Destinate

If you’ve ever been tasked with marketing a hotel before it opens, you know the pressure.

There’s a clock ticking. You have to hit booking targets months in advance. And you have to do it without a single real guest photo, without a finished lobby to film, and often with construction dust still in the air.

I’ve been there. And I can tell you — nothing is harder than selling a place people can’t see yet.

That’s exactly why a start-up I’m involved in, Destinate, has been developing a service I think could change the pre-opening game completely: cinematic Generative AI videos built specifically for hotels before they open.

Why Video Wins Every Time

If you work in hotel marketing, you already know video isn’t a “nice to have” — it’s the most persuasive format in your toolkit.

• 66% of travelers watch videos while planning a trip.
• 65% watch videos to choose their destination.
• 54% watch videos to decide where to stay.
• Videos drive up to 80% higher engagement on social media compared to images.
• And in hospitality specifically, hotels using video in pre-opening campaigns have reported double-digit increases in early bookings.

Why? Because travelers don’t just buy rooms. They buy moments. They buy feelings. And video is the fastest, most powerful way to deliver that feeling before they’ve even stepped foot in your property.

The Pre-Opening Problem

Here’s the challenge every pre-opening marketer faces: Traditional cinematic hotel videos require your property to be complete. Which means by the time you can film, you’ve already missed the crucial early booking window that can make or break a launch.

So most pre-openings rely on:

• A few static renders of the lobby and rooms.
• Maybe some aerial shots of the destination.
• Press releases full of text and architectural jargon.

That’s not enough to ignite excitement, build media buzz, or fill your booking engine.

The GenAI Solution

Here’s where Destinate comes in.

We can take your existing architectural renderings, mood boards, CAD files, even early photography — and turn them into cinematic, high-end videos that feel like they were shot after opening day.

If you’ve seen The Cruise Lab’s “AI Imagines MSC World Europa in 2077” video, you’ll know the kind of visual impact we’re talking about. It’s a futuristic cruise ship concept — not a real vessel — yet it looks so believable you feel like you could book a ticket tomorrow.

Now imagine your hotel presented in that same cinematic style — guests arriving in the lobby, stepping into their suites, enjoying cocktails at sunset — all before your doors even open.

From One Asset to Many Campaigns

The beauty of GenAI video is that a single set of inputs can become an entire multi-platform campaign:

• Full cinematic trailer for your website and YouTube.
• Short, vertical edits for Instagram Reels, TikTok, and Facebook Stories.
• Teaser clips for WeChat or LinkedIn to reach international partners and agents.
• Multi-language versions for your key markets — Spanish, French, Mandarin, Arabic — without the cost of multiple shoots.

One project can be repurposed into dozens of touchpoints that keep your hotel top-of-mind everywhere your guests spend time online.

Speak to Every Audience Before You Open

One of the most exciting parts? You can create different versions of your video for different audiences — something nearly impossible to do with traditional film production.

Imagine having:

• A family-friendly cut showing kids splashing in the pool, the buffet at breakfast, and a quick trip to the nearby theme park.
• A romance-focused cut with candlelit dinners, champagne on the balcony, and couples’ spa packages.
• A business events cut showing conference rooms in action, rooftop networking events, and team-building activities.
• A destination cut highlighting local markets, cultural experiences, and outdoor adventures.

Scenes That Make People Lean Forward

We’re not talking about simple fly-throughs. With GenAI, your video can take viewers into the experience:

• Neighborhood tours guided by a warm, realistic local host who shares stories along the way.
• Drone flyovers that sweep from the skyline into the lobby, past the pool, and out to sea.
• First-person POV adventures — riding a glass elevator to the rooftop bar, walking into a theater moments before the curtain rises, stepping onto a balcony just as fireworks erupt over the harbor.
• Immersive dining experiences — a chef plating a signature dish, steam rising from a fresh espresso, friends laughing over wine as a guitarist plays nearby.
• Leisure moments — spa treatments, championship golf, high-end shopping, casinos, beach bonfires, private yacht charters.
• Destination tie-ins — historic walking tours, vineyard tastings, street festivals, wildlife encounters, seasonal celebrations.

Every scene is crafted to make the viewer believe they’re already there.

The Speed Advantage

Traditional video production can take months from planning to final delivery. With GenAI, your videos can be ready in days.

That means you can start generating buzz as soon as your designs are locked, instead of waiting until construction wraps. And the earlier you can start marketing, the faster you can fill those early booking targets.

Real-World Potential

Let’s run a scenario:

You’re opening a new 200-room luxury property in a competitive destination. Your opening date is 12 months away. Your target is to hit 40% occupancy on opening day, with group bookings locked in at least six months out.

With GenAI video, you could:

• Launch teaser videos today to your loyalty program and email list.
• Send tailored video packages to travel agents and corporate event planners.
• Create market-specific videos in multiple languages for your key international audiences.
• Run social media campaigns with different creative angles for couples, families, event organizers, etc.

Instead of waiting until you have “real” footage, you’re already generating bookings, inquiries, and press coverage — long before the doors open.

Not Just for Hotels

While I’m focusing here on hotels — because that’s where I see the biggest need — this approach works for any pre-opening tourism marketing challenge:

• Cruise ships
• Resorts
• Branded residences
• Attractions
• Convention Centers
• Even large-scale public tourism projects

If you need to sell an experience before it’s physically ready, GenAI video can make it happen.

What One Marketer Told Me

A friend of mine who’s leading the launch of a high-end resort put it perfectly last week:

“We’ve always struggled to make people believe in something they can’t see yet. This solves that. It’s like showing the future — and then letting them book it.”

Your Shortcut to Early Success

The pre-opening period is a marketer’s most critical — and most underpowered — window. GenAI videos give you the ability to:

• Sell the feeling before the first guest checks in.
• Fill your booking engine earlier.
• Capture attention across multiple languages and platforms.
• Tailor your story to different guest segments without extra cost or time.

If you’re working on a hotel pre-opening or any other pre-launch project that could use video content to generate awareness and conversions, lets chat.