S2E7: Is your artwork licensable for hotels? One main aspect they look for & what they avoid

In this final episode of the season, I answer a question I’ve been getting a lot: “Is my artwork good enough to license to hotels?” I share why “good enough” is arbitrary and I give you an inside look at what they’re looking for, as well as the kind of art they actively avoid. Ready to find out? Let’s dive in!

01:06 What artists are really asking: “Is my artwork trendy enough?”
01:46 Hotels vs retail licensing: Different goals, different art choices
02:41 Examples of how hotels choose art
04:03 Your signature style matters
04:32 The kind of artwork they are NOT licensing
06:10 Wrap-Up + Next Steps: Beginner’s Guide, Where to Follow, and Farewell

Explore further

If licensing for hotels feels like a path you’d like to understand more deeply, I’ve created a guide that offers a clear, practical overview of how it all works, so you can decide whether it’s right for you

• License Your Art to Hotels

Follow me

• Threads: @thequietlythrivingartist
• Substack: @thequietlthrivingartist

Transcript

[00:00:00] Hello and welcome to the last episode of this season of The Quietly Thriving Artist. I really hope that you have enjoyed it so far and that it has given you some insights and food for thought about licensing your art to hotels and working with art consultants. And in this episode, I'm gonna answer another question that I've been getting a lot of on Threads, which is

[00:00:25] “Is my artwork licensable?” Meaning, “Is it good enough for hotels to license?” And I think that this is a common fear or hesitation that artists have about pursuing this path. They want to know, “Will hotels choose my type of artwork? Do I have what they are looking for?” And so obviously, while I'm not specifically looking at your artwork right now as we speak, I really hope that this [00:01:00] episode will help shift your perspective a little bit about the process of licensing your art to hotels.

[00:01:06] Because what I have found is that when artists say, “Is my artwork good enough to be licensed?” What they're really asking is “Is my artwork trendy enough?” And I think that this stems from the idea that your artwork has to appeal to the mass market in order for you to license it. And so if you feel like your artist is too conceptual or to in depth or maybe your preferred subject,

[00:01:36] is one that you think that they're not really looking for, and it's making you question whether it would perform well in the licensing world or not. And while having trendy artwork can be beneficial for some types of licensing, like for example, product licensing– when you're trying to license your art for retail products, where it might be sold like in a big box store or just to the general [00:02:00] public, having artwork that is trendy or popular or has a mass appeal

[00:02:04] to the public, can be a determining factor in landing more deals with stores because their main objective is to choose art that they believe is going to sell well and make them a lot of money. However, when it comes to licensing your art for hotels, their objective isn't to choose art that's going to make people want to buy because they're not trying to sell the artwork to their guests, right?

[00:02:31] People who stay in hotels aren't walking around and looking at the art and thinking,“Oh, would this art piece look good in my living room?” Like that's not anything that they're thinking about. Hotels display art in their properties because it helps them tell a visual story about the kind of experience they want their guests to have.

[00:02:49] This means that choosing artwork that is trendy isn't necessarily their first priority. They want artwork that's going to match the vibe [00:03:00] that they're going for. So if it's a hotel on the coast, they're probably gonna look for art that feels calm and tranquil. If it's a hotel in an urban city, they might look for artwork that's louder and bolder.

[00:03:12] If it's a hotel that's in the middle of a forest or wooded area and they're going for like this cabin mountaineer feel, and they're probably gonna have tons of landscapes, a lot of animal artwork, things that feel really homey, things that feel really comfortable, have a warm color palette, things that feel woodsy, that speak to the outdoors.

[00:03:36] So as you can see, every hotel is going to have its own theme. And if you think about the process in terms of finding artwork that's gonna fit that narrative, that's gonna help them tell that story that they wanna communicate to their guests, then the type of artwork that they're looking for will span a [00:04:00] wide variety of subjects and styles.

[00:04:03] And what that means for you as a fine artist is that whatever artwork you're making now is probably fine. If you're creating artwork that comes from the heart, that speaks to your own interests and your story, and really showcases your skills as an artist, that's gonna matter so much more than creating trendy stuff or art that appeals to the masses.

[00:04:26] So what I'm trying to say is don't force yourself to create something just because everybody else is making that thing. 

[00:04:32] Your signature style will help you stand out.

[00:04:37] The only type of artwork that I can think of that would not be chosen for a hotel project would be anything that infringes on other people's intellectual property. So if your artwork features company logos that are not of your own company, if it's fan art, or maybe even if it features the likeness of public figures, then [00:05:00] those would not be licensable because they would create a liability for the hotel.

[00:05:05] Hotels often have to take photographs or videos of their properties to be used in commercials and advertisements, to put them in magazine articles and stuff like that. And so that means that there's a chance that your artwork could show up, especially if they're like in the guest rooms or lobbies or just it's in some of the more easily featured areas of the hotel.

[00:05:27] Like restaurants, the bars again, the guest rooms, the lobbies, like those are the kinds of things that show up a lot in, in advertisements and articles. And so if your artwork has elements that infringe on other people's intellectual property, then they can get sued. And so they are going to try to avoid acquiring or licensing any kind of artwork that may be a liability.

[00:05:53] But if you're creating your own original art, then you don't have to worry about that. And [00:06:00] if you have a strong body of work and it's already selling really well, then I'd say that you have a pretty fair chance of getting chosen for a licensing deal for a hotel. Okay, so I hope that you have found that helpful.

[00:06:13] And if you wanna get a more in-depth look at how to license your artwork for hotels, like who to contact, learn about contracts and everything that you will need to get started on this path. You can check out my beginner's guide, and there's a link to it in the show notes. Alright, that is it for me.

[00:06:32] Thank you so much for tuning into the season. I don't exactly know when the next season will come out, but I will keep you posted on Threads and Substack, so make sure that you're following me there if you're not already. And you can find me on both platforms under the name, TheQuietlyThrivingArtist.

[00:06:52] Thank you again, and I will see you over in the next one.