In November 2014, Burj Al Arab called on its fans across social media to share photos of the extravagant hotel under #BurjAlArabCalendar. The invitation was met with over 500 entries, the best 12 of which were chosen to be featured in the 2015 special edition calendar of the hotel.
The hotel reached 100,000 new followers through its crowd-sourced photography competition. That is a lot of double-taps. The winning entries made it all the way from the four corners of the world, including France, the Philippines, Kuwait and Sweden.
Much like everything in Dubai, the Burj Al Arab hotel, property of the Jumeirah group, seeks to go above and beyond. This suites-only hotel has been dubbed the most luxurious hotel, even rated as the only 7-star hotel in the world, even though "there's no such thing as a seven-star establishment; you can't officially go higher than five," as one TIME article explains.
The building ranks as the third tallest hotel, despite the fact that 39 percent the building can never be occupied.
Burj Al Arab's announcement of the winners on Instagram:
With over-the-top prices, even if you're just going for a meal or drinks, the hotel has become highly exclusive to a very narrow market. Although its bank account-draining prices may hinder many admirers from enjoying its services, it doesn't deprive any spectators of enjoying the external architecture.
It seems as though the hotel wanted to include more people in their 2015 plan without having to jeopardize the quality of their services. That's why Burj Al Arab asked their spectator fans to do what they do best, admire the outsides of the hotel, and while they're at it, why not share their stunning photos?
Seems like a fair deal, don't you think?
Here are some more photos of the hotel: