Unhappy with Airbnb Photography Service

[Silvia572]

I was really looking forward to having my listing professionally photographed by Airbnb, however, after seeing the results I was deeply disappointed with the outcome. 

I removed all of the professionally taken photographs from my listing as I think they present my listing in a bad light:  the listing looked sterile and uninviting. 

I had no control over which pictures would be selected and yet I am expected to pay for this service. I was not allowed to select the pictures that were taken whilst they were being taken, I also advised the photographer about items I didn't want in the pictures. He assured me those items would not be there. And yet, when the pictures were uploaded those items were present. 

I would not recommend this service to any other Airbnb host as hosts have no say in the process and yet are expected to pay for it. 

The photographer had the attitude that he was working for Airbnb and not for me. There is an old expression that "he who pays the piper calls the tune", however in this case I had paid the piper and I have no say in the music. 

I would like to offer the following suggestions to improve this service:

1.Hosts should be allowed to see previous work of the photographer so they can select the photographer who best suits their style 
2. Give hosts more control over the process
3. Only charge hosts once they're happy with the photographs
4. Allow hosts to select the pictures whilst the photographer is actually taking the photographs

I contacted Airbnb about this on November 11 and nearly 2 weeks later and I still haven't received a decision regarding a refund. 

[Linda108]

 @Silvia572  When Air BNB offered the photography as a free service in my area a couple of years ago, I used it and the pictures were and are great.  I gather that the photography offer is no longer available for free.  

I looked at both your listings and agree the pictures are functional but not great.  I am not sure if using the Air BNB photographer is cheaper but many hosts have suggested just getting your own photographer who specialize in real estate photography.  Then you own the pictures and can load as you wish.

I don't have experience with getting a refund from Air BNB, but if you paid for the service using a credit card, could you dispute the charge with your CC company?

[Silvia572]

Hi Linda, as I explained in my post, I deleted the Airbnb professional pictures from my listing as I wasn't happy with them. The pictures I currently have in my listings are my own.

Airbnb had deducted the payment of the photos from my payout method as soon as I had a booking.

It is now nearly 2 weeks that I've been trying to get a decision from Airbnb and no one gets back to me. So frustrating.