Think about how you would show someone round your holiday let in person. You’d start at the front, then move inside going through the property room by room, showing them what they can enjoy during their stay. Doesn’t it stand to reason you should do the same on your website?
So with this in mind, let’s focus on how you can create a virtual walkthrough on your website, by making good use of your photos.
1. Start with the exterior
The first thing people are obviously going to see when they look at your holiday rental is the exterior. So start with a thumbnail of this to set things up nicely. If people are interested in what you have to offer, they can progress to finding out more about your property.
2. Organise your photos into living spaces
This is the best way to go about leading people through your property. It’s usually best to start by showing the living spaces. This will include the kitchen, the dining area and the living areas. Show these in a sensible order: start with the kitchen first and then move on to the dining and living areas.
The next obvious place will be the bedrooms, as people will want to see where they will sleep while staying at your holiday let. Start with the main bedroom, and then move on to include a picture of each of the other bedrooms. If you have a sofa bed for additional guests, show this last – and make sure you show it fully folded out and ready for use.
Then finally show the bathrooms available – quite often bathrooms are overlooked, perhaps because the shot can be tricky to take. But when you’re viewing potential holiday rentals for yourself, don’t you look to see what the bathrooms are like? I know I do.
3. Don’t forget the outdoor amenities
If your property has some sort of outdoor area make sure you show it as well. At the beginning of your website photo collection, you will have shown the exterior of the property to give an idea of what it’s like. Now your guests have had a ‘tour’ of your holiday rental, you can move on to the outdoor areas. Here you can show the patio or seating area, and include any other areas that are theirs to enjoy while they are staying there.
Why go through your property in this order?
One of the worst things you can do is to jump from area to area when arranging your photos. Imagine you are viewing a holiday rental online. You see a picture of the exterior and then you find yourself in the main bedroom. Next there is a picture of the kitchen, followed by a picture of the patio area. Then it’s back inside for a look round the lounge area before going back into another bedroom.
Needless to say this kind of photo ‘organisation’ (if you can call it that) is very jarring and confusing. Keep things simple and well organised, so you can be sure of leading your potential guests round your holiday rental in an easy logical way. It will also keep them looking at your property for longer, breaking down more barriers between you and that booking.
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