Airbnb Photography Tips
Why your Airbnb photos are important towards helping you get more bookings, and tips to stage and prepare for your Airbnb professional photo session.
We know about the new Airbnb rules coming up for British Columbia in May 2024, however there are still many opportunities for owners to have legal, licensed properties for Airbnb and vacation rental use on Vancouver Island and throughout BC. When I am looking for my own vacations around the island, I am often surprised at how many places don’t have good photos, or even a complete set of photos. You can definitely take your own photos and do well with just an iphone set, but many people do not have an eye for it at all, and I’ve seen so many listings where the photos are dark or blurry, or the home is not clean looking or photo ready. There are simple ways to make a huge difference in your photos, even if you are going to DIY.
The primary way to share, market and showcase your Airbnb rental for potential guests, is through the photos.
Parksville Beach Club Resort fall views on Parksville Beach
The first photo on your vacation rental listing is the first thing that a guest sees about your space when using the App or website to browse, along with the headline summary and total price for their dates. Photos are the most important aspect to getting bookings, along with being priced competitively, as they may first use the map to look at potential items based only on price and location.
Your first photo must be appealing, exciting, and showcasing the best view, room or amenity in your listing.
Take a look for yourself on Airbnb, search your local area for some dates as if you are a guest, look on the broad area where your listing appears by doing a search of similar size beds/bathrooms, and see what listings pop up first, and what their photos look like, and what yours looks like in the line up as competition/comparison to these.
Take a good look at what the competition is showing vs your own, and see what amenities they have that seem to stand out. Guests are picking an airbnb over a hotel for a number of reasons, but mainly unique amenities such as a fully stocked kitchen or a quiet workspace with a view, or somewhere they can stay with space for their kids or dog.
Airbnb photography is about sharing the little details that you have added just for your guests, but also showing the spaces and how they can be used and enjoyed personally, with extra details like fully stocked spice racks, great bath linens and soaps, comfortable throw blankets and cozy furnishings.
Real estate is about selling the space.
Airbnb photos are about showing off your unique space, and inviting people in to get comfortable and enjoy it.
What makes airbnb photography a bit different, is that you are looking for a photographer who can showcase your interior design details while also showing the space looking large and inviting in every room.
Typical real estate photography is about the widest possible angles, everything clean and de-personalized. Airbnb photos need to show the personal touches that you are including for your guests.
Family portraits at Rathtrevor Provincial Park - click to learn more
Vancouver Island Airbnb vacation rentals are found throughout the Island and neighbouring gulf islands like Gabriola. Certain regions, like Parksville’s Resort Drive, were able to recieve exemption from the new primary residence requirement, and are able to continue offering vacation rental cabins and homes for visitors.
Resort Drive makes up 44% of the available accommodation in the Parksville area and is directly backing on to Rathtrevor Provincial Park, where I spend a great deal of my time photographing weddings and family group portraits throughout the summer.
In addition to having great photos of your vacation rental, it’s important to reference nearby attractions such as Rathtrevor Provincial Park in your listing, and to include a few photos of the neighborhood, nature sights or attractions in your listing if they are within a short (generally walking/bike riding) distance from you.
As a vacation rental co-host for several Whistler and Mexico vacation rentals, I have a lot of experience with understanding guest requests and their “wants” list , and what draws their attention to one listing over another.
Marketing in a saturated area like Whistler that has thousands of rental options, requires a continuous shift of pricing, but you need to have professional, bright photos that showcase your rental at it’s absolute best, and it’s important to rotate your cover photo regularly, and include seasonal images as needed for summer vs winter activities.
Fall Stormy Beach Views in Tofino
Backyard Patio Summer with games and sun loungers
Your vacation rental needs to look clean, well staged, inviting and comfortable and to showcase what unique amenities and design features you have to offer vs all your neighbours in the same location.
You can definitely start with your own phone photos, I even have a Tip Guide to help you, until you have the budget for a photo session. A photo session is a small investment to help you really show off your hard work in creating your rental space, and to help you attract more guests. In most cases, booking just one extra guest as a result of having your professional photos, will pay for your photo session cost. Click here for pricing and details about my airbnb photography services.
A few other tips to get great photos of your Airbnb Vacation Rental:
Have your space fully cleaned and staged, this includes windows inside and out if possible as we will be doing photos hopefully on a bright sunny day, any streaks or big dusty areas may show in the images
Outdoor spaces are important, ensure the entryway is clean and inviting. Do a little outdoor staging too for spring/summer appeal if possible including a potted plant for a splash of color or small seating area if applicable
Have a stack of extra towels available for added staging such as on countertops or filling bathroom shelves. They can be tucked back into closets after
Try to schedule for a sunny day or slightly overcast, avoid pouring rain (or snow) days
Open all blinds and curtains before your session and schedule your photos for the brightest time of day when sunlight comes through.
Do any repairs such as paint touch ups that will be noticeable in the photos before scheduling your session.
If you haven’t had a chance to add finishing touches like artwork, throw pillows or a coffee station, ideally have these items in place for a splash of color and added detail to make your listing stand out. Every little detail for character, comfort, kitchen amenities and clean and cozy bedrooms and bathrooms are very important to show your guests.
Make sure your kitchen is organized but also staged in a way that shows some of the features, such as a little wine set up or charcuterie boards laid out in a nice feature against the wall.
Adding fresh plants or flowers can really add color and life to a dining table and bathroom counter or other empty spaces where there is a lot of neutral colors. Its ok to have a few small details like this for photos that aren’t normally in the listing but don’t display anything that you will not have available for guests, such a stocked snack bar or wine rack.
If your unit is pet friendly, show a couple little details like nice doggie bowls or treats in a jar that are part of your welcome package
If your unit is family friendly, show off any items like kids dishes, toys and books or a pack n play as part of your staging.
If you are still designing your unit, look at the competition in your area, and think about who the most common travelers will be that you wish to attract. If you are in a family area vs one that might attract hospital workers for longer stays for example. Try to plan a few design details to set your listing apart and make it ideally set up for your target guests.
Your photos need to invite people in and they should be able to see anything they need in the listing description and the photos, though many guests will not read the description and will just quickly look through the first 10-20 photos before making a booking request so it’s important to show details such as staircases along with your best features, so people are aware of anything that might impact them too.
Featuring the tea & meditation room at a local Nanaimo airbnb retreat
When you book an airbnb photo session with me, I will ask to see your listing if it is already live so that I can give you a few staging tips to prepare for our session. As soon as I arrive at the property, I will first do a walkthrough to look at everything and give you any potential tips for items that you may wish to add, or things that may stand out to guests (good or bad) and will provide helpful feedback as part of my photo session service.
All of my sessions include a full gallery with different angles and variety for your rental. This allows you to have some similar photos that can be swapped in to your listing in place of others so it looks like you have fresh photos and are keeping your listing up to date. Apparently the Airbnb algorithm likes this and it may help your appearance in search results.
Here are a few more photos of some of the beautiful vacation rental details I have been able to share for other Airbnb hosts.
I would love to help showcase your property, please take a look at package details here and reach out if you would like to discuss booking your Vancouver Island Airbnb photo session with me.
cozy amenities at this Bowser Airbnb
beachfront luxury relaxation in Nanoose Bay
Even with just a kitchenette, the details and basic amenities are important. Read more about my tips and amenities list here
what does your headline image say to potential guest? Offer them a single image of your space that will catch their attention like this coffee bar view of the ocean
little touches of greenery add a great bit of contrast to neutral bathrooms
Bedrooms should be cozy, they don’t have to have all white linens but light colors and contemporary cozy duvets work best
It’s your space, it should show your personality and character with fun accents or vintage furnishings and colors
As guests are usually on vacation, having some sort of outdoor seating or patio is very appealing
your kitchen should be clean and tidy and well stocked with basic cooking supplies and dishes
little accents like plants and decorative knife blocks can be a great addition to the kitchen design
showcase your unique design features
Don’t forget to include a couple neighbourhood views on a beautiful sunny day
Thank you for visiting! Please check out more of my latest work on the posts below.
Find out more about sessions and portrait bookings here,
I would love to hear from you for your next Vancouver Island photo session.
