How to Choose Which Photos to Include for Your Airbnb Listing

Now you’ve got your photos back, (yay!) it’s time to start selecting which ones to use for your actual listing, and which you’d like to keep for your social media account (if you have one!). I think just like everything in life, moderation is key. You don’t want to overwhelm a potential guest with too many photos (trust me, I’m also guilty of this), but you also don’t want to withhold too much information.

In my opinion, as long as guests can get a general sense of the layout of the place and the amenities you offer, that’s great! A bonus would be photos of personal touches and lifestyle photos that give viewers the kind of “vibe” your rental offers.

Your Cover Photo

Your cover photo is possibly the most important element of your listing. Before reading the headline of your listing, your cover photo is what helps your listing stand out amongst the other hundreds or thousands of listings that airbnb might be showing a potential guest. It bears the most responsibility in getting clicks to your listing itself, so choose this wisely!

In my opinion, the best kinds of photos to use for this would be a wide shot of either the best part of your house, or the part of your home that guests might spend most time in. This could be the new outdoor firepit you’ve built in your newly landscaped backyard that’s the biggest selling point of your home, or the living room with new furnishings and a cozy fire going in the fireplace. I would refrain from using a close-up of an amenity for this, since your cover photo should tell as much of a story as possible about what your place offers.

Horizontal VS Vertical Photos

Airbnb recommends using photos in landscape formats, i.e. horizontal photos instead of vertical ones. This is because most photos will show up as landscape in the search results – especially your cover photo. I have found, however, that if you’re browsing on a phone and you tap into a listing’s full gallery, you can still see vertical photos in their vertical format, which, in this case, takes up more screen real estate than horizontal photos. I think ultimately, I would err on the side of Airbnb’s recommendation and lean more towards horizontal photos, ESPECIALLY the first five photos that show up in a grid. However, I think that this matters less for the photos towards the end of your gallery, especially for close-ups of furnishings and decor.

how many photos should you include?

There has been research that found that “travelers are 83% more likely to inquire about a booking on listings with 20+ photos (source: FlipKey), so having a full and well-rounded set of photos is essential.” [1] Depending on the size of your home and how many features you have to highlight, the number of photos you’ll have on your listing will vary. This is completely my own opinion, however, I’d say a good rule of thumb is about 4 photos per room — 2 wides, 2 close-ups. For exteriors, I would pick your best exterior photo that showcases the home and hints at what’s around it, and if you have a backyard with yard games or a pool, treat that like an interior room and select 2 wides + 2 close-ups.

This of course is dependent on the room. A small bathroom may only need 1-3 photos, depending if you have any details in the bathroom that you want to feature (newly renovated shower, or luxury bathrobes and/or toiletries for guests). If you have multiple bathrooms with similar or the same amenities, having ONE photo of said amenities is enough. A larger room like a family/living room, may need more than 4 photos to properly depict all the details (comfortable leather couch, fireplace, board games, views out the window etc).

According to this article on airdna.com, you should have a MINIMUM of 20 photos, but not more than 40.

Pro-tip: As the owner/host, you might find yourself having some slight emotional attachments to the photos you’ve chosen. If you find yourself having a hard time cutting down your selection, get an objective third party (a trusted friend, for example) to look through the photos and help you cut out the ones they think are unnecessary.

Types of Photos

Having a balance of real-estate-type shots (wide angled, show-the-room-as-is) and lifestyle-type shots would make your listing more appealing… in my opinion! Unlike real estate, you’re not selling a house; With vacation rentals, there is more emphasis on promoting an experience, a lifestyle. Help your guests picture themselves in your home with props and little vignettes that make the space feel interactive and welcoming, rather than just showing them a picture of your living room.

Yes, those photos are absolutely necessary so that guests can get an idea of the space and what’s in it, but throwing in some lifestyle-type photos can help visually elevate the potential experiences your guests can have. I list some examples here!

What NOT to do: I personally don’t like photos with people actually in them for airbnb listings (they’re fine for social media though!). With airbnb listing photos, I like to stage photos with the idea that there’s someone using the space (an open book on the nightstand, coffee being brewed, lit candles on the coffee table etc), but not actually have people in them. This helps renters picture themselves as the user, instead of seeing someone else there.

Account for the Season

This is totally up to you and mostly applies to your cover photo, but I do think it helps to account for the season. If your vacation rental is in Los Angeles, or Palm Springs… or anywhere that doesn’t really have seasons, then this probably doesn’t apply to you. BUT if your vacation rental is located in a 4-season area, then having seasonal pictures might help… Especially if one of the biggest features of where your rental is located IS the seasons!

For example, if you have a rental in Big Bear, CA where winter is a big draw for its skiing opportunities and the holiday season, then having a photo (or photos!) of your cabin covered in snow will help draw guests to your listing as you’re approaching the season. Sell them on an experience of waking up to snow-covered trees outside their windows, sledding in your backyard, or drinking hot cocoa in your cozy living room with snow falling outside — experiences like these are what guests might be looking for when renting a place in the mountains during this time, so give them the visuals for it!

Again, you might choose to just update your cover photo to reflect this, but having “supporting evidence” with a couple other photos sprinkled throughout your listing will help as well. Especially if you have seasonal photos of the area your rental is located in as well (example: ski slopes, the town center lit up in Christmas lights etc).