The quick answer is yes, yes and yes.
Many of our owners and competition wonder why we go out of our way to send a professional photographer to all of our homes on our dime. Here are just a few of the thoughts we have on the subject.
1. “People don’t read anymore.” -Steve Jobs
The average vrbo ad contains 2,251 words. Lets assume the average guest looks through 15 listings while searching for a rental. That means owners are expecting them to read more than 34 thousand words. Americans read about 250 words per minute, that means it would take almost 2 1/2 hours for a potential guest to get thorough only 15 listings.
So if “a picture is worth a thousand words” then putting up as many high quality photos as possible will make the guest experience better and make deciding on your home an easy decision.
2. More photos mean higher ranking on many listing sites
On sites like Homeaway.com your home will show up higher in the search rankings with the more photos you add. And when you show up on the 1st page and have stunning photos reservations go through the roof! Most of our properties in Lake take are above 90% occupancy for this summer almost solely for this reason.
3. Before and after, I will let this one speak for itself
4. Your nephew is not a professional photographer
We have taken on many houses where the photographs were already okay. Either the owner took them or had some relative with a fancy camera take them. I own a fancy camera and went to school for design but I do not consider myself in the same league with the professionals we work with. They understand lighting, staging, post production and they have bags full of lenses to capture the true potential of every room in your home. Simply put they do this for a living and are professionals.
5. One extra booking will cover the cost
A good photographer will cost you upwards of $500 dollars to shoot your home. One extra booking easily makes up for that cost and from our experience you will get far more than just one extra booking.
The moral of the story:
Great photos of your home will make you more money, decrease the number of guest questions, increase your page ranking, make you stand out from the competition and show a guest that you care about your home and are excited for them to stay there!
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