For Booking and Airbnb, a rural holiday let in Asturias needs photos that show guests what they can't see in person. Why do they carry so much weight? Because with holiday lets, almost nobody visits the property before booking. When a flat is up for sale, it's the other way round: people go, step inside and look around. With a village house let by the night, there is no viewing. Whoever is deciding has only other guests' reviews and the photographs. So every photo stands in for the viewing that never happens.
What the photos need to show
What needs to be in them? First, the outside of the house and its surroundings: the meadow, the hórreo (the traditional raised granary) if there is one, the stone of the façade, the hills or the sea in the background. That is what sets a rural property apart from a flat in Gijón, and it is exactly what people are looking for when they choose Asturias. Then, every room with its own photo. Bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, living room. No gaps. If the bathroom is missing, guests wonder why.
Light, tidiness and care
Then comes the care. Natural light, blinds up, lamps on only if they help. Beds neatly made. Tables cleared. No cables, no bags, no mop bucket in a corner. A photo shouldn't hide anything, but nor does it need to show the mess of an ordinary Tuesday.
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The details guests experience
And the details guests actually experience. The fire lit. The table laid for breakfast. The bench by the front door with two mugs. The terrace as evening falls. These images show what it's like to stay there, not just how many rooms the house has. In Asturias the sky changes quickly, so it pays to make the most of sunny spells for the outdoor shots.
A quick test on Airbnb
Want to see it for yourself? Try this. Go to Airbnb and search for a place to stay "Anywhere", as they call it. What do the listings that come up have in common? Take your time looking at them. Notice the light, the tidiness and how each photo shows something different.
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Compare your listing
The next step is simple. Open your listing in one tab and that Airbnb search in another. Put your photos next to the ones you've just seen and go through them one by one. Can you see the outside of the house? Does every room have its own photo? Is there daylight? Note down what's missing. With that list, you know what to photograph again. If you'd rather someone else did it, you can write to Evan & Natalia Simon, who do photography and video in Gijón and across Asturias, for couples and businesses. Tell them what your house is like and what's missing.
Links
More information, not yet independently confirmed: escapadarural.com.
