Nobody who buys art for a hotel can picture your painting in their lobby from a portfolio page. So show them. Take a photo of their actual wall, put your piece on it at the right size, and send the image with your first message. It takes about 40 minutes per prospect and it answers the question every buyer has: how will this look here?
This guide covers who really chooses art for hotels and offices, how to find properties that are about to buy, how to make the mockup, and how to price a package of ten pieces. It works for painters, photographers, printmakers and illustrators.
The designer chooses, the owner approves
A hotel's art is rarely picked by the person who runs the front desk. On a renovation or a new building, an interior designer or an art consultant selects the art, and the owner or general manager approves the budget. For a small inn or a boutique property, the owner may do both. For an office, the designer or an office manager does the picking, with a partner signing off.
That gives you two kinds of target. Designers and art consultants buy repeatedly and work from a list of artists they trust. Owners and general managers buy once, rarely, and care about price and mood. Write to designers when a project is in progress; write to owners when you can see a refresh happening.
Finding properties in a refresh, by name
A property in a renovation leaves clues in public: a building permit for interior work, a "renovation coming soon" notice on its website, a rebrand announcement, new management, a change of flag. A new building under construction is better still, since its art budget hasn't been spent. Small properties list their owner or general manager on their site or in local business directories.
Build a list of 30: 15 hotels and inns in a refresh, 10 offices (law firms, medical groups and coworking spaces often renovate in phases), and 5 interior design firms that do hospitality work. Note the owner or designer's name, what stage the project is in, and what the existing walls look like in photos. Photos matter because you will use them next. The decision-maker guide and the interior designer view help you find and understand your buyer.
Making a mockup before you write
You need a clear photo of a wall: the property's own website, its listing on a booking site, or its social posts usually have one. Don't take a photo on the premises without permission.
- Pick a wall with a plain background, like the wall behind a reception desk, a stairwell landing or the wall beside a lobby seating group.
- Find a scale reference. A standard interior door is about 80 inches tall, and a door handle sits about 36 inches high. Measure the door in the photo in pixels and use it to size your art.
- Place your piece. A free editor such as Photopea works for this. Add a shadow and a thin frame, so the art doesn't look pasted.
- Choose size and count. A three-piece series over a sofa reads better than a single small piece. Show the real dimensions in a caption.
- Export at a size that opens quickly in email.
If the mockup is quick and plausible, that is enough. If you can't find a decent photo of the wall, make one image of the piece in a similar room and say that's what it is.
A first email with a mockup
Subject: Harbor-light series over the lobby sofa at The Linden Inn
Hi Marguerite, I saw on your site that The Linden Inn is refreshing the lobby this winter. I'm a painter based about 40 miles from you, and I made a quick mockup of a three-piece coastal series on the wall behind the seating (attached). Each canvas is 24 by 36 inches. If the direction is close, I can send a size and price list for the whole series and a few alternatives for the stairwell. Odette Whitcomb, [mailing address]. Reply "no" and I won't write again.
It tells the buyer you saw their project, shows what you propose and keeps the ask small. Anyone who responds is now discussing your work in their own room. For more on personalising at small volumes, see low-volume personalisation.
Following up with a size and price list
Three days later, send a one-page list: each piece, its size, whether it's original or edition, framed or unframed, price, and delivery time. Add one line: "Happy to deliver samples or a small canvas so you can see the paint in person." Hotel buyers often need to match a palette, so offer to adjust colors. If a designer replies, ask whether they want to be put on a trade list and what trade discount they expect. Many expect a discount of 20 to 40 percent off retail, and you should know your floor before the call.
Pricing a package of ten pieces
A package is easier to approve than ten separate prices, and it gives the buyer a reason to commit to one source. Here is an example for a small hotel's corridors and guest rooms.
- Six small framed prints, edition of 50, at $180 each retail: $1,080.
- Three medium canvases, 24 by 30 inches, at $650: $1,950.
- One large lobby canvas, 36 by 60 inches, at $1,800.
- Retail total: $4,830.
- Package price at roughly 25 percent off: $3,620, delivered and hung, with framing included.
Include delivery and installation in writing, so a property manager doesn't have to find a hanger. And know your costs: framing, materials, shipping and your hours must fit inside $3,620. If they don't, adjust the discount or the content, not the work.
Photographers can follow the same path with prints; see photographer clients. Properties come to refresh every few years, so a list of renovating hotels is a list you can reuse. Rocketship finds owners, general managers and designers by name, emails them from your own Gmail, follows up, and books the call on its own. Plans that get you customers start at $24.99 a month (Launch), and both Launch and Frontier start with a 7-day free trial, card required. See the AI workers.