Received Negative Review for Using Airbnb's Recommended Photography Tips

[Andrej111]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share an experience regarding Airbnb’s photo recommendations and warn other hosts about potential guest expectations.

There’s an article from Airbnb https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/a/how-to-take-great-photos-for-your-listing-687 which advises using wide-angle photos to showcase the entire layout.

When I took photos for my Airbnb listings, I followed these recommendations. I used the 0.5-1 zoom on an iPhone 13 with "Lens Correction" to balance any distortion. This setup is recommended for indoor photos to give a comprehensive view of the space.

However, I had a guest (who is also a host) leave a 3-star review for accuracy and 4-star overall review, mentioning that the photos made the space appear larger than expected because of the wide-angle lens.

I think it's unfair to receive a low rating review when following Airbnb's recommendations. Just a heads-up to other hosts and perhaps Airbnb to consider adding suggestions for including square footage or a floor plan to help manage guest expectations and avoid similar reviews.

Cheers,
Andrej

[Autumn11]

It's your house you know how to make it look the best don't listen to Airbnb they've never been to your house.  Whatever you do do not use the photographer that they try to send either if they offer that to you because I can tell exactly every single listing that's used their photographer they photoshopped the photos a lot and it looks really unattractive and they do the pictures at a angle that no adult would walk into a room at like you're not going to walk into a house and be looking at everything from basically counter height.  So you just take good pictures you know what good pictures look like... Airbnb will suggest you do a lot of things that aren't good for you just do what you like do what feels good for you and do it how you want to do it

[Andrej111]

Thank you for your reply. Using a 0.5–1x zoom on an iPhone is a standard practice for indoor photography to provide a comprehensive view of the space. This approach is also recommended by professional photographers as it helps accurately represent the entire space, giving guests a clear understanding of the layout and size. Capturing the full space without a wide-angle lens is not possible. Thats why I don't understand such a negative feedback from a guest who is also a host.

When you mention "Airbnb will suggest you do a lot of things that aren't good for you" what you mean exactly? Are there any other things that Airbnb suggests, but are not good for hosts?

[Lana1222]

Hello @Andrej111 !

I concur wholeheartedly and echo my words to your warning.

I did not do anything too fancy, just with my phone and took the pictures that would give the best view, and as a new host, I was very mindful of following the advice.

Yet, my very first guest (who has been here just 4 days), has complained that my home pictures look bigger. than the property ( almost implying that I took a false picture.)

It has been distressing, disappointing and frustrating.

It looks the way it looks, but it was made into a big deal. I don't know what else to say except we do our best and people will be people. (the only thing I believe may help is to give them the dimensions of our homes and rooms- but really?)

How much of our privacy may we compromise by this "oversharing? Or do we deliberately take smaller pictures which may look awful and not be selected anyway? 

I do not have the answers, but I am hearing this more and more and thank you for sharing. 

Does anyone else have any advice?

Much appreciated.

Best

Lana

[Andrej111]

I've added the square meters to my description and created a floor plan that includes the dimensions of each wall as well as the total square meters.

Recently, I received another 4-star review where I was rated 5 stars in every category except Accuracy, which received 4 stars. The review itself stated: 'Cozy little apartment very close to the sea and with many possibilities right outside the door.' During the guest's stay, I checked in to ensure everything was okay, and they assured me they had no issues.

I suspect the 4-star rating might be due to the size of the apartment, though I can't say for certain. After the review was published, I reached out to the guest for clarification, but they didn’t respond. Since I already include the square meters in my description and provide a floor plan in the photos, I’m unsure how to better communicate this information to guests.

That’s why I’m creating this post—to ask the Airbnb community for advice on how to communicate this better with guests and avoid similar negative feedback in the future.

[Lana1222]

Happy to be of help; seems as though it may have made a positive difference.

Congratulations.

Since then, I too have added the exterior dimensions and we shall see how it goes with the next guests.

Hosts simply cannot please everyone , and you could get the best photographer in the world and it would still be a problem. Some people are just bent on complaining.

At any rate, we use the feedback  (positive of negative), as a means to keep improving.

All the best!!

Keep going!

Best, Lana

[Andrea6232]

Ciao @Andrej111 , 

here are my personal tips (not from Airbnb 😂) on how to best photograph your home:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Community-Guides/GUIDE-How-to-best-photograph-your-home-with-you...

good luck!

Andrea

[Bhumika]

Hi @Andrej111 , 

I'm so sorry to hear of the review situation with the guest and appreciate you sharing this feedback and concern with the community.

We had this article reviewed and wanted to share more context. The recommendation detailed in the article is to use horizontal photography, not wide-angle photography. Airbnb does not recommend using wide-angle photography for listing photos as the results can be misleading to guests.

Hope it helps clarify!

Warm regards,

[Andrej111]

This is funny, because it seems like you deleted the original article and it's redirected to this article https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/a/how-to-take-great-photos-for-your-listing-687

Here you can see your original article https://web.archive.org/web/20240524194655/https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/a/take-gre... where you literally recommended taking wide photos by using phone.