2) Pictures

Two: Pictures are the fuel that feeds your entire marketing engine

Do you know what the first thing is to catch a traveller's eye when browsing for vacation rentals online?

Well, it's not your headline. It isn't the number of rooms, or how many it sleeps. And it certainly isn't the price either.

It's your pictures.

When people browse for vacation rentals online, their brain gets very, very lazy. They have only one goal, and that's to find the prettiest listing that fits their list of parameters.

So after filtering everything out to find all the listings in their desired area, with the right number of rooms, and within the right price range, etc... They start clicking on the listings that have the nicest looking properties.

Your main picture is the number one, most important factor that drives a traveller to click through to view your entire listing. And then once they've clicked through, they browse the rest of them.

Needless to say, it is imperative that your photos make a heck of a good impression if you want to convert more bookings. And not just for listings, but for all of your marketing campaigns too. (Don't worry, we'll divulge a little more on that further down)

You only get one shot at a good first impression. - So why the heck would you let yourself blow it with pictures don't make any sort of impact?

The Quality of The Pictures is Number One.
High quality (preferably taken by a professional), up to date, and accurate.

Professional photographers will showcase your property so much better. They make better use of the light and colours. They use better angles to show a more attractive & realistic view the space. And last but not least, they're sharp.

Professional pictures show commitment, better value, and yes, professionalism. All of which translates into more bookings for you. 

Our friend Matt Landau detailed on his blog, his own personal experience with hiring a pro to take his pictures. And the results were an astronomical 800% increase in bookings.* 

800% is really high. So here's another example;

One of the most sought after authorities on vacation rental photography in our industry, Tyann Marcink was able to spark a 39% increase in revenue for one of her clients. 

Here are some of the before and after pictures:

📷

BEFORE

📷

AFTER

So which one do you think would entice more people to book?

Do you notice how the after shot grabs more attention? And not to mention, it just does the room better justice. It's a truly beautiful room, and you honestly can't see that from the before picture.

Hiring a pro can cost as little as a couple hundred bucks. And the return on investment is probably one of the highest, and quickest you’ll ever see in this industry. We cannot emphasize this enough!

But with that said, it's just as important not to misrepresent!

The number one concern for vacation rental travellers is property misrepresentation.*

Some professionals can go overboard and make your property look far better than what is looks like in real life. You don't want to do that. It's a recipe for disaster. Your guest will arrive with high expectations, only to be shut down when they realize: “wow, it looked a heck of a lot better online…”. 

That kind of disappointment burns deep. And more often than not, it’ll result in a bad review that will just make bookings harder to come by in the future. 

So professional quality, up to date, and super important; accurate. 

Number Two is The Number of Pictures You Have
You need lot’s of them. Our buddies over at FlipKey found that travellers are actually 83% more likely to inquire on listings that have over 20 photos.*

More pictures help the traveller get a better understanding of what your rental has to offer. A better understanding means less questions, less unqualified inquiries, and more confirmed reservations from motivated renters. 

The bottom line
Your property pictures do more than just grab attention. They also give the traveller a more realistic idea of what to expect from your property and what to expect from you as a host (even if it's subtle). 

Professional photos give the traveller more information, and establish a precedent of value and credibility.

Sketchy blurry photos taken with your phone or 10 year old digital camera just scare people off.  

They're like the fuel you put in your tank. The better the quality, the more efficient and smoother the engine will run.

All in all, photos are not the place you want to be cutting corners.