Critique my listing - Disneyland Paris

[Mike3102]

https://www.airbnb.com/hosting/listings/editor/1259517997382640891/view-your-space

Hi everyone, may I ask for your feedback, especially around photography and listing descriptions? Any feedback is welcome and much appreciated. 

[Michelle3861]

Sure @Mike3102!  I'll comment on the visuals. The pool totally nails it. Well done on the pool. But that's where it stops for me. Is the drawcard proximity to Disneyland? If so, then I need the decor to match the theme.  The inside looks dated. This is because of both the low light of your photographs (your photographer can fix this easily) but mostly it is the brown & beige tones throughout. The kitchen, is shiny, so you get away with it. But your living spaces are just........brown.   What you want is white sheer billowing curtains that feature, with the pool and garden in the background. You need  automatic vertical block out blinds that are listed as a feature but cannot be seen in the photos. The dark brown curtains are really hard to offset, but you haven't even tried to offset them as you use cream and beige furnishings. You need either classic white , with some tasteful grey paintwork or for the colours to pop!  No dark brown, ever-- really sorry, but it's the truth. You need to look at some designer magazines and then decide the look you want. If you are on a budget, then you switch out the dark brown curtains (easy) and update the beige sofas with some coloured cushions.    If you have money to paint, I'd go all white, with those big walls, lots of gloss on the skirting. A white with a bit of blue might work (think spacious art gallery walls), but if there is not much natural light, then a more yellow-white. Get bit Giant Bird of Paradise and massive Monsteras in pots.  Green and white go well and then grey comfy furniture and bold cushions that are really cosy, chic or fun. You are at or near DISNEYLAND right? You need clean whites or bright and vibrant colours, open and spacious, light, light, light.  Sorry but your living space interior looks more like a old mansion out in Tennessee that was hired by a country star to record their album 20 years ago, and they stayed on and but never updated the decor. If it looks, fresh, open and inviting, you can charge so much more per night. Brown and drab.... bookings may come for the pool, but if there are other pools in the market and it is competitive, then you need to change your decor.

I am happy to talk more about colour, noting I am in a bit of a rush just now.

I hope I do not sound rude. You have a lovely home, but you asked for opinions and I think you can go from good to Wow!....with a few changes

[Michelle3861]

Also the photographer used too much of a wide angle on the shots with the TV in it, which makes me wonder if the size of the room has been exaggerated. By the looks of the TV, by quite a bit and as a guest I would likely mark you down for the accuracy of the listing. If guests feel they feel they were mislead, then the review score is impacted. You must highlight what you actually offer. What is interesting is that it takes two rounds of going through the photos to notice photos 4,10 & 11 are the same room.  Photo 4 is totally fine. Photos 10 & 11, the  "Netflix" and "Disney" stretched TV (and stretched ceiling light) shots detract from photo 4, which is quite nice.  Delete photos 10 and 11 and just write in the listing that Netflix and Disney are included. Those two photos add no value.  

You need to use your photos to show off the best features of your property, as well as the everyday features. Avoid repeating. The shot with the entrance and stairs is too stretched and there is absolutely no need for it. Have the photographer come back and fix that, they should know better. Maybe okay in real estate, not okay in Airbnb (but if I was selling my house I would be annoyed also) The photo looking down through the chandelier has little value as it is obstructed by the chandelier, which looks clunky as it is metal (?). Can you swap it out for glass? That will give the look you want. Otherwise delete the shot. Shots with the pool and sky in the back ground need to highlight those and brighten in post production. I would say the photographer used the same presets for all the photos and it doesn't quite work. The outdoors looks shot on a sunny day and the inside shot on an overcast day, so it's likely a post production issue. Also photos 23 and 25 are the same room. use 23. Don't ry to give the illusion of more rooms by including duplicate photos. Photos 23,24 & 25 the curtains are all scruffy at the base and have a look at your window - it's this weird blue, in all 3! That's a problem with the white balance. Photographer needs to fix that. And the white curtain that should give the billowy effect is pulled across the window. So as a guest I am wondering, is the room stuffy? Are they hiding a bad view? Don't hide anything. be authentic and accurate. The kids rooms look perfect. Emulate that. 

It's up to you whether you change anything in the house. Your airbnb is functional and the pool might net you mostly 5 stars in Summer.  But there is a risk of 4 stars.  It's quite expensive at nearly 600 CAD per night. You describe it as bright and airy, and the kids rooms are exactly that, but the other photos do not show that. Suddenly hit starts to look expensive and dated.  The photos are a free fix. The photographer should be showing your property as "a bright, airy atmosphere." as you have described in the listing. And any photographer knows not to stretch a photo so far as to be unrealistic, so they should fix this for free and reshoot the entrance.  No doubt the photos were expensive having the drone fly over. That photo is great btw.  but there is a difference between real estate photography and Airbnb photography. One you are trying to sell the property and if you exaggerate it may not matter, but the other you are selling a 'stay', where guest give you a score on "accuracy of the listing", so the photos and the decor need to be accurate and they need to match the description "luxury holiday" or as you have titled it "luxury villa". To me the photos (and living room decor) say "big house with pool". It is missing luxury. You can change the decor or re-title to "Spacious Villa with Pool". That is then, accurate. 

The outdoor area looks lush, as described.  All you need to do is bring that fresh and bright outdoors vibe to the indoors.  Bring in big plants. You can't see the plants you have inside, due to the size of the rooms.  Often photographers outsource their post production work to other businesses who put one preset filter on and run all the photos through it and then you end up with the issues you have here with tone, white balance, brightness, consistency.

Hope that helps. I sound picky but I am playing devil's advocate for you because the guest will be harsher and I'd like you to do well. Also I am annoyed at your photographer. They need to take responsibility, learn about Airbnb and do better.