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Hi all,
I’m new here, 3 months as a host and never been a guest (looking forward to it when I next travel) Spent a bit of time reading this forum and have been educated and entertained at the same time (kettles are a must and we have doona’s -that’s a douvet- in a cover on top of a flat sheet!)
So to my question…I’m wondering if too many photos or too much detail is off putting to guests searching properties. I get questions from people then update my details to include that information. I have 21 photos of the property and 17 of the local area (people ask me what attractions are close to the house so I’ve added photos of what’s around) Any feedback or suggestions would be much appreciated.
I never believe in anything such as too many pictures . Yours looks great , if anything you might want to remove the extra dining room pics you have . Many Hosts forget that not only should you have interior photos of your home but also the neighborhood and top spots in your area . You have done a great job .
If any guests decides not to stay with you because you have too many photos , consider yourself lucky and you wouldn’t want to have those type of guests stay with you !! All the best of luck with being a Host !
Your place looks immaculate ~ love the plumeria (frangipani) accents because it adds a bit of color. So your rate is about $130 USD?.. incredible for whole house experience.
About 50%-60% of my guests are non-US so I include in parentheses next to distances and such, the equivalent/or conversion in km, or whatever.
I need to take some fresh photos of my rental but I tend to post only a sampling of my rental space (whole unit/small 1 bedroom). I do not show every nook and cranny and try to save some aspects for a little of the surprise element. The comments from guests have been very favorable and nearly every review includes phrases such as ‘tastefully decorated’ or ‘modern’ or ‘updated’.
I guess it works to some degree but personally, I would like to change out the decor. To me, it looks a little tired.
I have 100 pictures. Most are of the house and my neighborhood with community beach. But I also show them photos of the nearby sights, including of the erupting volcano, telling them how far away they are from this wonderful national park, so when considering my place, they could agree I am centrally located for sightseeing around the island.
Thanks for that idea, would you do that on airbnb or on your own computer before uploading? I don’t want to lose the text on each picture as it gives the location and kms from the house.
Thanks, yes, I love the frangipani in the gardens so wanted to include some inside.
Re pricing, as it’s Winter here now I’ve dropped it for the cooler months, weekends a bit higher and summer up to $350 AUS/night in the school hols, already getting busy for bookings in Nov/Dec.
Could I have a look at your place please?
I think you should have a good look look at he photo’s and filter some of them.
Many pictures are not a problem, as long as they add something. Quality over quantity is still a very important thing.
There are foto’s showing the same thing, adding nothing new.
Some foto’s are even making things worse.
For example: You have a beautiful main picture of the pool in the evening, and than you add 2 daylight pictures that are not like the first impression.
Linving room and dining room and then the dining room on itself, the dining room picture does not add anything. I could almost be a crop of the first one.
Also pictures 7 and 8 do not add anything after the first good picture of your kitchen.
And like @felixcat said, get a free collage tool, and merge 5 of 6 the attraction pictures into 1.
Also keep in mind that a guest looking at your add will only see 5 pictures as a first impression.
So make sure these are your best ones.
I grabbed a screenshot to show you what I mean, if you have a problem with that I will remove them again.
-2 Pictures of the pool. I would get rid of the right one with the hose. I am not sure about the left one, I would move it to the back so it is not part of the 5 you see here. You already have the pool as your main picture.
-Picture of the terras view, not a selling point, either remove it, or move it to the back.
-Pictures of house and kitchen are good ones, keep them
Pictures I would add here are the bathroom and bedroom.
Hello fellow Oz host. Most have already given you plenty of advice. Mine is to cut them back instead of the repetitive shots. Ie, don’t need to see 5 shots of a pool. Also change captions to reflect what it means to the potential guest. No need to describe what we can already see. Ie, “Lap pool with Pool house”. Why not, “enjoy a relaxing swim each afternoon before drinks in the pool house”. Ie, give them some emotive descriptions.,
And change the order. If I want to stay somewhere, I want an overall photo. A shot of the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. These are the essentials. Well done on your floor plan.
Finally - and I think this is important, change our profile picture so we can see your face more. Many clients really want to see who they will be staying with. Unfortunately this shot shows mostly a long white fence.
I am being a little critical but hope these and the other comments help.
Strongly recommend getting some professional shots for the house interiors. They are fine but could be even better with a wider angle lens, particularly the bedroom shots.
Well done on a good range of the location shots.
Great reviews and well done for responding to each one.
Yes, a good idea to be a guest sometime. Gives you a great chance to see first hand how others do it so you can either learn by their mistakes or pick up some great ideas. Many hosts are more than pleased to share and help you.
Thanks for the feedback, yes the pool hose isn’t very appealing. Also I agree the terraces one isn’t a favourite with the pole and fence!
I guess the reason I add the daylight ones is for a reality check! The main one was a professional shot, and it only looks this great at night with the pool lights on, the others are how it looks when people (usually) arrive in the daylight, I don’t want people to be disappointed when they see it!
I appreciate your opinions
Hi Clyde thanks for that, time to request an airbnb pro shoot, I’ll have more to choose from then, it’s hard getting the best bits of a room in on my phone cam!
Yes, my profile pick is small, I’m actually on a ship! Thanks for pointing out things I wouldn’t think of. Where in Aus are you from?
I would ‘personalize’ some of the photos a bit, showing flowers, floating tube in the pool, etc; signs that humans do live there, not that the house is ready to be sold. With pictures move in one direction: from afar, into one section of the home into another; eliminate duplicates and those not of same brightness.
In your response to people Sue, perhaps take a more personal tack which is probably easy for you being so personable; remember each guest is different. Perhaps (see https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/4869137 ) where I mention something specific to that guest; many hosts however do not response entirely, another choice altogether.
Thanks Mearns, just rejigging it a bit now. I didn’t even think about the 5 shots that you see first so have moved the first 5 to give more of an overview rather than pool pool pool!.
Funny, but the house did just sell!, so yes, lacking that lived in touch, gradually getting there tho. Only been doing this since April but learning fast and really enjoying the help from this forum.
I can see how some people don’t respond to reviews at all. I’ve had a couple of guests I didn’t even lay eyes on so they are harder to review.
I’ll check out your site too, thanks
Hello Australia. I am from Nelligen on the NSW south coast. (Near Batemans bay). With the Airbnb photos unless you are in a large town or city there are no Airbnb photographers. Also understand that you cannot use these photos anywhere else as they are copyrighted and restricted for use on Airbnb which of course is only fair. Let us know how you go. In the meantime your phone photos are fine. Shoot in horizontal format though.
