When Should You Hire a Drone Photographer for Your Resort?

If you are reading this in June or July wondering about getting drone footage for your resort, you are already behind the optimal window. That is not a criticism — it is just the reality of how resort booking patterns work, and it is the most common timing mistake in resort marketing.

When do guests book?

For summer season, the heaviest booking activity happens between February and late April. Families planning lake vacations, fishing groups booking lodges, couples looking for a summer getaway — most of them are making decisions in winter and early spring, not in June. By the time peak season arrives, most of your summer weekends are either booked or decided.

This matters for aerial photography because you need your content live before the booking window opens. A resort with strong aerial imagery in their listing in February converts better than the same resort with strong imagery added in June. The content needs to be there when people are actively deciding.

When is the best time to shoot?

For northern Minnesota, the optimal window for summer marketing content is late April through mid-May. Here is why that specific window works well.

Ice-off in northern Minnesota typically happens in late April, ranging from mid-April in southern parts of the service area to early May for northern lakes. Once the ice is off, docks go in quickly — most resorts have their dock infrastructure in place by early May. The property looks like it is ready to welcome guests.

The late April and May light is excellent. Long days, low sun angles in the morning and evening, and the fresh green of new growth on the trees create a visual quality that is difficult to match in July when the sun is high and the light is flat during the middle of the day.

The property is not yet crowded. A May shoot captures the resort at its best without guests in every frame. If guests are part of the story, you can arrange that. But for hero imagery and website content, showing the property clean and at its best is usually more effective.

What about fall shoots?

Fall color in northern Minnesota is one of the most compelling visual seasons, and resorts that cater to a fall audience — hunters, leaf-peepers, couples on a getaway — benefit significantly from fall aerial content. Peak color typically runs from late September through mid-October depending on the year and the latitude.

If you want fall content for next year's marketing, the shoot happens this fall and the content goes into your spring marketing push. Many resorts that run strong year-round marketing commission both a spring and a fall shoot.

How far in advance should you book?

For a May shoot, book in January or February. The spring aerial photography window in northern Minnesota is competitive because most resort owners who understand the timing are all trying to shoot in the same four-to-six week window. Operators with strong resort experience fill their spring schedule early.

Booking early also gives you a weather window. If the original shoot date gets weathered out, you need enough runway to reschedule before the window closes. A booking made in late April for a late April shoot leaves almost no flexibility.

If you contact us in March, we will do our best to fit you in — but availability is not guaranteed. January and February bookings have reliable access to the spring window.