Post by High Priestess on Oct 14, 2015 11:47:42 GMT
Using photos to attract guests
Many Airbnb hosts ask what they can do to improve their listing. One of the most important things you can do to improve your listing is to get some GREAT photos on it. Many listings have very ho-hum photos, even poor quality, grainy photos, taken with a poor quality camera, such as a basic cellphone camera. Investing in the time to get some better photos is one of the best things you can do, because guests pay more attention to the photos than to what they read. IN fact, we have read several stories about guests who have booked a listing based only on the photos, not having read anything.
AIrbnb offers free professional photography for your listing,so that is something to consider taking advantage of. It's also our understanding that if you use this service, you will get a slight "boost" in search results because you have Airbnb verified photos. However, if you use this service, keep in mind that Airbbn "owns" those photos, and apart from their presence on your listing, you won't have copies of those photo files anywhere else, so you won't be able to use them on a 2nd listing for instance, or for any other purpose.
Interior photos of residential spaces do best when you use WIDE ANGLE shots which can show a larger section of the room. Cellphone cameras typically do not permit wide angle shots. As well, interior photos need good lighting and may need color correction for that lighting, so that the interior spaces don't appear orangish or bluish due to the artificial light.
When taking photos of your listing, get the clutter out of the space. Remove extraneous items, and smooth over wrinkles on beds and sofas. PIck up things off the floor. HIghlight the interesting colors, textures, angles and views. Make the space look open and welcoming, not cramped and full. You want to show the guest that there is space for them in your home.
Make sure you have photos of all parts of your house which guests are able to use (don't use photos of areas guests are not permitted to use -- such as the kitchen if that is off-limits, as this will confuse them and lead them to use those areas.) You should have at least one photo of the room the guest will be in, and one of the kitchen. You may want to show the bathroom and the backyard, and highlight any interesting accents -- eg a photo of a nice looking table or vintage light fixture.
If you have pets, include photos of those so guests know whom they will be meeting.
Good listings have many photos -- consider using 20 to 40 photos. That isnt' too many. Take photos from different vantage points to increase the visual interest factor. Photos from low, near the floor, photos from higher up, photos using wide angle or fisheye lenses.
One thing you may NOT want to include photos of, is the front of your house.
Realize that by depicting the front of your house, you could attract "unwanted" individuals who rather than book through AIrbnb, decide that stalking you down and knocking at your door to ask if they can stay with you is the way to go. As well, consider the results of using photos that make it easy for neighbors or city officials to find your house in an area where there may be some crazy neighbors, or where regulations about short term rentals are vague at best, and hostile at worst. We know of many cases where cities, neighbors or unwanted strangers have identified Airbnb hosts by using photos those hosts posted which showed the front of their home (that combined with the name of your street, which shows up on your listing unless you remove that, is sufficient in most cases for anyone at all to find you).
Many Airbnb hosts ask what they can do to improve their listing. One of the most important things you can do to improve your listing is to get some GREAT photos on it. Many listings have very ho-hum photos, even poor quality, grainy photos, taken with a poor quality camera, such as a basic cellphone camera. Investing in the time to get some better photos is one of the best things you can do, because guests pay more attention to the photos than to what they read. IN fact, we have read several stories about guests who have booked a listing based only on the photos, not having read anything.
AIrbnb offers free professional photography for your listing,so that is something to consider taking advantage of. It's also our understanding that if you use this service, you will get a slight "boost" in search results because you have Airbnb verified photos. However, if you use this service, keep in mind that Airbbn "owns" those photos, and apart from their presence on your listing, you won't have copies of those photo files anywhere else, so you won't be able to use them on a 2nd listing for instance, or for any other purpose.
Interior photos of residential spaces do best when you use WIDE ANGLE shots which can show a larger section of the room. Cellphone cameras typically do not permit wide angle shots. As well, interior photos need good lighting and may need color correction for that lighting, so that the interior spaces don't appear orangish or bluish due to the artificial light.
When taking photos of your listing, get the clutter out of the space. Remove extraneous items, and smooth over wrinkles on beds and sofas. PIck up things off the floor. HIghlight the interesting colors, textures, angles and views. Make the space look open and welcoming, not cramped and full. You want to show the guest that there is space for them in your home.
Make sure you have photos of all parts of your house which guests are able to use (don't use photos of areas guests are not permitted to use -- such as the kitchen if that is off-limits, as this will confuse them and lead them to use those areas.) You should have at least one photo of the room the guest will be in, and one of the kitchen. You may want to show the bathroom and the backyard, and highlight any interesting accents -- eg a photo of a nice looking table or vintage light fixture.
If you have pets, include photos of those so guests know whom they will be meeting.
Good listings have many photos -- consider using 20 to 40 photos. That isnt' too many. Take photos from different vantage points to increase the visual interest factor. Photos from low, near the floor, photos from higher up, photos using wide angle or fisheye lenses.
One thing you may NOT want to include photos of, is the front of your house.
Realize that by depicting the front of your house, you could attract "unwanted" individuals who rather than book through AIrbnb, decide that stalking you down and knocking at your door to ask if they can stay with you is the way to go. As well, consider the results of using photos that make it easy for neighbors or city officials to find your house in an area where there may be some crazy neighbors, or where regulations about short term rentals are vague at best, and hostile at worst. We know of many cases where cities, neighbors or unwanted strangers have identified Airbnb hosts by using photos those hosts posted which showed the front of their home (that combined with the name of your street, which shows up on your listing unless you remove that, is sufficient in most cases for anyone at all to find you).