have felt uneasy about meeting with a Tokyo-based team — so it feels like a fortuitous connection.

When we actually met, I was impressed by your clear corporate policy and had a very positive impression. You followed up several times afterward, and I felt that with Orinas we could create wonderful creative work that also incorporates a marketing perspective, so I wanted to work together. Another reason was that your materials included sample video ideas, which made it easier to evaluate.

My impression was that you really listen. Some sales teams treat “the contract” as the goal, but you listened carefully and gave me the sense we could trust you even after signing.

Orinas: The issue you raised at the inquiry stage was video production, correct?

Takagi: Yes. We wanted to produce video content. It was something we hadn’t done yet, and it’s relatively easy to outsource, so it felt feasible. We were also planning to renovate part of the property, so I thought we could leverage video.

Orinas: Had you tried other initiatives previously?

Takagi: Before video, we focused on online ads and print media like newspapers. We lacked resources for video, and costs had been a major hurdle — it was simply too expensive for us in the past.

Orinas: What was the objective in choosing us, and what did you expect?

Takagi: By outsourcing creative work to professionals, we expected to create high-quality assets without increasing internal resources. In practice, you produced an official-quality video, and we were able to entrust rights management such as music licensing without having to learn it from scratch.

Orinas: Did you compare other providers?

Takagi: We compared video production services. The contract itself dates back about two years, and at that time there were still relatively few video production pitches — I felt Orinas moved quickly to capture the trend.

From proposals to creative direction, we felt you could deliver content that resonates with today’s users, and your knowledge was extensive — we expected you to grasp more than we could articulate. Also, with photo/video creatives there’s a risk that the work becomes the creator’s “own piece,” but we felt you would produce it as our piece aligned with our tone and manner. That sense of fit was the biggest attraction.

Three Strengths We Felt from Orinas within Hotel Promotion

Orinas: After producing and editing the video, what effects did you see and what feedback did you receive internally?

Takagi: Many people said it looks very beautiful! We play the video continuously in the lobby, and we hope repeat guests will see it and be inspired to stay again.

Orinas: We were delighted to see you repurpose the footage into short videos for ads and other uses!

Takagi: The press release was well received and reached many people. We now have the assets and the page ready — our next challenge is getting more people to see them.

Orinas: As you continue to operate channels like SNS, what do you look for in partner companies?

Takagi: A partner that truly understands our property. We want to properly showcase Yuamu’s unique originality and the points we most want to highlight, so we prefer a company that grasps that and proposes accordingly. From a production professional’s perspective, we also appreciate clear, candid opinions in response to our ideas.

You carefully aligned with us on the shooting plan and clearly addressed areas where we felt uncertain, which led to a better direction through synergy. Because we aligned thoroughly in advance, the shoot went smoothly.

You also showed multiple proposal patterns in the pitch, which made it easy to align expectations. We wanted assets that make viewers want to stay, and when we saw the materials, we thought, “This is exactly it.”

Orinas: During the shoot, the surrounding environment was truly lovely. Afterward we even got to enjoy the footbath together — a great memory for us. It was also helpful to discuss the challenges of assigning travel influencers and other initiatives.

Takagi: We previously had few opportunities to talk directly with marketing professionals, so I was very happy to be able to discuss things on the same wavelength.

Orinas: Thank you! Please feel free to consult us on anything we can help with. Are there other things you’d like to try going forward?

Takagi: Now that the landing page is ready, we’re considering SNS ads to drive traffic to it. As for YouTube, this time we simply uploaded the video; getting it to rank for “Yuamu” was the limit. Extending reach has proven more difficult than expected.

Orinas: The filmed video is optimal for the website and lobby, but on YouTube it may be harder to translate directly into visits. Finally, are there aspects of our service you were particularly satisfied with?

Takagi: We worked with many members of your team, and information sharing was excellent — that helped a lot. Above all, your listening and proposal capabilities, and your creative capability.

Regarding listening and proposals, you took our vague thoughts and came back to the next meeting with several options, which resolved what we were struggling with. As we discussed from our hotel perspective and your production perspective, good ideas emerged; I always looked forward to our meetings.

Initially, besides looping the video in the lobby to announce the new rooms to repeat guests, we weren’t sure how else to use it. The idea to embed the video on the official website also emerged through our conversations.

We often received clear, professional recommendations like “this approach would be better,” which we appreciated. Sometimes your suggestions were the complete opposite of ours, but they came with expert reasoning, so we were convinced.

Clients tend to want to PR “everything,” but by outsourcing we were able to present only the necessary information concisely from a customer’s viewpoint, resulting in a video that is easy to watch and memorable.

Thanks to that, we had almost no revisions and the process went very smoothly — we’re truly grateful.

The shoot day itself was efficient and smooth, and as mentioned, the creative production required almost no corrections, which was a big help.

Your team members are eager learners; we learned a lot from you, and it motivated us to work harder. Choosing Orinas brought many benefits for us. We would love to work together again if the opportunity arises.

Closing

After several approaches over time, the timing finally aligned and we were very pleased to support this project. Thanks to thorough, frequent discussions, we were able to translate that alignment into a smooth shoot day and minimal revisions afterward.

We hope to continue supporting Yusen no Yado Yuamu — and clients in other sectors as well — as they move to the next stage, helping convey their appeal to even more people.

Brought to you by the Orinas Inc. Customer Interview Team.

Beyond SNS account operations, Orinas provides solutions tailored to each company’s needs, including SNS advertising and influencer marketing. If your company is facing challenges with SNS marketing, please feel free to contact us.

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