The day my internet died was the day I learned how to actually sell
A pitch in the dark in Siargao that eventually led to shooting a campaign while skydiving over Sicily. And what that taught me about hotel marketing.
The day my internet died was the day I learned how to actually sell. Here’s what that taught me on hotel marketing.
One year ago, I was sitting in a humid Airbnb in Siargao, Philippines, about to pitch a massive travel video campaign to a major tech brand. I had spent days building a flawless, 10-slide pitch deck.
Then, the local internet crashed.
No fiber. No Starlink. Just a tiny bit of mobile data. I finally managed to connect to the call, but my video was off, and I couldn’t share my screen. I was pitching a highly visual, cinematic campaign as a disembodied, crackling voice.
For a second, I panicked. My armor was gone. I couldn’t hide behind my polished portfolio pieces or perfect slides.
In that dimly lit room, I realized I couldn’t sell them on the slides anymore. They needed to buy me. So, I just talked. I painted word pictures of the locations, brainstormed logistics, and poured raw passion and conviction into the choppy audio feed.
Four days later, I got the job. That pitch in the dark eventually led to me shooting the campaign while skydiving over Sicily.
Here is the hard truth for hospitality brands: most hotels treat their marketing exactly like my safe pitch deck. You hide behind the "armor" of perfectly lit, wide shots of empty rooms and static infinity pools. It feels safe because it’s predictable.
But guests don’t buy the architecture. To truly stand out, you have to strip away the hyper-polished, sterile photos and rely on raw, human emotion. Show the actual experience. When you stop hiding behind "safe" real estate visuals and start pitching an authentic, human story, that is when a viewer actually converts into a guest.
But this principle goes far beyond just hotels. No matter what industry you are in, we all rely on our own version of the 10-slide deck. We hide behind feature lists, corporate jargon, and flawless branding. But in a crowded, noisy market, perfection doesn’t convert. Connection does. When you drop the corporate shield and show your actual, raw conviction, you stop pitching and start partnering.
Is your hotel struggling to build connection online? Let’s chat.
