Photography for holiday home marketing

In the age of Instagram we all know how powerful photography can be, and taking care to ensure good quality imagery is as important on your holiday let listing as it is on any other product or service on the market. In this article we set out the importance of photography for holiday home marketing and five tips for honing your holiday rental photography skills.

Let your holiday home shine

Good photography serves a multitude of purposes:

• It informs
• It entices
• It excites 
• It convinces
• It generates a sense of trust

Conversely, poor photography doesn’t just mean that you fail to stand out from the crowd in a saturated market, it also creates a sense of mistrust and implies a lack of professionalism. At its very core however, when looking for a holiday let, how can a guest possibly decide to choose your property if they can’t get a sense of what it’s really like. 

Copywriting is a big part of that, working its magic to reinforce, to highlight things that can’t be captured on camera and to really go to the next level of detail in order to convert someone from ‘interested’ to fully engaged and booking. However, photography is the integral other side of the coin and usually the first thing that someone will look at before even beginning to read about your property.

Your online listing is your shop window for a holiday let, and the first time a prospective guest is likely to see it is in a scrollable listing of hundreds of properties competing for bookings. If you want someone to stop on your holiday home listing, they’re going to need an attention grabber. However, it’s also about building an impression in the guest’s mind and making sure they have the information to know it’s the right place for them. 

Quality property photos are key

First and foremost, your holiday home photography needs to be good quality. That’s why it’s worth getting a professional Devon photographer to do the job. They will be able to produce high-resolution images and have an eye for the best angles and light to show off each space.  

At HolidayHost we offer photography as part of our service, using a photographer who specialises in property. We also combine their expertise with that of a skilled staging professional who will ensure your holiday home is presented at its best, whilst still being true to the experience that it offers.

Take guests on a visual journey through your holiday home

Photography needs to take guests on a visual journey through your holiday property. You want potential guests to get a good sense of what the property has to offer - is it a great place for families, can you see the beach from the bedroom, is it romantic. Pictures should take them through your property in the way you would want to walk someone through it if they were visiting in person. That means ensuring the photography for your holiday home  includes images of all key areas and amenities as well as any wow-factor shots. 

We suggest making a list of the key rooms and features and discuss them with your host or photographer before the shoot. What might be obvious to you isn’t necessarily obvious to everyone else and while we might know what holidaymakers are looking for, you know your property better than anyone else.

Get the lighting right

While no one can control the weather, it’s a good idea to book a photographer for a day when the sun is shining - or at least when it’s not raining - to make the most of the natural light. That said, remind them to bring their lights, if they have them. If you have a garden that you want to promote, you might want to wait until spring or summer to really make the most of the shots when plants have grown in, trees are in bloom and the lawn is lush. 

If you need to get your listing up and running in the winter months, then of course we’ll have all the necessary equipment to ensure good lighting even on grey days.

Uploading photos to holiday let listings

Good photography is one thing, but uploading it to really showcase it properly is also important. When it comes to uploading photos to your holiday home listing, think about the order in which you post your images. You want an eye-catching and informative hero image to draw guests in. Then take the potential guest through the property as if they had just arrived and were being given a walk round. 

This is something that our expert sales and marketing team will be able to take care of for you.

Keep holiday home photos up to date

The other thing that’s vital in terms of photography for holiday home marketing is to keep photos up to date. If you make changes to the interiors of your property, if it is redecorated, or if something fundamentally changes about a key view, then it’s important to make sure that’s clear in the marketing and copy on your listing. This is important for telling guests the things they can be excited about, but it’s also important for avoiding complaints. 

Either way, photography should be updated every few years - after all, styles change and you want to show that your holiday let is up to date with consumer trends in order to maximise its booking potential.