The Challenge
“Each property would do 2-3 photoshoots per year—rooms, amenities, dining, spa facilities, local experiences,” explains David Park, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing. “But when our digital team in New York needed a sunset pool shot from our Bali property, or our EMEA team wanted spa imagery with a specific aesthetic, they’d claim nothing existed and commission new photography. Meanwhile, we had 15 virtually identical pool sunset shots sitting unused in our DAM.”
The core issue was discoverability. With over 340,000 assets spanning room photography, food and beverage imagery, amenity shots, lifestyle content, seasonal campaigns, web banners, brochure templates, email designs, and social media graphics, Meridian’s creative teams were overwhelmed.
Assets were inconsistently tagged—sometimes by property name, sometimes by photographer, often with minimal description. Seasonal content wasn’t clearly marked. There was no easy way to search by mood, time of day, guest demographics, or specific amenities. Regional offices operated in silos, unaware of assets from other markets that could be adapted for their needs.
The result: massive duplication, brand inconsistency across regions, and creative teams spending more time searching (and failing to find) than actually creating campaigns.
The Solution
Meridian partnered with [Your Company] to develop an AI-powered metadata solution specifically calibrated to the hospitality industry and Meridian’s brand ecosystem. The custom system delivered:
∙ Hospitality-specific visual intelligence trained to recognize room categories (suites, standard rooms, villas), amenities (pools, spas, fitness centers, restaurants), dining styles (fine dining, casual, in-room), and experience types (couples, families, business travelers, wellness)
∙ Contextual understanding of atmosphere and mood—distinguishing between “romantic sunset dining” versus “vibrant family breakfast” or “serene spa environment” versus “energetic fitness facility”
∙ Smart property and location tagging automatically identifying which of the 83 properties an asset belonged to, plus destination characteristics (beachfront, urban, mountain resort, etc.)
∙ Seasonal and temporal metadata recognizing holiday decorations, seasonal offerings, weather conditions, and time-of-day lighting
∙ Guest demographic identification tagging imagery by represented demographics (solo travelers, couples, families, multi-generational, business guests) to support inclusive marketing
∙ Usage rights and restrictions tracking including photographer credits, model releases, regional usage permissions, and brand compliance status
∙ Multi-format asset recognition categorizing everything from RAW photography to final web banners, email templates, brochure designs, and social graphics
The solution integrated seamlessly with Meridian’s existing Widen DAM platform and was deployed across their entire historical asset library plus all new uploads.
The Results
Cost Reduction:
∙ Photography budget reduced by 41% through elimination of duplicate shoots
∙ Annual asset production costs decreased from $3M to $1.77M
∙ Design team capacity increased by 35% as teams repurpose existing assets rather than creating from scratch
Operational Efficiency:
∙ Asset discovery time reduced by 82% (from average 28 minutes to 5 minutes)
∙ Cross-property asset sharing increased by 520%
∙ Campaign deployment speed improved by 43% due to faster asset access
Creative Quality:
∙ Brand consistency scores improved by 68% across regional marketing materials
∙ Professional photography utilization increased from 34% to 81% of marketing touchpoints
∙ Guest-facing materials now reflect appropriate diversity and representation 91% of the time (up from 54%)
Revenue Impact:
∙ Email campaign conversion rates improved by 23% when using AI-recommended imagery optimized for emotional tone
∙ Social media engagement increased by 31% through better asset selection for platform and audience
The Hospitality Difference
The system’s understanding of hospitality-specific nuances proved transformative. Marketing teams could now search with queries like:
∙ “Beachfront infinity pool, sunset, romantic couples, Maldives or Seychelles properties”
∙ “Family-friendly breakfast buffet, bright natural lighting, multi-generational”
∙ “Luxury spa treatment room, serene atmosphere, approved for wellness campaign”
∙ “Presidential suite bedroom, warm evening ambiance, Asian properties only”
∙ “Local cultural experiences, authentic, off-property, suitable for social media”
“The AI understands our brand in ways that keyword tagging never could,” notes Rebecca Martinez, Creative Director for Americas. “It knows the difference between ‘luxurious’ and ‘opulent,’ between ‘intimate’ and ‘exclusive.’ It’s like having a creative director who’s memorized every single asset we’ve ever produced.”
Brand Transformation
Beyond efficiency, the solution enabled Meridian to tell more authentic, diverse stories. The system’s demographic tagging revealed that 73% of their existing photography featured the same narrow guest demographic, despite serving a global, diverse clientele.
“We discovered we had incredible imagery representing different cultures, ages, and travel styles—it was just buried and unsearchable,” Park explains. “Now we can actively ensure our marketing reflects the reality of who stays with us. That’s not just good marketing; it’s a brand imperative.”
Looking Forward
Meridian is now expanding the system to support dynamic asset recommendations during campaign planning, suggesting complementary images based on campaign objectives and target demographics. They’re also exploring integration with their booking platform to serve personalized imagery based on traveler preferences and search behavior.
The company has additionally begun using metadata insights to inform future photoshoot planning, identifying gaps in their asset library and eliminating redundant content areas.
“This technology didn’t just make us more efficient—it made us smarter about how we represent our brand,” Park concludes. “Every property, every experience, every guest moment we’ve captured is now truly working for us. That’s the unlock we needed.”
