Here the first mistake is not made in a contract: it is made by accepting that there is no contract at all.
1. Living off exchanges
That works for a few months, never for a year.
An exchange pays for neither equipment nor rent nor the quiet months, and it takes up exactly the time you will no longer have for paid work. It also sets a precedent: a brand that got something free once negotiates from that starting point.
Set a simple rule: one exchange a quarter, chosen by you, never proposed by the brand.
2. Giving away advertising rights
That is the most frequent price gap, and the most expensive.
A video posted on the brand's account and a video pushed as paid advertising for six months do not have the same use or the same value. Many people deliver the second at the price of the first, without knowing it.
Always ask where the video will run, and charge for paid distribution separately.
3. Not limiting the licence to one property
That is specific to this market, where hotel groups are numerous.
A video shot for one hotel ends up used for the group's five other properties, sometimes in another country. With no written limit, nothing forbids it.
Name the property, the brand and the country in the document, and set the price of the extension to the group.
4. Not planning for the low season
The tourist calendar dictates the budget calendar.
Shoots concentrate before the high season, then everything stops. A creator discovering that rhythm in the first year experiences it as failure; in the second, they plan for it.
Use the quiet months for what does not depend on clients: portfolio, outreach, your own content.
5. Neglecting invoicing obligations
They are not optional and they condition payment.
Invoicing rules, required statements and reporting arrangements depend on your situation and are checked with the competent administration and with an accountant, before the first invoice, not at the moment of an inspection.
A serious client cannot pay you without a compliant document: it is a cash-flow question too.
6. Neglecting equipment in the humidity
That is the breakdown that costs a whole season.
Coastal humidity condenses in lenses, attacks contacts, kills a card at the worst moment. Equipment that lives outdoors here does not last as long as it would elsewhere.
Sealed box and desiccant, slow transition between air conditioning and outside, duplicate cards, backup the same evening.
7. Charging international clients local prices
That is the mistake that caps the most promising income.
A North American brand buying here compares with its own prices, not with yours. Charging the local rate does not make the offer more attractive: it makes the quality suspect.
Two rate cards, two markets, owned and written down.
The costliest mistakes, and their fix
| The mistake | What it costs | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Accepting without a written quote | A dispute over scope | A quote, even a short one |
| Granting rights without limits | Value given away for free | A named duration and media |
| Delivering without a deposit | A risk of non-payment | A deposit or a framed payment |
What repairs badly after the fact
A rate set too low at the start. A client used to a price accepts an increase reluctantly, and it is better to offer a one-off discount on a fair rate than to install an untenable price for good.
What separates a mistake from a lesson
The note that follows it. An order that goes badly without recording what was missing repeats three months later, whereas one line added to the standard quote is enough never to live it again.
The silent mistake
Not asking for a referral.
After a successful job, one sentence is enough to get a contact at another brand, and nobody says it. It is the cheapest and best-converting channel, and it is available for exactly one week after delivery.
Sources
Checked on 4 September 2026. Thresholds and rates change: where this guide and the official source disagree, the official source is right.
