I have done last year the airbnb photographer and contact him to do this year the photos and I will pay him so I can use in all platforms
Itās not available in my area. But even if it was, I donāt think Iād use it. As @jaquo said, most often it seems the professional photos are too good to be true. It looks like they have a weird lighting filter applied that gives them what I have dubbed āthe fairy dust effectā.
I donāt think Airbnb photographers do this, but also beware of hiring a photographer that specializes in real estate photography. They use lenses that make rooms look MUCH bigger than they really are, and that is NOT something you want on an Airbnb listing.
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Thank you everyone. I did a bit more work, it seems that Airbnb gets control on all the photos taken by their photographers. They also review photos to make sure the photos follow some style or meet their āstandardsā. So not sure if Airbnb would filter out those photos that donāt look too good.
One reason I considered verified photos is that I heard (this is what I saw somewhere on Quora), your listingās ranking will be improved on search page if you have verified photos.
Iāve been thinking about using the professional photography program for years. This month, I finally decided to apply. So Airbnb duly assigned a photographer to my place. A day or two later, they changed this, and so two weeks ago, I was finally give the address of the guy who is supposed to do those photos, free of charge.
So I scrambled to get some new lamps, lampshades and other stuff to make my rooms look better for the photographs. Yesterday, I finally phoned the photographer, who hadnāt been contacting me. He is very busy with wedding photographs, this time of year, so I hope to have him finally come around, some time in July.
The main reason for finally joining this program is increased competition in recent months. So many neighbours started offering Airbnb rooms, which negatively affects my booking rate, so I feel I need to do something. Something I didnāt feel was necessary, last year or the year before.
If you think it will give more revenue, why not hire a photographer to do it for you? Nowadays it is a lot cheaper than people think.
Plenty of good ones out there. Just go on FB and put an add in a local photography group.
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Well, thatās what I am doing, am I not? I am hiring a photographer and Airbnb will be footing the bill.
Well: āeinem geschenkten Gaul schaut man nicht ins Maulā
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@Eberhard_Blocher But you are not hiring a local photographer are you? - you are utilising a free photography service through Airbnb 
Airbnb are hiring and paying for the photographer and own the copyright of any images produced.
I agree if you need photographs quickly just hire your own photographer who specialises in interiors (check out their portfolio first). Agree shared copyright so you can use the images elsewhere. You can then get to decide what images you want them to take and chose the ones you want to use. And you can claim it as a business expense.
A bit of a no brainer if you want them done - soon as.
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Google Translate translates this as:
you do not look into a mule
Is this equivalent to the old English ādonāt look a gift horse in the mouthā?
Addendum: Apparently, yes.
Though I donāt see how Gaul fits into it. That was a geographic region of Roman-era Western Europe popularized by Asterix. Though it might mean something else.
Itās not available in my area either.
A Gaul is a German name for the domesticated horse (Equus ferus caballus)
I am starting to understand what you mean. The photographer Airbnb hired for me is taking an awfully long time to actually arrive (perhaps he will finally come, two weeks from now), and in addition to that, Airbnb reserve the right to take up to 4 weeks to process the photos he will take.
But Iāve been fine for more than 4 years without joining the Professional Photography Program, so I guess I can wait a few more weeks.
Hi T Rex, I availed of this service and am pleased I did so. To my knowledge there is no hidden charge. I suppose from Airās point of view, it makes commercial sense to ensure that hosts properties are presented in the best possible way. Before I had it done guests commented that my photos did not do my house justice and now they say itās exactly the same as the photos.
This service IS available in my area-however, I did not take advantage of it because I heard that it can take weeks for the photos to be returned to you.
Yes, the problem is that AirBnB pays very little.
So photographers only work for them if they do not have anything better to do.
Oh! Excuse my ignorance.
Noā¦ they are hiring the guy. 