Practical guide · Creators
How do you contact a hotel for a UGC collaboration?
Start a hotel UGC pitch with a specific need you can identify. Send the right contact a short proposal covering deliverables, work samples, dates and the proposed budget or exchange. The first message should establish interest, not ask for free nights without a brief.
By the Séjournée editorial team · Updated and sources checked on
Key takeaways
- Identify a concrete need before looking for an email address.
- Separate file production from posting to your own audience.
- An agreement in principle still needs a clear scope of work.
Find a property with a relevant content need
A portfolio of bright holiday villas may not match a business hotel’s brief. Check the official website, room categories, available services and recent posts. Suggest something you can actually produce without claiming to know the hotel’s marketing results.
Choose an angle.
For example: arrival from the station, the difference between two room types or the breakfast experience. A specific observation is more useful than a compliment that could apply to any hotel.
Check feasibility.
Travel, access, season, weather and budget matter. A quieter season may help, but not if your proposed story relies on a pool that will be closed.
Select relevant evidence.
Show two or three comparable pieces. Label personal projects and commissioned work accurately. Do not present a self-initiated demonstration as a client campaign.
Find a contact without indiscriminate outreach
Start with the official contact page, press office or listed marketing team. At an independent property, management may handle the request. For a group, ask whether the hotel or the brand makes the decision.
Use social channels to find the right route.
LinkedIn may help identify a role. An Instagram DM can ask which channel is appropriate. Neither is inherently a bad route; avoid sending the same team repeated messages through several channels.
Respect the outreach rules.
In France, CNIL guidance on B2B email covers relevance to the recipient’s profession, information about data use and a simple opt-out. Identify yourself, explain the contact’s source where necessary and honour objections. Check local rules elsewhere.
Write a proposal the hotel can assess
Make the first email readable on a phone. The recipient should understand your proposal and the next step without opening several attachments.
A specific subject line.
Name the property and the content idea. “Video proposal for your breakfast experience” says more than “partnership”. Avoid making promised results part of the subject line.
A starting scope.
State quantity, approximate length, format, delivery timing and intended uses. If you also offer posts on your own account, distinguish them from the files supplied to the property.
Clear compensation.
Give a budget or explain that a quote depends on the brief. For an exchange, specify nights, meals and travel requested. Do not describe a hosted room as costing the hotel nothing.
Follow up, then define the agreement
A short follow-up after roughly a week can be an organisational choice, depending on season and urgency. It is not a conversion benchmark. Stop after an objection, and do not turn silence into an insistent sequence.
Keep useful records.
Track the property, contact source, sending date, reply and next action. New information about availability can be more useful than repeating the same message.
Before booking transport.
Confirm deliverables, compensation, rights, revisions, deadlines and cancellation terms. Messages may record an agreement, but their existence does not establish that every necessary condition has been settled.
Fictional example: a first email to adapt
Subject: [Hotel name] · video proposal about [specific experience]
Hello [Name], I create travel videos for properties’ own channels. I noticed [verifiable observation]. I suggest a series about [angle], with [quantity and formats] delivered by [date to agree]. Here are two examples of my work: [links].
I am available [dates]. My proposal includes [fee or nights and services requested], with [intended uses and duration] to confirm in writing. Posting on my own account [is / is not] included. Are you the right person to discuss this with?
Please reply if you do not wish to receive another proposal. [Professional name, website and contact details].
This is a commercial outline, not a complete privacy notice. Adapt the data information to how you obtained and use the contact.
Answers
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a large following to pitch hotels?
Not for a project limited to supplying files. Your portfolio and ability to meet the brief matter. If the hotel also buys a post on your account, audience quality becomes a separate consideration.
Can you pitch through an Instagram DM?
Yes, particularly to ask for the right contact. Check the property’s preferred channel and avoid duplicate messages across email, phone and social accounts.
Should the first message include a price?
Give a price for a defined scope, or clearly explain that a quote follows the brief. For an exchange, specify both the services requested and the content delivered.
What should you do without a reply?
A measured follow-up can check that the proposal arrived. No waiting period guarantees a response. Respect refusals and then focus on other relevant opportunities.
Sources and methodology
References support the specific points identified in the guide. Our checklists and fictional examples are editorial tools, not customer testimonials or measured campaign results.
- CNIL: electronic prospecting
Official source for French B2B rules. The writing advice and template are our editorial method.