Photos and text on your hotel website: can you use photos from the internet, your photographer or your guests? (2026)

Updated: 10 November 2026

Photos sell rooms, and it is tempting to grab a nice beach shot from Google or the picture a guest posted. We read the EU copyright directive, the Renckhoff judgment of the EU Court of Justice, the Spanish Intellectual Property Act, the Spanish image rights act, a report by the Spanish data protection authority (AEPD), the Portuguese and Italian laws, the official Greek guide and the Creative Commons page (links at the end). Where we could not confirm something we say so. This is not legal advice: check with your adviser.

The basic rule: if it is not yours, you need permission

Directive 2001/29/EC:

Art. 2: the author has the exclusive right to authorise or prohibit reproduction of the work.
Art. 3.1: and to authorise or prohibit its communication to the public, including putting it online.
Uploading a photo or copying original text from another website to yours is reproducing it and communicating it to the public.
No watermark and no © symbol changes nothing.
Each platform's photo rules (Google, Booking, Tripadvisor, Airbnb) are covered at /hotel-photos-rules-google-booking-tripadvisor-airbnb-2026.

"Free" photos online: the Renckhoff judgment

EU Court of Justice, case C-161/17, 7 August 2018:

A photo that was freely accessible on another website, with the author's consent, cannot be republished on your website without a new authorisation from the author.
The court treats it as a communication to a new public.
This also covers that photo of the village, the beach or the monument you found in a search engine.

Spain: photographic works and simple photographs

Intellectual Property Act (consolidated text, BOE):

Art. 10.1 h): photographic works are protected works.
Arts. 17, 18 and 20: the author alone decides on reproduction and communication to the public.
Art. 128: even if the photo is not creative (a "mere photograph"), whoever took it has the exclusive right to authorise its reproduction, distribution and communication to the public.
That right lasts 25 years from 1 January of the year after the photo was taken.
In practice: almost no recent photo is free to use.

Photos by your photographer or your staff

Paying for the shoot does not mean you can use the photos anywhere: it depends on what you sign.
Get in writing which uses are licensed (website, social media, platforms, ads, AI), in which countries, for how long and whether exclusively.
Spanish IP Act, art. 51: transfer to the employer of work created by an employee is governed by the employment contract. If a staff member takes photos, put it in writing.
Keep the contract or invoice with the licence: it is your proof if someone complains.

Stock images and Creative Commons

Official Creative Commons page:

There are six CC licences and all require crediting the author (BY).
NC means non-commercial: not primarily intended for commercial advantage or money. A hotel website that sells rooms is commercial use: do not use NC photos.
ND bans derivatives (for example crops or montages); SA requires sharing adaptations under the same licence.
Stock sites: each has its own licence (free or paid). We have not reviewed them: read yours and keep a copy with the download date.

Guest photos

The photo belongs to whoever took it, even if it shows your pool: the author is the guest.
Tagging you or sending it by message is not, on its own, permission for your website.
Ask for written permission (an email works as proof) saying where you will use it, and credit them if they want.
If people appear in the photo, you also need their consent to use their image (next section).

Photos with people: guests, staff, children

Spanish Organic Act 1/1982 and AEPD:

Art. 7.6: using a person's image for advertising or commercial purposes without permission is an unlawful intrusion.
Arts. 2.2 and 2.3: express consent is required, and the person can withdraw it at any time.
AEPD (report 0424/2009, under the previous law): the image of an identifiable person is personal data; staff must be informed beforehand; with passers-by it is advisable to blur faces.
We have not reviewed a later AEPD guide on photos on websites. For minors, ask your adviser before publishing.
Safest: photos with no recognisable faces, or models and staff with a signed release.

Portugal

Art. 2.1 h): photographic works are protected.
Art. 164.1: a photo is protected as a work if, through the choice of subject or how it was taken, it is a personal artistic creation.
Art. 165.1: the author has the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute and sell it.
Art. 167.1: the photographer's name must be shown.
We could not open the Diário da República from here.

Italy

Art. 88: the photographer has the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute and sell the photo.
If it was taken in an employment relationship or on commission, the right may belong to the employer or client.
Art. 90: the photo must show the photographer's name and the year.
Art. 92: the right in simple photographs lasts 20 years from when they were taken. Creative photos get full copyright protection.

Greece

Basic guide by the Hellenic Copyright Organisation (OPI, April 2023):

Photographs are protected.
The rightholder decides on reproduction and presentation to the public, and can stop use without permission.
Protection lasts for the author's life plus 70 years, from 1 January after their death.
The guide does not cite articles of Law 2121/1993; neither do we.

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Frequently asked questions

Can I use a photo from Google Images if I credit the source?

No. Credit does not replace permission. The EU Court of Justice (C-161/17) says republishing on your site a photo freely available on another needs a new authorisation from the author.

I paid the photographer: are the photos mine?

Not necessarily. You can use them as the contract says. Get the uses, countries, duration and exclusivity in writing.

Can I publish photos showing guests?

Only with their express consent, which they can withdraw. In Spain, using someone's image commercially without permission is an unlawful intrusion (Act 1/1982, art. 7.6). Photos without recognisable faces are safest.

Sources

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