Photo shoot..

[Fred13]

Just recently got an invitation for another photoshoot of my place. I wander what the experience has been for others that have had Airbnb photoshoots recently. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Fred13 My concern would be who owns the copyright of the pictures. You may well not be allowed to use them on other platforms or your own website.

[Alon1]

@Mike-And-Jane0 

Photographers & Film companies will ask owner of the property to sign 'a Release form'. It's standard practise. 

There is one very experienced Host who has done lots of shoots in her place, Huma

@Huma0

[Gillian166]

the photographer always owns the copyright. 

[Alon1]

@Fred13 

I had a recent enquiry which I couldn't consider as the producer informed me 'due to Covid we can only film in locations where there is nobody living there.' 

However, the producer stipulated

We will be adhering to the strict Covid guidelines provided by the film industry. This includes all members of the crew being Covid trained and employing a trained Covid Supervisor who will be present at all stages of production, including filming. PPE, social distancing and sanitization are only the surface of the risk management that we plan to do. Further down the line, I would be more than happy to go through all our procedures and share our Risk Assessments with you.

This is UK, so no idea the regulations where you are.

[Helen427]

@Alon1  They filmed part of American's Mark Manson docomovie at the local swimming pools here in Auckland recently, none of the above Covid Guidelines were seen to be in place.

Nice desserts on offer and reasonably friendly bunch.

[Alon1]

@Helen427 

It seems NZ is on a different planet at the moment since you've eradicated Covid.

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ps. it seems I misunderstood Fred's post, as it's just an Airbnb photoshoot of his property

[Helen427]

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[Alon1]

@Helen427 

Why would your PHA want to fiddle the records? What's the benefit?

I can assure you there is no benefit at large to the UK population or anywhere else in the world as far as I can gather in falsifying records when it comes to this disease. It has caused a lot of disruption and hardship.

[Sarah977]

**[Inappropriate comment removed in line with the Community Center Guidelines]

[Alon1]

@Sarah977 

Thanks for the heads-up. (I certainly won't be "argumentative" in this case).

[Elaine701]

Is this Airbnb offering it? 

My experience has been that Airbnb doesn't hire photographers with any particularly good eye.

They (twice) sent photographers out to shoot our villa, and while they used excellent cameras & equipment, the shots weren't framed well, and the photographers seemed more interested in getting it over with. We ended up not using any of the photos. They just didn't depict the house very well, in some cases, downright misleading. 

The only good thing I found with the Airbnb photos is that they superimpose the Airbnb logo with a tagline saying "verified photo", which I suppose increases confidence. But if you have a good review history, I don't think that matters much. 

Also, I'd advise against making it too pretty. Set expectations lower than your place really is. Guests generally expect something less than what they see in the photos. When it turns out to be better than they expected, the impact is big. If your place isn't a that great in the first place, consider a little upgrading. It makes, a difference, and you can charge a bit more. 

But it's not just about photos. For example, we have some desirable features that we never mention in the description. In our case, it's stuff like a full set of spices, sauces, lots of cookware, dinnerware, glasses and silverware, so they don't have to clean then or run the dishwasher after every meal.  Smart TVs with integrated Netflix. House sound system ... And more. We never mention any of this stuff in the description. And guests are really surprised when they arrive and find out. "better than expected". And this adds much to our ratings. 

These things don't really cost a lot, but it goes a long way. 

[Fred13]

Airbnb offering, never applied for it. @Elaine701 that is interested that you brought up the pursuit of 'better then expected', we been following that philosophy all along. True, always surprise them by sandbagging a few new features. 🙂

I think this shoot sounds like a waste of time.

[Robin4]

@Elaine701 

You are right Elaine, I have discovered along the way, 'The less a guest expects the more they will be delighted with what they get'!

Keep it simple and real, that's why I would never use professional photography, and it hasn't hurt my hosting.

Cheers.........Rob

[Kelly149]

@Fred13 just depends on how you feel about being "used" to sell the image that ABBs are these cute homeowner-owned single properties that are unique and fun. You personally check all those boxes, but do any of us think that is truly the ABB ethos for some/many/most/???? of their inventory? Is ABB in your corner/a good partner or are they just a necessary cog in a machine that you mostly run on your own?