A key part of your holiday rental website is undoubtedly the many photos you’ve used to display every aspect of your property and what it has to offer.
However, you may not be aware that these photos are not protected.
This applies to all the photos you’ve uploaded to your holiday rental website, as well as all the photos you’ve uploaded to other websites such as listing sites, social media sites, etc.
Whilst you might think this is of concern initially, it’s worth delving into it further so you know exactly what to expect.
In reality there is no real way to protect any photos that appear online. Some websites use methods that make them look protected but in reality they are no more than deterrents. Someone who is experienced in website development will know how to surmount any challenges put their way.
So is it impossible to protect your website photos?
No, not impossible. The best way to do it is to add a watermark to each of your photos prior to uploading them to your holiday let website. There are free programs online you can use to add a watermark – a simple search in Google will find them if you wish to use this method.
However you shouldn’t expect miracles. Even when a watermark is present the picture could still be copied by others. Cropping could remove it, as could a reasonable knowledge of PhotoShop.
The other aspect you should consider before adding a watermark is that it does tend to detract from the image itself. Instead of seeing the beautiful vista that can be seen from the terrace of your holiday let, your potential guests will see it through the text of the watermark applied. Considering a picture speaks a thousand words, this may not be the most enticing way to get them sending you an enquiry.
What’s the best solution?
Very few holiday rental owners will add a watermark to their images for the reason mentioned above and the fact that it doesn’t happen very often at all. Indeed, you could set up a holiday rental website and have it running for many successful years without ever being affected by this.
In truth there are much more important things to be concerned about and that could potentially be improved, than spending too much time worrying about the possibility of photo theft.
Watermarks work to an extent but it could ruin the effect of displaying your accommodation and local area pictures in the first place.
In short, put your potential customers first and make sure you can provide them with a website that is nothing short of stunning and appealing. It’s unlikely any of your photos will ever be stolen, and even if you were unlucky in this way, the act would not actually damage your own website.
So make sure you are displaying the best most enticing photos on your website to help increase your enquiries.
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