How good are your holiday rental photos? You may have taken a lot of time and effort over your written content, but if your photos don’t meet up to the standards people would expect you’ll still lose bookings.
There are three main areas owners make mistakes in more than any others. So let’s look at these three in turn so you can check your own holiday let photos for any issues.
1. Poor resolution images
If you take a picture that has poor resolution, it basically means it will have fewer pixels per inch than one with good resolution. The more pixels per inch you have, the better the final image will be.
This is why some holiday rental owners hire a professional photographer to ensure they get the best possible resolution for their pictures. However if you have a fairly decent camera, and not a smartphone, you may still get good results on your own.
2. Grainy images
We’ve all seen grainy images and they’re not particularly enticing. So the last place you want them to be is on your website.
There are a number of reasons why your pictures might be grainy. For example you could have too high an ISO on your camera (this is the number in a digital camera that sensors sensitivity to light, the higher the sensitivity, the less light is needed to make an exposure). Secondly your actual camera might be to blame; a better quality camera is far less likely to produce grainy photos.
So invest in a good camera and make sure you take your pictures when there is good light available. When taking interior shots, switch on the lights and open the curtains / shutters, even if there is sunlight streaming in. Potential guests are much more likely to enquire further or make a booking if the accommodation looks light and airy.
3. People in the picture
This is arguably the worst one of all. It can make guests feel uncomfortable. Imagine you’re looking at photos of a holiday rental with the intention of booking a week there. When you see a photo of the bedroom, there is someone sitting on the bed. They’re happy and obviously enjoying their break, but how does it make you feel to see them sitting where you’ll be sleeping if you book that holiday property?
The main rule of thumb here is never to show anyone in any of your photos – much less in any private spaces such as the bedroom or hot tub. The only time people can add value to your pictures is if they are taking part in an activity you want to feature. For instance your holiday let may have an outdoor space with a BBQ. In this situation you may want to feature a family enjoying a nice BBQ together to illustrate the activity itself. However in most other cases, people are a no-no.
As you can see there are many ways you can get your photos wrong when advertising your holiday let. But if you read through the points above and make sure you don’t fall for any obvious errors, you’ll find you can vastly improve the photos on your website. And if you do this, you may just find your bookings and enquiries improve as well.
Don’t you owe it to yourself to check all your photos now, just to be sure they’re all in tip top condition?
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