Before we jump into the discussion on the importance of hiring a professional vacation rental photographer, let’s start out with a question: put yourself in your potential guests’ shoes and say what is the first thing that catches your eye when you want to book a place for your stay?
Clearly, anyone who has ever looked for a serviced apartment or a vacation rental for a short or longer term stay knows that photos play the main role when choosing a place. Of course, many other factors affect one’s decision such as price, description, reviews, to name a few. However, nothing can change a traveller’ mind to book or NOT to book your property more than its photos. Even if you offer the best, personalised guest experience or the fairest rate, those blurry, dark photos will make anybody run away!
Yes, hiring a professional vacation rental photographer needs money, and even if you’re willing to pay the cost, how will you find one who certainly knows their job and is perfect for taking pictures of your property? Don’t worry, we’re not going to leave you with your questions unanswered. But before that, let’s take a look at the benefits of hiring a professional vacation rental photographer.
Professional Photography Helps You Stand out
Imagine you’ve got a super comfortable and luxury vacation rental, but in an area surrounded by top-notch rental properties. What will make you different from the others? You might think of creative marketing strategies, and they’ll work to probably a high extent, but with the help of a professional vacation rental photographer, you’ll be able to showcase your vacation rental’s USPs. Does it boast a super luxury pool? Or maybe you’ve used a very eye-catching interior design for your living room, and you’re determined to display it in your property’s photos.
Attracting your audience’s attention is all about how you present what you have to offer. A vacation rental photographer not only helps you capture your short term rental’s most absorbing points, but will also give you some advice on the order you must use them. Needless to say, in any listing the first photos influence clients’ decisions a lot.
If your property is attracting enough, you might think it’ll capture enough attention even if I take photos with my phone. But what if all the properties around you are as attractive as yours? Then simple, quick photos you took with your phone may be working for some time, but think about what you will lose over the course of the year as it’s not shown to a high grade.
Moreover, even if you can take some acceptable photos with your phone, how many of them can you take? Maybe after many attempts, 4 or 5 of them will come out as fairly good, but according to a study by FlipKey, 83% of travellers tend to enquire about the listings that contain more than 20 photos.
Pictures Can Do What a Thousand Words Can’t
The main goal of photos is that you help your guests visualise themselves in your property and see if they can feel the appealing sense of home or not. So, if you’re good with words, you might be convinced by this partially false thought that with a beautifully-written description, you can convince your target audience that this is the right choice for you. Well, this assumption is not totally wrong, but it’s incomplete.
And it’s faulty in another way as well: even if you kill yourself to put the feeling your comfortable bedrooms gives to your guests, a picture of those comfy beds transfer that feeling in an instant. So, by investing in professional photos, you don’t only save your time, but add up to the effectiveness of your property’s description.
We have to accept that images are better sellers than words. People usually scan your property with their eyes first and then start to take a look at your description. Even if you’ve put a lot of time in your description, photographs can easily support it. Visuals allow the audience to experience your rental property before they book it. Successful photographs can positively influence a renter to book your property.
Professional Photos Gain Trust
The first point that professional photos of your vacation rental imply is that you care about your business. People would like to stay in a beautiful house, even if it’s for a short time. Showing the beauty of your rental to your guests is the least you can do before they stay during their journey with your business.
In addition, if your guests think the rates you offer are high, but you’re sure that your short term rental is worth it, the pictures that a professional vacation rental photographer provides you with is a proof to your claim as it shows you property’s worth, and you haven’t just set an unfair price for it.
How to Choose the Best Vacation Rental Photographer
Now that you know how important it is to work with a professional vacation rental photographer, there are still questions you need to answer. How much money are you willing to pay? Do you already know someone or do you think you have to do some research? The easiest way is to search the term “vacation rental photographer” and find some results on the internet. But, you’re putting money into this, and you cannot just trust anybody. Another alternative, however, is to ask for a property manager’s help. They’ve been in the business, and in addition to knowing the significance of professional photos, they know professional vacation rental photographers to hire for your at the best rates.
If you’re interested in how a property manager handles this aspect of your business, you can take a brief look at this page. But remember, never overlook professional images of your short term rentals!