Unhappy With Professional Photography Service in Airbnb

[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. 

[Lawrene0]

@Silvia572, the more effective thing to do will be to post in Host Voice (in the dropdown under Discuss on this page) your four suggestions for improving the photo service. It is good that you posted your experience here, but as we are all just other hosts and some travellers, it is only a cautionary tale. 

When you post there, update us here (with the link) so anyone who feels the same as you can give it a thumbs up. That's the way the Host Voice posts get seen by the people who can change things. 

Hope it helps. No chance any Airbnb photographer will ever be available in my area, but I do like your suggestions. They make perfect sense.

[Silvia572]

Hi Lawrene, 

thank you very much for your suggestion. I have just posted it on Host Voice. Here's the link:  https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Host-Voice/Unhappy-With-Professional-Photography-Service-in-Airb...

As it is my first time in an Airbnb forum, I was a bit lost as to where to post it, so thank you again for your helpful suggestion. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Silvia572 you are right.

As far as I know (and I worked as photographer and free lance web designer for years) if someone pay for a photo shutting (or web design) then he has bought a right to use it as he want.

The author of those photos/design will keep the right to use it for his promotion only and the right to be recognized/signed as the author. 

If I am not wrong - photograpers were payed by Airbnb before and your use of those photographes was limited to Airbnb. But now when the host is paying , things are different. 

The best is to chose and hire a pro photographer by yourself.

[Anonymous]

@Silvia572  It's news to me that Airbnb is now charging hosts for the photography service. As @Branka-and-Silvia0 said, it used to be free to hosts where it was available. I can't imagine what they're thinking by charging hosts for a service that we could simply contract ourselves if we wished. If this is now a paid service for everyone, I completely agree with your suggestions.

Even so, if you still have access to the professional photos, I'd recommend including them in your listing until you are able to get some that you are happier with. The ones that currently appear in your listing are out of focus and oddly angled, making it difficult for potential guests to see what they're getting. Remember you can always choose the order in which the pictures appear, so that the ones you're happiest with appear first.

[Silvia572]

@Anonymous:  I have chosen to delete the pictures as this strengthens my case for a refund. If I left the pictures there, Airbnb could legitimately say I was still using them. 

@Anonymous, @Branka0&Silvia, @Lawrene0:  The reason I went with the Airbnb photographer is that I believed that this would be a form of verification of my listing and that it would add credibility to my listing. I hoped that having someone from Airbnb visit my listing would also increase my ranking on the search engine.  However, as none of these has happened, I foresee no positives to this service. 

I hoped that by placing my comments here, Airbnb would contact me back. They have just fobbed me off on the calls I have made to them, The e-mails I have sent, no one has bothered to reply to. 

[Helga0]

@Silvia572, are you sure, that you are charged for the service? I created a listing 10 days ago and the offer for Free photos popped up. 

@Branka-and-Silvia0, if photos can be used generally or only in a context, depends on the contract. Normally it's a limited use and if you want to use them elsewhere, especially with a bigger audience, or on another medium, you need to pay extra. If the contract gives the client full use, it has to be stipulated very clearly. 

The airbnb photographers are not paid anything like a normal photo session, it's interesting for the photographer only, because the shooting is rather formalised, quickly done and they get a lot of orders. The photographer will just process the pictures automatically, and some are heavy handed in the setting of the corrections.

But they have a better camera and large angle, which would be a big advantage in the small rooms. However, with a large angle in a small room, you will always have things in the picture, that you would not want to have there - my first shooting for a client with the largest angle we could find that year, difficult conditions, and at the end, some pictures had my toes in them. 😉 

As far as I have heard from a fellow host, who gets the photographer service for her listings, the photographer adds all useable pictures to your listing. If you delete them, they are gone. You can copy them before deleting them, but if you did not, they are gone. 

If the service is still free, you can create a new listing and get a photographer for that listing. It's probably another person. You can then use the pictures on the other listings. You should however prepare the rooms before you do that, the photographer is paid to take pictures, not to rearrange your listing or bring decorative elements. Your place looks very cold, some curtains, rugs, colorful pillows or plaids would liven it up.

[Silvia572]

Hi Helga, 

yes, I'm sure I was charged 62 euro for one bedroom photo shoot. You can verify this in the screenshot below which shows they deducted 62 euro from my payout. Can you please send me a screenshot of the free offer you received?

The whole purpose of this post is to advise people that Airbnb charges for this service and that in my opinion, is not good quality. 

The photographer was very happy with the arrangement of the room. We had previously arranged with the photographer not to have a cable showing in the picture. However, this cable not only was showing, it was in the centre of the picture.  

I'm happy with the current pictures which I took of my listing. My guests tell me it looks cosy and uncluttered. The current pictures in my listing also result in 90% occupancy.

[Helga0]

Hi @Silvia572, thanks for sharing the screenshot. It’s interesting. 

I set up the listing after November 15 in Paris. I saw a pop-up on a screen when i did it on the app, that the listing is available for free professional photos. I did not take a screenshot as I saw this on every listing I set up over the last few years. 

I do not take the service as I am a photographer, although I would not work for 62 Euros. The normal price for individual photos starts at ten times the price. 

To bad for your photos, if a cable offended you. That’s quite easy to edit out. 

What’s interesting too: we get offered between 80 and 90 for a new host, in your region it’s over 200. 

Your room is very uncluttered. You must attract mostly guests, who like that look and  feel threatened by unnecessary items, the idea of too much comfort or art. Probably more technicians than artists. 

If this suits you, and you have a satisfying demand for that offer, you have

no interest to take professional pictures. If you get a bad photographer,  you get the same result, and paradoxically, if you get a creative photographer, that would be an artist compelled to break the impression of austerity. It’s the opppsite of what a creative mind would search to achieve. 

[Silvia572]

@Helga0 It appears to me that you have not read my original post properly.

My problem is that I had no control or say in what the photos would look like and how they would present my listing.

The cable was something I highlighted but it was only one issue. You stated that a cable was easy to edit out however the photographer advised us that Airbnb does not accept edited photos from Airbnb photographers. 

I did not put up this post to get people's opinions on my listing or on my existing photos. 

Your opinion on my listing has not been sought so please don't offer it. 

The post is only there to advise people not to use this service. 

The guests who stay at my listing are from various backgrounds, including creatives and artists and you're welcome to look at their reviews. 

Your comments are unnecessarily offensive and rude. 

There is no need to attack my listing when all I was trying to do was advise people that this would cost you money and that you'd have no say in the process.

As I have not sought your opinion on my listing please stop giving it. Thank you. 

[Helga0]

Hi @Silvia572, 

I read your first post as a global warning not to use the photoservice as it is expensive and you have no control.

I tried to tell you that the price is a tenth of an entry level service, if a photographer takes a few illustration shots for a website.
It’s not the rip off of the century.
To me it seems probable, that you did not conclude an independent contract with
the photographer, where you can define freely which services are to be contracted. You are buying a probably still sponsored service from airbnb and airbnb has a global contract for their photographers which limits the prestations and therefore they get a ridiculously low price.
The definitions of the service created a very specific look, in a way those photos ressemble each other across countries and price ranges of the homes. They lack individuality, but they are good publicity photos to target the average traveler.

If you desire complete control, you have to conclude an individual contract with a photographer you find on your own, not beholden to airbnb’s style and rapid fire service.

I had tried not to offend you, but tried to accept the fact, that you like your place, which is normal, and that you believe it cannot be improved or presented in a better light, which is a bit less frequent. I had not forseen the extent of the protective feeling ...

I guess I felt compelled to react to your first post, as I am a photographer, although I sell more art than illustration shoots. It’s very rare to have a client, who knows so much more than the artist or craftsman.
So, in a way, we offended each other just by existing

[Silvia572]

@Helga0:  Offering 'help' and 'advice' in a condescending and arrogant tone is known as passive-aggressive behaviour. 

When I explained that I was offended by your rude comments you simply turned around and said that it was my fault that I found your comments offensive. This is a tactic used by all abusers and particularly favoured by Harvey Weinstein. 

This post is not about you or your photography expertise. And certainly not about your taste and your irrelevant opinions of my property. 

You cannot expect to be persistently offensive to others and not have them called you out on it. 

Your long, disrespectful and belligerent comments reveal you have a lot of time on your hands. I note that you have 1069 posts in Airbnb forums. This would indicate to me that you appear to force your advice on to others whether or not they want it.

Whether I'm happy or not with the look of my property it's my business only and certainly none of yours.  

I do not appreciate your constant trolling of my post. 

I have reported your arrogant comments and prefer that you stop making any further comments in this forum as I have no more time for you and your persistent rudeness. I have blocked all notifications from you. Even if you write back I'll thankfully never know. 

[Quincy]

Hello everyone,

Nice to meet you @Silvia572 and thank you for coming to the Community Center to share your experience.

I've seen the conversation here is moving directions. I am really sorry to hear that you're unhappy with the Airbnb photography service.

The Airbnb Community Center is a place where hosts can share their experiences and help each other out where possible. I personally think that @Helga0 was trying to share feedback from her own experiences as a photographer. In the Community Center, there a lot of different opinions but that's the great part of a community. As long as we keep the conversation respectful, then I'm sure we can all find this beneficial.

I think it's great that you've followed the feedback that was given by one user to create a post on the Host Voice forum so that this issue can be highlighted to Airbnb. I just want to let you know that I've also passed your feedback on to the team. 

[Silvia572]

@Quincy I cannot believe you're taking the side of a woman who is rude and clearly abusive to me. Is it Airbnb policy to allow the abuse and harassment of people on their forums? 

I simply was making a comment on the photography service that I felt it was not good value for money and also that the host has no control in the process. 

However,@Helga used this post to launch an all-out attack on me and on my listing for no reason other than she could. 

If she had wanted to debate whether or not the photography service was good value for money or that she had used it and had liked the photography that would have been perfectly legitimate. 

However, all she did was use my post to make personal attacks on me and my listing. 

She continues to give advice which is not sought or welcome. 

This is the definition of a bully. 

Can you please explain to me publicly why you have taken her side and not mine? 

[Helga0]

@Silvia572, Sorry, I had to laugh aloud at your comment. 

I won't post again on Your Thread after that one, but it's completely hilarious, that you ask a frequent poster on a forum to stop posting there. 

I'm a fast typist, it does not take me long to write long posts. 😉

I'm rather stubborn, mostly helpful, have not much patience with vague generalisations, but so far nobody called me a troll. And a troll swamping an entire forum ! What a promotion!

I have seen the airbnb photo service for several listings of good friends, where I know the place and often saw the progress from their first set up to an accomplished listing. The pictures may vary in quality, but are mostly good. Those hosts got a variety of photos and kept the ones they liked.

I have a guest, who renders the service here and I have a few friends on other forums, who render the service for airbnb and for clients who pay the normal photographer fee. One of them is actually a star photographer. It's a topic I discussed with fellow photographers quite a few times. 

I tried to discuss the value aspect, but that was completely lost. To say it simply: if you rent out a shared room like I do and guests believe they booked the Ritz, I am frustrated. Wouldn't you be? 

You booked a limited service and expected to be treated like you were hiring a star photographer. 

In my opinion, a shared room can be good value for money, when you just need to sleep in a safe place. 

To have a standardised photoservice is good value for money for most people, as a professional camera in the hand of someone with at least a few notions of the art will produce better pictures than a mobile phone in the hand of most people.