10 Vacation Rental Photography Tips

 

10 vacation rental photography tips by Alan Egan. I was chatting to Jay William, CEO of Villa Marketers, the other evening and we were talking about how we became involved in the holiday rental business.

I mentioned the fact that I had a listings company and that I was sole marketing and managing agent for the properties listed.

My specialties are vacation rental photography, marketing, and SEO.

We were chatting about the photography side of vacation rental marketing, how I became specialized in that area and what tips I could share with owners reading this blog.

So, as it’s winter time in the northern hemisphere I think it’s a good time to improve on your interior photos and in particular your bedroom images. So here you are,

My 10  pro tips for better bedrooms and better bedroom photos.

1. Bear in mind that all guests will spend around 30% of their holiday in bed.

 

Attractive bedroom images attract guests, generate inquiries and convert into bookings.

I know this for a fact. I did a lot of split testing in this area and every improvement bought higher occupancy rates.

Pro tip – I found that strong, warm, colors triggered the most bookings.

2 – It doesn’t matter how good your bedroom photos are – They could always be better.

 

A bedroom makeover is quick, easy and, better still, cheap to accomplish. Read through this list, do some research for inspiration, ready the room and shoot away.

Pro tip – Once the room is ready, take lots of shots and choose the best to add to your portfolio.

3. All bedrooms are pretty much the same.

 

Sure some are bigger than others, some have fantastic views, but what sets them apart is the decor.

It really doesn’t matter if your bedrooms are small, large, doubles, twins, kings or queens.

Pro tip – All that matters is how they are presented for the market.

4. Before taking any photos take a look at what the professionals do.

 

Head over to Google and search “Hotel bedroom” and then click the “images” link.

Google then returns 100 plus images of hotel bedrooms. Have a good look at these images for inspiration.

Pro tip – Hotel chains have perfected marketing photography with decades of experience to fall back on – Look and learn.

5. White is not a warm color.

 

Here’s the biggest mistake most owners make. They use white. Either white walls, white bedding or, worse still, both.

Go back to your Google image search and see how few, if any, of the hotel bedrooms, were white.

What does that tell you?

Pro tip – If you need help with selecting color combinations have a look at http://design-seeds.com

6. Pimp the wall behind the bed.

 

Either, paint the wall behind the bed (a la the Google search images) or add a headboard or a painting (or do all three). If the wall is white – paint it – paint is cheap and it takes no time to paint one wall.

Then add a focal point (headboard, painting, framed prints, mural)
Pro tip – Take photos from a far corner towards the head of the bed (avoid shooting towards windows where possible)

7. Every bed, without exception, needs bedside tables and bedside lamps with matching shades.

 

Here’s why – We all need somewhere to put our glasses. paperback, Kindle, false teeth or our mobile phone.

We all need a bedside lamp in order to read, but better still the bedside lights (when turned on) produce much better light for our resulting photos.

Pro tip – Always, always, switch these lights on before taking your bedroom photographs.

8. A colored throw on the bottom third of the bed can make a big impact.

 

Once again look at the Google images. Notice how many hotels use a throw?

When producing photos we need to avoid large areas of the same color and the bedspread is normally exactly that. A throw breaks that area up.

Pro tip – A couple of, matching or contrasting, colored cushions can also help here.

9. Stack your bathroom towels on the bed – Just as hotels do 

(are you noticing a pattern here?)

Before taking your photos, stack your bath towels on the end of the bed. You can top them with an individually wrapped chocolate, sea shell or flower from the garden if you wish.

Tell (teach) your housekeeper/cleaning staff to ready the bedrooms for guest arrivals as per this photo shoot set up.

Pro tip – First of all learn how to fold towels. Sounds silly but watch these short videos http://youtu.be/Oy6Imxznr9g and http://youtu.be/qZRFS0M7csc

10. Take all bedroom photos on your knees.

 

Nobody wants to see photos of the ceiling so by dropping to your knees you avoid large areas of boring white ceiling.

Pro tip. Make yourself into a tripod. Drop to your knees, keep the camera level and shoot away.

I hope that these tips inspire you to carry out a bedroom photo makeover.

Good luck and please let us know how you get on.