The Ultimate Guide to Hospitality Content Creation in NYC

If you’re in the hospitality game in New York City, you already know the competition is fierce. A new bar opens every weekend, a buzzy brunch spot goes viral on TikTok by Monday, and everyone is racing to be the next “it” destination.

So how do you stand out?

How do you cut through the noise, make people stop scrolling, and actually show up?

The answer: smart, strategic, high-quality content.

At Billy Boy Studio, we specialize in hospitality content creation that drives results. Our job is to make sure your brand doesn’t just look good—it performs. In this post, we’re breaking down everything you need to know to build a killer content strategy in NYC’s most competitive industry.

1. Understand What Hospitality Content Really Is

Hospitality content is more than food photos. It’s the entire visual and emotional experience of your brand.

Think:

• Editorial-style photography of your food, drinks, interiors, and staff

• Short-form videos for Reels and TikTok

• Behind-the-scenes content that tells your story

• Branded graphics for events, promotions, and holidays

• User-generated content that your audience shares organically

• Digital assets for ads, PR, and your website

Done right, your content becomes a full-blown ecosystem that communicates your vibe across every touchpoint—from Instagram to Google Maps to your email newsletter.

2. Build a Content Strategy Around Your Brand

Before you shoot a single photo or post a Reel, you need to define your content pillars—the 4–6 themes that represent your brand.

For example, a boutique hotel’s content pillars might include:

• Room & amenity highlights

• Local travel tips

• Food & beverage content

• Guest features/testimonials

• Events & programming

For a downtown cocktail bar, pillars might be:

• Signature drinks

• Staff spotlights

• Event nights

• Behind-the-scenes prep

• Reels with trending audio

These themes help keep your content consistent, on-brand, and strategically planned—rather than random and reactive.

We build these custom content structures for every Billy Boy Studio client, which allows us to scale high-quality visuals efficiently and effectively.

3. Photography: Invest in the Right Shoots

In a visual-first world, bad photos = lost revenue. That’s just facts.

Our NYC hospitality photo shoots are designed around how your content will be used:

• Instagram and TikTok? We shoot vertically.

• Website hero banners? We frame wide.

• Third-party listings like Resy or Google? We provide formatted, web-optimized files.

• PR and print? High-res exports ready for media kits.

A typical shoot includes:

• Food and drink styling

• Natural and artificial light balancing

• Detail shots of branding, menus, textures, ambiance

• Candid photos of guests, staff, and real-time energy

We time our shoots for key lighting windows (often golden hour) and work fast to capture content across multiple platforms in one efficient session.

4. Video: The Game-Changer You Can’t Ignore

If you’re not using video content in 2025, you’re invisible to half your audience.

Reels, TikToks, and short-form video content are the best-performing assets for NYC hospitality brands right now. And you don’t need a film crew to start.

At Billy Boy Studio, we shoot lean, cinematic video content with just the right amount of polish. Our most popular hospitality video formats include:

• Cocktail-making videos

• Dish walk-throughs from the chef

• B-roll montages of interiors

• Mini-interviews with staff or owners

• Time-lapse of events

• Slo-mo crowd shots with moody audio

We also edit for virality: think fast cuts, trending music, subtitle overlays, and social-safe color grading.

5. Content That Sells Across Platforms

One shoot = a month of content.

That’s the model we use at Billy Boy Studio. We don’t just deliver 10 pretty photos—we create full content kits with:

• Grid posts

• Stories

• Reels/TikToks

• Vertical vs. horizontal crops

• Graphics with branded overlays

• Captions and hashtags ready to post

And we make sure each asset fits the platform it’s intended for. Instagram content looks different than website banners. Yelp listing photos aren’t the same as email header images.

Consistency matters. Format matters. Strategy matters.

6. Let Your Guests Tell the Story

User-generated content (UGC) is one of the most powerful tools in hospitality. But you need to make it easy for guests to capture and share moments.

How to do it:

• Create “Instagrammable” moments—murals, neon signs, photo ops

• Encourage tagging with branded hashtags or incentives

• Reshare UGC regularly (with credit)

• Engage with guests’ content and build community

We also run UGC campaigns for clients—especially during events or seasonal rollouts—where we collect, curate, and amplify the best guest content for maximum reach.

7. Seasonal and Event-Based Content Planning

Hospitality content thrives on rhythm.

We build custom content calendars that align with:

• Seasons (spring menus, summer rooftop vibes, fall cocktails)

• Holidays (Valentine’s Day dinners, Halloween parties, NYE events)

• Cultural moments (Pride, Restaurant Week, Fashion Week, etc.)

• Internal programming (anniversaries, chef collabs, weekly specials)

This allows our clients to plan content in advance, capitalize on trends, and avoid the scramble.

8. Paid Ads Need Branded Creative

The best ad performance comes from original content—not stock photos or generic graphics.

We create custom ad creative for Meta, TikTok, and Google that includes:

• Motion-forward video content

• Carousel graphics

• Promo overlays

• Split-test versions for A/B optimization

The best-performing ads we’ve built for clients (including The Pool Club and Everdene) are the ones that feel organic, native to the platform, and deeply on-brand.

9. Content = Long-Term Brand Equity

Let’s be real—algorithms change. Platforms evolve. But your content library? That’s forever.

A well-shot set of branded images and videos can:

• Power your website

• Fuel email marketing

• Support PR and press outreach

• Fill your ad campaigns

• Build investor decks or partnership proposals

We think of content as an asset class for your business. And it’s one of the few that appreciates with time.

Final Thought: You’re Not Just Running a Space—You’re Telling a Story

In NYC’s hospitality scene, content is the bridge between your brand and your audience. It’s how you show people not just what you offer—but why they should care.

At Billy Boy Studio, we turn restaurants, bars, and hotels into full-fledged content brands. We shoot it. We plan it. We post it. And we make sure it works.

📩 Ready to take your content to the next level?

Let’s build something that gets people talking—and showing up.

www.billyboystudio.com | Instagram: @BillyBoyStudio