Amateur photographers/contributors to the hotel review website The Oyster visit luxury hotels worldwide to serve as consumer watchdogs. Are the hotels’ own websites, public relations materials and brochures accurately portraying their accommodations? Numerous side-by-side photo comparisons prove otherwise.
Some examples are subtle, while other photos clearly appear doctored, are the victim of the stylist, or are shot through the lens of obfuscation. Examples include missing room accoutrements, crashers of “private” beach weddings, rooms with an unintended view, hot tub-sized pools cropped to appear larger, crowded beaches rather than tranquil views, or traffic signals and signposts removed from exterior façade shots.
The point of Oyster’s posts is to keep hoteliers honest, and to provide real-life visual documentation to augment typical hotel reviews, so its members “can see the truth before they book.”