Optimise photos for holiday lets and Airbnb
For holiday lets a single image often decides the booking. Unlike a sale, here you are not selling a property, you are selling a feeling of holiday.
BeforeAfterThe most important image is the cover shot, because it decides whether a guest clicks at all. On platforms like Airbnb, Booking or your own site your listing sits next to dozens of others. Do not pick the bathroom or the hallway as your cover, pick the strongest dream scene: the sunny terrace, the living room with a sea view or a cosy laid-out breakfast setting. This one image has to spark the desire for a holiday within seconds.
Light and mood matter more than technical perfection for holiday lets. Shoot in daylight with the curtains wide open, and use the golden hour in the early evening for exterior and terrace shots. Warm, soft light creates exactly the relaxed atmosphere guests are looking for. A room shot cold and sterile looks like a budget hotel, even if the flat itself is lovely.
Stage the flat the way a guest would ideally find it. Fresh towels rolled on the bed, a set coffee table, fruit in a bowl, plumped cushions on the sofa. These small arrangements cost almost nothing and instantly lift your listing above the crowd. At the same time, make sure nothing personal or used is in the frame, because guests want to picture themselves in the space, not the last occupant.
Show the whole flat honestly and completely. With holiday accommodation in particular, guests expect to see every room, including the kitchen, bathroom and sleeping area. A missing room raises the suspicion that you are hiding something. Shoot diagonally from the corner so rooms reveal their full size, and add detail shots of features such as the coffee machine, fireplace or balcony furniture.
Do not forget the surroundings, because on holiday the location counts just as much as the flat. A photo of the beach within walking distance, the forest behind the house or the old-town lane around the corner sells the experience too. Such images belong at the end of the gallery and round off the story your listing tells.
For editing, the golden rule is honesty. Correct exposure, contrast and colour temperature so the images look fresh and inviting, but do not overdo it. A guest who books because of glowing photos and then finds a darker reality leaves a bad review, and reviews are your most important asset with holiday lets. A tool like our platform helps bring every image of a flat into one consistent, bright look without making them appear fake.
If you digitally furnish an empty room, for example to advertise a holiday flat that is not yet fitted out, note the labelling requirement in force since August 2026. You must clearly mark such generatively created furnishings as virtually furnished. Pure adjustments to brightness, contrast and cropping are not affected.