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Airbnb’s professional photography program seems to be “too good to be true”, it’s FREE. And you’d pay a lot to hire a professional photographers (say from freelance) to take nice photos.
But still, there are many hosts who are not taking the free lunch. I’m wondering if there is any potential concern with this program? For example, Airbnb actually charges you in some subtle ways to compensate their cost?
It isn’t available in my area.
Thank you for the reply. I think Airbnb is expanding this program to cover more and more cities. So would you consider joining it when it become available in your area?
No… it’s free. The plus for them is that they get verified photos of your place as they are watermarked that way.
Thank you konacoconutz. Please correct me if I’m wrong: some verified photos do have “verified” watermarks on the pictures, but most of the verified photos I saw are not watermarked. Instead there is text box under the photo saying this is “verified”. If there is no watermark, does it mean this photo can be used on other platforms? like, for hosts who also list their homes on HomeAway?
They no longer offer FREE photos in my market. They have the saturation that they want so are not offering.
It’s not available in my area. I would 100% go for it if the service was available to me
No idea. I used them when I first opened seven something years ago so now only one or photos they took are still accurate. You don’t have to use anything they take. They will just upload them as your pictures and you can remove any you don’t like. I take a screen shot of it first. As for use on other platforms, don’t. It’s not right. Take your own or hire someone.
Thank you smtucker! I didn’t know this is happening (what you pointed out that they stopped offering free lunch). So now in your area, you have to pay Airbnb to get verified photos? Or there is just no way to get “verified photos” anymore in your market?
I don’t think that there is a way to get verified photos in my market. But, I really don’t care. My reviews are the verification that the space I present in the photos is the space that they will get when they arrive. I do not have even one review that states they found less than I promised.
I see… yeah the free service is offered only once. Thanks again! I’m considering list on multiple platforms including homeaway and airbnb, so was thinking whether I can use their nice photos and post on other platforms. If this is not allowed, I’ll go with taking photos myself.
Thank you smtucker. Would you mind letting me know what city you’re hosting in? Really curious.
Btw, I had guests who seem too lazy or too angry to leave a review, that bothers me…
Yeah it’s free. And i talked someone who’s apartment got a lot more bookings after he got the verified photos, it’s like 80% more!!
the (fabulous, historic & desireable) Boston area
[getting creative about how I get to 20 characters]
Ha ha thank you. I agree Boston is ( , , ,) whatever you put in the list, plus (my dream school located, cold, really cold). 
Yes, I have seen a lot of listings in which the photographs are deceptive because the photographer (naturally) wants the place to look as good as possible. This is the nature of photographers, marketers and designers.
The problem comes when guests have to rate their accommodation for accuracy.
Great photographs can certainly increase bookings but do they create guest satisfaction? Do they lead to great reviews, repeat business and recommendations?
There is also the problem of upgrades. Many hosts upgrade their rentals regularly. For example, tomorrow we are taking delivery of new sofas and recently added new artwork. Had we had professional photography those photographs would now be redundant.
I love it when guests say that our apartment is even better than shown in the photographs and I believe that under-promising and over-delivering is the best way for hosts to go if they are serious about their business.
Also not available in my area
Not available here - they seem to focus on the big cities
You can only do it one time and I need the photos for my website and different platforms.
Hi @T-Rex
If you search photography on Airbnb’s help section it shows you how it works
Pro’s - free professional photography, verified= trust sign, quality photography makes listing more desirable
Cons - they own copyright, not available everywhere, they choose images
If you want photography for a variety of platforms , use a professional freelance specialisng in interiors, it’s not expensive and you can claim it as a business cost.