Hilton Trains Waiters and Waitresses to Become ‘Waitographers’ in Order to Capture the Perfect Photo

LONDON – Hilton (NYSE: HLT) launches ‘Waitographer’, to help team members capture great photography of guests at its restaurants and bars. Almost 200 team members from hotels across the country, and 500 across the globe, have now been trained by renowned photographer, Roger Moukarzel.

The initiative, which launched in the UAE and Saudi Arabia at the beginning of this year, sees highly acclaimed photographer, Roger Moukarzel, train Hilton’s waiters and waitresses, taking them from amateur to semi-professional photographers! After completion, team members receive a certificate and a badge so that hotel guests can easily identify Waitographers whilst in a Hilton property and can ask for their expert hand to take a photo and ensure special memories are captured perfectly.

‘Waitographer’ comes just in time, as 1.72 trillion* photographs are taken per year across the world, but half of Brits (50%) are looking to take even more snaps to capture special moments with friends and family. However, nearly two fifths (38%) of pictures captured of loved ones by waiters and waitresses are deemed ‘bad’.

The research from Hilton reveals for nearly a quarter of Brits, a restaurant was voted the most likely setting to ask someone to capture a group photo (22%). The most common photography faux pas include cutting people’s heads off (33%), not getting everyone in the picture (32%), poor focus (31%), fingers on the lens (28%) and only taking one snap rather than several so you can pick the best one (27%).

Picture-perfectionist Brits retake photographs an average of three times in an attempt to capture the winning shot, yet nearly six in ten Brits (59%) are still unhappy with the final results. In fact, a third of the photos filling up their camera rolls are sub-standard (28%), equating to an enormous 140 billion** substandard snaps nationwide.

Fred Sirieix, TV presenter and former general manager at Galvin at Windows, London Hilton on Park Lane, said, “Hospitality is all about creating incredible experiences for guests. What a fabulous idea to not only deliver that experience but also help capture it so that it can be cherished forever and shared with your social media followers! I’m thrilled to be working with my old friends at Hilton on ‘Waitographer’ and have seen first-hand the great results from the training. I have no doubt that Waitographers will be a huge hit with guests.”

Emma Banks, vice president of F&B strategy & development, Hilton, EMEA, said, “We have all felt that disappointment of seeing what could have been an amazing picture ruined by bad photography skills, so we’re pleased to provide the answer! Whether you are visiting our hotels for a stay or just a meal, we want the great memories to last beyond just that moment and stay with our guests forever, and we know a great photo can create that lasting memory. After a successful launch in the Middle East earlier this year, we are delighted to debut ‘Waitographer’ in the UK. We look forward to expanding this initiative even further to help combat badly taken photos on a global scale, so that diners and guests can rest assured that their memories will be perfectly captured at Hilton!”

Photographer Roger Moukarzel shares some of his top tips that he used to train Hilton team members to capture picture perfect photos:

1. Get closer instead of zooming in: Avoid blurry or pixelated images by stepping away from the zoom button and stepping towards the people you’re taking a picture of
2. Catch the right expressions: It is your job to capture the perfect moment – chat with the people you’re photographing, make them smile or laugh
3. Clean the lens: Even the tiniest spec of dirt can impact the quality of the final picture. Use a soft fabric or cloth, rough fabrics will impact the picture quality
4. Shoot in Burst Mode: If you don’t want to miss a moment, why not take multiple shots at once? Simply touch and hold the shutter button down, to stop, just release – it’s a great way to ensure there is at least one picture everyone loves

To find out more about ‘Waitographer’ join the conversation at @tasteofhilton.

*Over 1.72 trillion photographs are taken per year across the world https://photutorial.com/photos-statistics/.

**Latest data from ONS reveal the UK population is 67,100,000. A 2020 survey from photobite revealed Brits have an average of 7,500 photos stored on their phone. Hilton survey data revealed that 28% of photos stored on phones are poor quality, so there are 140,910,000,000 poor quality photos on UK phones currently.

Full list of participating UK hotels:

• Hilton London Canary Wharf
• Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh – The Caledonian
• Hilton Reading
• London Hilton on Park Lane
• Hilton Garden Inn London Heathrow Airport
• Hilton Leeds City
• Hilton Nottingham
• Hilton East Midlands Airport
• Hilton London Euston
• Hilton Puckrup Hall, Tewksbury
• Hampton by Hilton London Luton Airport
• Hilton London Kensington
• Hilton Brighton Metropole
• 100 Queens Gate Hotel London, Curio Collection by Hilton
• Hilton London Syon Park
• Hilton London Tower Bridge
• DoubleTree by Hilton London - Tower of London
• Hilton London Croydon
• Hilton Northampton
• Hilton London Paddington
• The Waldorf Hilton, London
• The Westminster London, Curio Collection by Hilton
• Conrad London St. James
• DoubleTree by Hilton Kingston-upon-Thames
• Hilton London Wembley
• Hilton London Metropole
• Canopy by Hilton London City
• Hilton London Bankside
• The Biltmore Mayfair, LXR Hotels & Resorts
• Hampton by Hilton - London Waterloo
• DoubleTree by Hilton Dartford Bridge
• Hilton Liverpool City Centre Hotel
• DoubleTree by Hilton London – Docklands Riverside
• Hilton Manchester Deansgate
• Hart Shoreditch Hotel London, Curio Collection by Hilton
• Hilton Glasgow
• Hampton by Hilton York
• Hilton Garden Inn Glasgow City Centre
• Hilton Cambridge City Centre
• Doubletree by Hilton Dunblane Hydro
• Hilton London Angel Islington
• Hilton Birmingham Metropole
• Hampton by Hilton London Ealing
• Doubletree by Hilton London - Marble Arch
• DoubleTree by Hilton Sheffield Park
• Hilton London Watford
• Hilton London Heathrow Airport Terminal 4
• Hilton London Olympia

About Roger Moukarzel

Globally recognized, photographer Roger Moukarzel has been working in the world of photography since the age of 15. In the early 80s, he started as a war photographer for the respected Sygma and Reuters and had his work published in a variety of newspapers and magazines worldwide, namely the Washington Post, Newsweek and holding the cover of Paris Match for its 40th anniversary issue.

A man of many visions, experiences and lives, in the early 90s, he moved to Paris, and his career expanded and progressed, into the worlds of fashion and advertising, documentary-making and artistic photography. His passion for heritage and roots led him to travel across the world exploring, celebrating and embracing a diversity of cultures through the power of the picture. What started out as personal journeys and studies became international exhibitions, books, and creations in Europe, Asia and throughout the Arab world. Launched 15 years ago, Moukarzel’s production house, Minime, has become one of the most trusted and respected in the Middle East.

Be it through film, photography or art direction, today Mourkarzel could be best described as a veteran in storytelling through pictures and multi-media.

Instagram: @rogermoukarzel