When it comes to vacation rental listings, the photos are one of the most critical elements for attracting potential guests. As the saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words”, and in the case of vacation rentals, Airbnb Photography and Staging are the key to getting images that create the best first impression that potential guests will have of your property.

Here are our top tips plus some extra information about photography for short term holiday accommodation photos.

1. Hire a professional photographer or take the photos yourself with a good camera.
2. Make sure the photos are high-resolution and well-lit.
3. Take photos of every room in the house, including bathrooms, bedrooms, and common areas like the living room and kitchen. Also, take exterior photos of the house and any outdoor spaces like a patio or balcony.
4. Use a tripod to keep the camera steady and avoid blurry images.
5. Take photos during the day when there’s natural light, and avoid taking photos in low-light conditions.
6. Taking twilight or night-time photos can be a great way to showcase the ambiance and mood of your Airbnb property but not all properties are suitable for twilight or night-time photos – a professional photographer can guide you on this.
7. Use a wide-angle lens to capture as much of the room as possible, but be careful not to distort the image too much.
8. Find a good balance between decluttering the space and removing items that may distract from the features of the room while also showcasing the utilities, amenities and inclusions offered to guests.
9. Style the space by adding decorative touches like throw pillows, plants, or art to make the space look more inviting and welcoming.

By taking the time to stage and style the space, and using high-quality photos that are well-edited, you can help to make your listing stand out from the competition and attract more bookings. When guests are searching for vacation rentals, they will be scrolling through numerous listings, and the photos are often the first thing they will notice. By using high-quality photos that are well-lit, sharp, and show the property in the best possible light, you can grab their attention and make them want to learn more about your property.

In addition, using high-quality photos that accurately represent your property and highlight its best features can help to ensure that guests have a great experience during their stay. If your photos accurately depict your property and its amenities, guests will have a clear understanding of what they can expect when they arrive. This can help to manage their expectations and ensure that they are satisfied with their stay.

Finally, high-quality photos can also help potential guests to visualize their stay at your property, which can increase their likelihood of booking. If they can see themselves enjoying the space and amenities, they will be more likely to book a stay. For these reasons, taking the time to create and submit high-quality photos for your vacation rental listing is essential for attracting more bookings and ensuring that guests have a great experience during their stay.

Staging your Airbnb before your short term rental photo shoot

Setting Up Before the Photoshoot and Staging the House:

• Deep clean the space, paying special attention to areas that are likely to be captured in the photos like the kitchen and bathroom.
• Repair any visible damage to the walls, floors, or furniture.
• Remove any clutter or unnecessary items to make the space appear more spacious.
• Stage each room to highlight its best features, such as placing fresh flowers on a dining room table or setting out a few books on a nightstand.
• Add some color to the space by using decorative accents like throw pillows, rugs, or artwork.

Before publishing images to your Holiday Rental Listing

Editing the Images:

• Use photo editing software to adjust the brightness, contrast, and color of the images to make them look their best.
• Crop the images to highlight the most important features of each room.
• Straighten any crooked photos to ensure that they look professional and polished.
• Remove any distracting elements from the photos, such as electrical cords or clutter.
• Use consistent editing styles across all the photos to give the listing a cohesive look.

Airbnb Photography and Staging for your listing

Airbnb has a number of tips, recommendations & guidelines for publishing photos of your listing on Airbnb

• Airbnb recommends that the photos for a listing should be at least 1024 pixels wide and 683 pixels tall, but they can be up to 5000 pixels wide and 3000 pixels tall.
• For the best viewing experience on the Airbnb platform, photos should be in a 16:9 aspect ratio, which is the standard widescreen aspect ratio used in many modern TVs and computer monitors.
• Airbnb also recommends using high-resolution photos that are at least 1920 x 1080 pixels to ensure that the images look clear and crisp on all devices.
• Additionally, it’s a good idea to compress the images to reduce their file size, which will help to improve the loading speed of the listing page. Airbnb suggests that the image file size should be less than 20 MB per photo.

It’s also worth noting that Airbnb has specific requirements for the first photo of the listing, which should be a high-quality image of the exterior of the property or a key room, like the living room or bedroom. This photo should be the main image that guests see when browsing listings, so it’s important to choose a photo that accurately represents the property and showcases its best features.

Submitting Images to booking.com for your accommodation profile

Recommended and Minimum requirements for photos on booking.com

1. File format: JPEG, PNG, or BMP.
2. Minimum resolution: 500 x 500 pixels.
3. Recommended resolution: 2048 x 1536 pixels (or higher).
4. Maximum file size: 10MB per image.
5. Aspect ratio: 4:3 or 16:9.

Booking.com also provides the following guidelines for taking and submitting photos for your listing:

1. Take photos in landscape orientation for the best display on the website.
2. Show all relevant areas of your property, including bedrooms, bathrooms, living spaces, and any unique features or amenities.
3. Ensure that the lighting is good, and that the photos are in focus and not blurry.
4. Avoid adding text, logos, or watermarks to the photos.
5. Do not use photos that contain people or copyrighted materials.
6. Make sure the photos are an accurate representation of your property and the guest experience.

Booking.com recommends that hosts regularly update their listing photos to reflect any changes or updates to the property.

VRBO/Stayz photography for accommodation listings

For VRBO and Stayz, the photo requirements for listings are as follows:

1. File format: JPEG or PNG.
2. Minimum resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels.
3. Recommended resolution: 3840 x 2160 pixels (or higher).
4. Maximum file size: 20MB per image.
5. Aspect ratio: 16:9.

VRBO and Stayz recommend that hosts use high-quality photos that are well-lit and showcase the best features of their property. Here are some additional tips for taking and submitting photos for your listing:

1. Take photos in landscape orientation, as this is the optimal orientation for the website.
2. Show all relevant areas of your property, including bedrooms, bathrooms, living spaces, and any unique features or amenities.
3. Make sure the photos are in focus and not blurry.
4. Avoid adding text, logos, or watermarks to the photos.
5. Do not use photos that contain people or copyrighted materials.
6. Make sure the photos are an accurate representation of your property and the guest experience.

VRBO and Stayz also recommend that hosts update their listing photos after any changes or updates to the property.