Official Contest Rules

Belltown Inn Photography Contest

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

These Official Contest Rules govern the Beauty Beyond Summer Photography Contest. By submitting an entry, each entrant agrees to these Rules and to the final decisions of the Sponsor and its judges.

1. Contest Period

The Beauty Beyond Summer Photography Contest begins October 1, 2026, at 9:00 AM Pacific Time and ends December 31, 2026, at 5:00 PM Pacific Time. All entries must be received by the deadline. The winner will be announced by January 15, 2027.

2. Sponsor

The Contest is sponsored and administered by 2301 Third Ave LP, dba Belltown Inn, 2301 3rd Ave, Seattle, Washington 98121 (“Sponsor”).

3. Eligibility

The Contest is open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are at least 18 years old at the time of entry. The Contest is open to photographers of all experience levels.

Employees and representatives of the Sponsor, its ownership and management companies, affiliated companies and promotional agencies, and members of their immediate families or households, are not eligible.

No purchase is necessary. Void where prohibited.

4. How to Enter

During the Contest Period, an eligible entrant must:

Follow @BelltownInn on Instagram.
Complete the official entry form on the Belltown Inn website.
Upload one to three original photographs taken by the entrant in the Seattle area between October 1 and December 31, 2026.
Provide the entrant’s full name, valid email address and Instagram handle.
List a file name for each submitted image and, if desired, provide a description, caption or story.
Limit one entry form per person, containing no more than three photographs. Each individual may win only once. Incomplete, inaccurate, late or noncompliant entries may be disqualified.

5. Photograph Requirements

Each submitted photograph must:

Be an original photograph created and owned by the entrant.
Have been taken in the Seattle area during the Contest Period.
Relate to the Beauty Beyond Summer theme.
Be appropriate for public display and publication.
Not infringe another person’s copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity or other rights.
Not contain unlawful, defamatory, obscene, threatening or discriminatory material.
Be submitted as a JPG, JPEG or PNG file, in black and white or RGB color, with a maximum file size of 10 MB per photograph.
Photographs must not be created or materially altered using generative artificial intelligence. Standard photographic adjustments, including cropping and reasonable adjustments to exposure, color, contrast, sharpness and noise, are permitted. Adding, removing or relocating significant subjects or elements is not permitted.

Incidental people may appear in photographs. If an identifiable adult is the primary subject, the entrant must have that person’s permission. The Sponsor may request a written release and may disqualify a photograph if permission cannot be demonstrated. Photographs may not prominently feature an identifiable minor.

Photographs taken with smartphones and traditional cameras are equally eligible. The Sponsor will determine whether a photograph satisfies the Contest requirements.

6. Judging

Beauty Beyond Summer is a skill-based photography contest. The winner will not be selected at random or based on social-media likes, comments, shares or follower counts.

Eligible photographs will be evaluated by the Belltown Inn Creative Committee using the following criteria:

Visual impact
Originality and point of view
Sense of Seattle
Expression of the Beauty Beyond Summer theme
If entries are tied, the Creative Committee will reevaluate the tied photographs based on their overall expression of the Beauty Beyond Summer theme. All judging decisions are final.

7. Prize

One winner will receive a complimentary two-night stay at Belltown Inn. The approximate retail value of the prize is $300. The actual value may vary based on the stay dates and prevailing room rates. Any difference between the approximate retail value and the actual value will not be awarded.

The stay must be reserved in advance and redeemed between January 20 and April 30, 2027. Reservations are subject to availability and applicable blackout dates. A valid credit card will be required at check-in, and the winner will be responsible for all incidental charges.

The prize is not redeemable for cash and may not be transferred or substituted by the winner. Transportation, meals and other expenses are not included unless specifically stated by Belltown Inn. The prize is subject to Belltown Inn’s standard reservation and guest policies. The winner is responsible for applicable taxes and all expenses not expressly included in the prize.

8. Winner Notification

The potential winner will be contacted using the email address and/or Instagram handle provided with the entry. The potential winner must respond within 72 hours and may be required to provide information or documentation needed to confirm eligibility, acceptance of the prize and compliance with these Official Rules.

If the potential winner cannot be contacted, does not respond within 72 hours, declines the prize, is ineligible or fails to comply with these Rules, the Sponsor may select an alternate winner using the same judging criteria.

By accepting the prize, the winner grants the Sponsor permission to announce the winner’s name and/or Instagram handle and publish the winning photograph in connection with the Contest.

9. Photograph Ownership and Permission

Photographers retain copyright and ownership of their photographs.

By entering, each entrant grants the Sponsor and its ownership and management entities a perpetual, royalty-free, nonexclusive license to reproduce, publish, display, crop, resize, format and otherwise use the submitted photographs in all Belltown Inn hotel marketing, including advertising, websites, social media, email, public relations and promotional materials. Authorized changes must not materially misrepresent a photograph.

Photographer credit will accompany each use, using the entrant’s name and/or Instagram handle provided with the entry.

10. Beauty Beyond Summer Gallery

Belltown Inn may feature selected entries on its Instagram account, website, email or other marketing channels during and after the Contest as part of the Beauty Beyond Summer Gallery. Selection for the Gallery does not indicate finalist status, influence judging or guarantee that an entrant will win. Submission does not guarantee publication.

11. Entrant Representations

By entering, each entrant confirms that:

The entrant meets all eligibility requirements.
Each photograph is the entrant’s original work and the entrant owns it.
The entrant has authority to grant the permissions stated in these Rules.
The photographs do not violate another person’s rights.
Any required permissions or releases have been obtained.
The entry information is accurate.
The entrant has read and agrees to these Official Rules.

12. Privacy

Personal information submitted through the entry form will be used to administer the Contest, communicate with entrants, verify eligibility and notify the winner. Entering the Contest will not automatically enroll an entrant in Belltown Inn marketing emails. Any marketing subscription must be offered through a separate, optional consent.

13. Instagram Disclaimer

This Contest is not sponsored, endorsed, administered by or associated with Instagram or Meta. By entering, each entrant releases Instagram and Meta from responsibility associated with the Contest to the extent permitted by law. Questions regarding the Contest should be directed to Belltown Inn, not Instagram or Meta.

14. Limitation of Liability

By entering, each entrant agrees to release and hold harmless the Sponsor and its ownership, management, employees, representatives and promotional partners from claims arising from participation in the Contest, acceptance or use of the prize, or the Sponsor’s authorized use of the submitted photographs, except where prohibited by law. Each entrant is responsible for claims resulting from a breach of the representations made in these Official Rules.

15. General Conditions

The Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, corrupted, misdirected or technically unsuccessful entries or for technical failures beyond its reasonable control.

The Sponsor may disqualify an entrant or photograph that violates these Rules, interferes with the entry process or attempts to obtain an unfair advantage.

Subject to applicable law, the Sponsor may modify, suspend or terminate the Contest if fraud, technical failure or circumstances beyond its reasonable control materially impair the Contest’s integrity or administration.

By entering, participants agree to these Official Rules and the final decisions of the Sponsor and the Belltown Inn Creative Committee.