« Back to blog

Top 5 Photo Tips For A Stellar Listing

Photos are the first things prospective guests look at when considering a property, and as listings with great photos receive more bookings, we've got to make sure that your place shines! A virtual tour gives a taste what it's like to stay at your place and helps set expectations for guests so they can book with confidence. Not a host yet? List your space here!

Here are a few photo tips that will help spiffy up your listing:

Light it up: brightness lends depth and color variance to the scene. Sunlight is best, but if it's a dim day, just flick on an overhead light and lamp.

(download)

Shoot into a corner: shows the range of space and adds dimensionality, also gives the appearance of being larger.

Corner
Take exterior photos: help people imagine what coming home would look and feel like. Photograph the entire structure and surrounding area.
(download)
Clean the scene: de-cluttering is key as it will make your place feel more livable and extra things won't distract in the photo. Just be sure this is a true reflection of how guests will find the space.
Declutter
Highlight the amenities: document the offerings that make your space unique and comfortable (e.g. patio and BBQ grill, Tempurpedic bed, etc.)
(download)

Our onsite system makes photo uploading quick and easy. Just go into your Dashboard and under Hosting, click Edit Listing to add pictures. You can also take them with our iPhone app and upload them to your listing directly. Eager for more? Hosting tips await.

Happy hosting!

 

 

Posted by Airbnb 

Comments (44)

May 09, 2011
Thanks nice Tipps for pictures
May 10, 2011
jaime dominguez said...
exelentes presentaciones me gustaron mucho
May 19, 2011
AP said...
change your system to allow multiple photo uploads. Crazy ti click - wait - click - wait .... for 40 pics ...
Jun 07, 2011
Anthony Green said...
Yes, please enable batch upload of photos, and a rotate function would be nice too!
Jun 15, 2011
A great improvement for us would be to be able to show videos of our vacation rentals. Can you either permit upload of videos or allow for embedding of YouTube or Vimeo videos?
Jun 18, 2011
Aaron said...
is there a way to rotate my photos?
Jun 18, 2011
Aaron, you need to do that on your computer. Most photo viewers will rotate it for you, or right-click on the photo in its folder on your computer and select Rotate (this is for Windows; use a search engine for how to do it on a Mac).
Jun 21, 2011
Cozy Room/Sunny Serenity, Philadephia,PA said...
Someone messed with my site photos and blew them up too big so half of the pictures are missing. Please put them back to normal size!
Jun 21, 2011
Cozy Room/Sunny Serenity, Philadephia,PA said...
Correction: not half of the pictures missing; half of all of the individual picture space is missing, so you can't even get an idea of at what you are looking.
Jun 28, 2011
sabrina said...
My photos are rotated on my computer, but upload horizontally still. Any ideas?
Jul 02, 2011
jenny said...
Photos upload sideways!!! they are correct on my laptop! any ideas?
Jul 08, 2011
Janice KhunKhun said...
My photos are taking over 30 minutes to download - if they even download at all. Something is wrong........???? The system needs to be updated!
Jul 10, 2011
l. anastasia said...
oh my gosh, yes, please batch upload...tooooooooo long....
Jul 14, 2011
aysin said...
like a previous comment mention, i can't believe there's no rotate option! do i really have to do my photos all over again, all in landscape mode?
Jul 15, 2011
Myrdith k said...
What's the secret to uploading photos. Have made them small as suggested in the tips. 20 minutes still hasn't uploaded one.
Jul 15, 2011
Myrdith k said...
What's the secret to uploading photos. Have made them small as suggested in the tips. 20 minutes still hasn't uploaded one.
Jul 22, 2011
ofir said...
change your system to allow multiple photo uploads. Crazy ti click - wait - click - wait .... for 40 pics ... and aloud us to invite more people on Facebook
Jul 22, 2011
Anthony Green said...
Does anyone from AirBnB actually read these pages?
Jul 27, 2011
Nick said...
My photo is the right way up on my computer as well but uploads the wrong way!
Jul 27, 2011
Gina said...
Your sorting is weird. If I sort by recomended, hosts with less reviews are showing up before hosts that recieved more and stellar reviews. Also does sorting by distance do? Since the San Francisco Bay Area consists of many cities, when one enters to find a place in San Francisco why don't you have the sort work such that all the SAN FRANCISCO listed are grouped and sorted together? Instead the first listing one sees is a city that is *not* San Francisco. Maybe add a link for a airbnb renter to select by the different cities within the Bay area?
Jul 27, 2011
Cozy Room/Sunny Serenity, Philadephia,PA said...
I agree that the sorting is all wrong and unfair. Sorting by recommended should be by numbers of stellar recommendation reviews, otherwise it isn't what it it is stated to be and is a disservice particularly for those hosts who work hard for that status.
 
Jul 30, 2011
Mike A said...
What's the secret to moving these photos around? When I left click I get the 4 arrows, but the pix won't go anywhere.
Jul 30, 2011
Mike A said...
What's the secret to moving these photos around? When I left click I get the 4 arrows, but the pix won't go anywhere.
Aug 09, 2011
Brenda Katz said...
I cannot figure how to load photos from iPad to website
Aug 09, 2011
Brenda Katz said...
I cannot figure how to load photos from iPad
Aug 24, 2011
jane said...
Hello - if there is an answer to how photos can be rotated (as per previous other people complaining of this glitch) can it be posted here?! The photos are fine on my laptop but rotate sideways when on airbnb. Please help!
Aug 24, 2011
Cozy Room/Sunny Serenity, Philadephia,PA said...

Since no one from the site is bothering to give a technical answer, how about noticing which direction they rotate on the site, and then going back  to your laptop and rotating them in the opposite direction so that they end up right on the site? Sometimes simple works. Godd luck! 
Aug 26, 2011
Christian b said...
Yeah. Wake up airbnb.
Please answer to the question: Can you upload pics from an iPad?
Sep 07, 2011
leah said...
I can't even upload any pictures it wont let me. I have tried clicking and dragging but all i get is a logo circle with red line wont let me. Tried the link to the old uploader but it took me back to the same place. What is going on?
Sep 21, 2011
thank you for so many tips here, great site and great service
Sep 24, 2011
lut/niz said...
thank you!
Sep 24, 2011
lut/niz said...
only serious renter
Sep 24, 2011
lut/niz said...
pls dont share my personal info.
Sep 24, 2011
lut/niz said...
no comment any further inquiries pls e mail in the above.thx
Sep 26, 2011
norlaini bao said...
it is good
Sep 26, 2011
norlaini bao said...
it is beautiful hause and no comment
Sep 27, 2011
Ruth said...
Thank you - I feel confident that hosting with AIRbnb will be successful :-)
Oct 03, 2011
kortopie said...
its best thing in life person can get some thing like that to live in
Oct 20, 2011
Mike A said...
I'm sorry if you received spam email from me thia week.  Someone hacked into my account and sent out offers that were not from me.  Please delete those, if you have not done so already. The account has been restored and everything should be back to normal now.  Once again, I apologize for the inconvenience.

Mike Anderson, Certified Snow Professional
Snow and Ice Pros, Inc.
2708 45th Street
Highland, IN   46322

219.924.0700 - office
219.934.0800 - fa
x
Jan 10, 2012
George Holmes said...
U guys are great & thanks 4 the tips. Hopefully ill get more bookings soon. Have a Blessed yr. 2012.
Jan 11, 2012
Max Götz said...
Excellent... thanks for posting this! We use the advice you offer all the time... PS: come visit Argentina and experience the Paris of South America!
Feb 04, 2012
Cannes apart said...
Superb tips. I think I need to buy some more lights before I take some more photos?

Thanks for sharing.

Feb 08, 2012
mario shih said...
parece hay para todo los gustos!!
Feb 08, 2012
mario shih said...
parece hay para todo los gustos!!

Leave a comment...