Do I Need Professional Photography For My Airbnb/VRBO Rental?

Airbnb and VRBO are third-party listing websites where property managers and homeowners sell short-term rentals (STR). If someone is looking to book vacation accommodations for a house or unique, private lodging, they search these sites. 

So, how popular are these rental platforms? Very. Airbnb has over 7 million listings in 100,000 cities globally. Each month, 14,000 new hosts join the site. 

When you list a rental on Airbnb and VRBO, you want to intrigue potential renters instantly. There are several areas on your listing page where you can shine. Your listing page includes rental images, a descriptive headline, quick home stats, what the listing offers, reviews, and more. 

Professional listing images are proven to capture attention faster and hold visual attention longer than those taken by an amateur photographer. When you compete with several similar STRs in your neighborhood, first impressions are crucial. This is especially true on sites like Airbnb, where the first thing users see is an image thumbnail of your property.

Vacation rental listing pages that feature professional photography receive 2.5 times more clicks than ones that do not. This statistic should be eye-opening for hosts. 

If you do not receive clickthroughs from potential renters, you will not get bookings or grow your business. More than half a million people search Airbnb per year, and they only click a listing if the thumbnail looks intriguing or if the price is appealing. 

We as professional commercial and architecture photographers have the skillset to make an Airbnb or VRBO listing look spectacular. We know the right angles and composition to offer excellent visualization of the space, we also understand how to adjust the lighting and color in post-production.