Jon Kreye | Hospitality & Travel Photographer

Hey, I’m Jon 👋🏻 a professional photographer, storyteller, and content creator based in Minnesota. What started as a deep love for cabins and the outdoors as a kid, has slowly turned into a career I never imaged possible🌲 Growing up, some of my favorite memories were spent visiting mom and pop resort cabins in MN + WI, and that is where my appreciation for intentional spaces, nature, and meaningful hospitality really began 🛶 Over the last 8 years, I’ve photographed more than 300 vacation rentals, hotels, and resorts across the world 🌎 What started with simply capturing and sharing places I loved eventually grew into helping hospitality brands tell their stories through photography, video, and social media in a way that feels emotional, immersive, and real 📸 I’ve always believed travelers are searching for unique and authentic experiences that help them slow down, reconnect, and leave them genuinely better than when they arrived ✨ I’ve also always believed photography is an art and has the power to impact people emotionally. These beliefs help shape everything I create and every story I share 🫶🏻 This career was built by following some of the deepest passions in my life: intentional travel, quality design, above-and-beyond hospitality, intentional storytelling, and creating work that evokes emotion and sparks something real ☀️ Today, I partner with vacation rentals, hotels, resorts, tourism boards, and small businesses and brands of all kinds to create editorial content that helps them stand out in a world where people crave authenticity more than ever ✈️ This page is a mix of the places I discover, the stories behind them, behind-the-scenes moments, travel inspiration, hidden gems, and the journey of building a life and business around creativity and the best hospitality out there 🎥 Whether you’re here because you love travel, cabins, design, photography, the Midwest, or because you’re building a brand of your own, I’m really glad you’re here. Thank you for following along. Your support has made this dream come true and I couldn’t be more grateful for you 🤝🏻

A year for the books. Swipe through the slides for a glimpse into my year ✨ Last slide is the most important 🙏🏼 Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for supporting my journey 🤍 Just wait til you see what I have planned in 2026…😏

I PUBLISHED (another) BOOK. Back to the Woods. Publishing a book is not easy. After I hand-picked each of the photos to go inside it, I embarked on another six months of editing, thinking, re-thinking, writing, re-writing, scratching, and fixing to craft this book into what it is. Self publishing is not an easy task. And self-publishing a book that you poured everything into to ensure it is just right, tells stories in the best way possible, and showcases photos that evoke emotions and tell stories is not easy. And I’m proud to say I’ve done it. Twice. This book is different than my first and has even more heart poured into it. Why did I publish? My first book was for me, to collect some of my favorite images and see if I could really do it. But this book is different, it’s for you. It’s for your future memories. Your future adventure. This book is for your inspiration, and for your travels. Be inspired by the amazing, unique, funky and one-of-a-kind designed spaces in the book. And be ready to travel to the best of the best vacation rentals these two states have to offer. Inside I share detailed accounts of each of the 32 unique properties. Enjoy this book for inspiration and use it as a tool. All properties are new and different from my first book! Not only will you be inspired by glimpses into my travels, but you will be able to embark on your own adventures. Simply scan the QR code placed alongside each stay to book your own getaway at that property in seconds. I must give a huge thank you to my incredible wife Cambell who supports my crazy dreams, my incredible mom and dad who instilled my work ethic, love of travel and the outdoors in me, my daughters (second is almost here) who inspire me to be my best every day, my late uncle Paul who first encouraged me to self-publish, and thank you to my incredible God who gives me my greatest hope in life. And a big thanks to you, whether you are a friend, family member, client, acquaintance or a supporter from afar. I couldn’t live this dream without each and every one of you. Thank you. 📗ORDER YOUR COPY AT THE LINK IN MY BIO🔗

spring in the sauna is a fantastic season for it 🍃 the days get a bit longer, the mornings and evenings are still cool, the leaf shadows come back ☀️ Spring is a fantastic season to sauna 🔥 📍Edina, Minnesota 🔨 Sauna build by @northernsteammn [ send to your sauna-loving friend as a reminder to sauna together this spring! ]

Welcome springtime, hello Forest Fields. 🌼 There’s nothing quite like the smell of a Midwest meadow in the peak of spring. The aromas of a time and warmth returning that have been so missed since winter rolled in to put everything to rest. It forces us to breathe deeper, and an awareness for what surrounds us returns. Forest Fields is our celebration of spring, rebirth, and awakening. Brewed with blood orange, chamomile flowers, ginger, sumac, and mineralized sea salt - it’s warming, awakening, and subtly present. You can find Forest Fields online or at many of our retail partners nationwide, which can be found at the link in our bio.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Wishing you all a restorative springtime.

Do you ever get tired of seeing vacation rentals use the same basic and cheap decor and furniture on repeat? I see many out there that are cheaply thrown together, but what is rare to see is a thoughtfully curated space filled with historic character. A unique collection of vintage and found pieces that are a perfect fit for the home that they live in. Remodeling and building that honors the character of the home and area and doesn’t strip its charm. Saving and refinishing historic windows that would be easier to trash and replace with new ones. An unspoken rule that celebrates the living history of a place. Every single piece that is brought inside is intentional. Real character. Real stories. I want to see more of this. I really do. Comment STAY for the link to book/visit this incredible gem near Litchfield, Connecticut ✨ Be sure to follow @jonkreye for the best cabin stays in the USA!

ADD THIS SPA TO YOUR BUCKET LIST! 🇨🇭 If you love to sauna, hot tub, cold plunge or swim in pools in the mountains, you have to save this and plan to visit on your next trip to the Alps! 🏔️ Just to get here is an adventure. You drive up many switchbacks to an incredible mountainside chalet where you’ll find this spa! 🌊 Inside, you’ll find multiple saunas, a huge steam room, a massive outdoor infinity pool with a jaw-dropping mountain view, a snow drop room, several indoor hot pools, cold pools, a sensory walkway with hot, warm and cool air that blows on you, underwater music pool, relaxation rooms with loungers and more! 🔥 It’s the most amazing spa I’ve ever experienced and you could spend an entire day here and still not do it all 🤯 …for only $55 USD! 📍 Comment SPA for the link to book with all of the details and location!

Take a moment and breathe. Enjoy today’s sunrise from Lake Country 🌅 Sunrise, April 28th, 2026 📍West Fox Lake, Minnesota

Highly recommend planning a summer trip to this often misunderstood destination from those who haven’t visited it. When I explored its pristine beaches, its historic towns, and charming homes, I was blown away. Curious where it is? Comment COAST and I’ll send you the surprising location along with some of my personal recommendations for unique things to do and see in the area! ☀️

Who’s in? 📍Minnesota

I’ve never seen a hotel this nice built within a state park! It’s quiet, intentional, and designed to blend into the landscape - ocean, dunes, and untouched nature. A stay at this unique hotel in the USA includes: 🏖️Direct access to pristine white sand beaches 🏊‍♂️Two large outdoor pools 🥾 Miles of hiking + biking trails right outside 🌾Nature preserve + dune views 🛌 Modern rooms of different sizes ☀️Tucked into protected coastline, surrounded by nature, and nowhere near the typical high-rise scene. Like this post and comment BEACH and I’ll send you the details 👇 And send this to the person you want to go with! Be sure to follow @jonkreye for the most amazing stays in the USA!

Follow your dreams ✨ Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about where this all started. When I first got into this, there really wasn’t much of an “industry” around it, at least not in the way we see it now. Not many people were approaching spaces this way. No clear path, no playbook. Just a camera and a feeling that these places deserved to be experienced, not just documented. Since then, everything has changed. The space has grown a ton. New people, new styles, new opportunities. It’s evolved in ways I never could’ve imagined. And yeah, not every part of that change has been perfect but honestly, I wouldn’t change a thing about how it’s all played out. This work has taken me to places I never thought I’d go. Mountains that feel almost unreal. Properties that completely stop you in your tracks. Spaces that you can tell someone poured everything into. That part still gets me. The people. The hosts who care way more than I’ve ever expected. The brands trying to build something with intention. The creators who are still pushing for originality when it would be easier not to. That’s what keeps me here. It’s easy to get caught up in growth or what’s next, but when I zoom out, I just genuinely love doing this. Creating work that feels honest. Telling stories that actually mean something. Being part of something that, at its core, is built on creativity and connection. I don’t take that lightly. If anything, I feel more inspired now than I did at the beginning. There’s still so much room to do things differently. To build something thoughtful. To make work that actually stands out because it’s real. Really grateful for everyone who’s been a part of it so far. Clients, collaborators, friends, all of it. We’re just getting started.