Why do hotel ads just show concrete buildings?

“I can never understand why people show hotels in their ads. Nobody ever see the hotel! You arrive in a  taxi and that’s the first idea you have that you’ve actually got to the place. Then you see the room. I find hotel advertising hilarious because they’ve got all these photographs of big, concrete block-houses. It’s like they’re saying, please come and stay in our prison!” – Neil French (in Aitchison, J, 2004, p.80).

Donald Draper has a similar sentiment, but could never convince Conrad Hilton. Wonder if he was responsible for the ad above?

Doesn’t matter much these days anyway – you generally just book the one with the best deal online.