Usage of professional pictures to delude guests

[MarcoAntonio59]

This week I had a absolutely disappointing experience as a guest. It's the first time I am staying on an apartment where the pictures were taken by a professional photographer. The photos make the place look ok but in person the room is disgusting. Complaining to support do not help anything. The support staff claim that things "looks" like. I question how much the use of professionally taken pictures and dishonesty can harm the platform purpose?

When you buy a product that does not match your expectations, you have the chance to complain and get your rights assured. When a host tricks guests so badly with professional pictures, who will protect guests? I strongly believe Airbnb is seriously built upon trust and take care of its community so serious as no company ever made. I am concerned this kind of practice will ruin it all. Making it become just another platform for making easy money.

[Robin4]

@MarcoAntonio59 

I now have the hindsight of being not only an Airbnb host, but a guest, as well and being a user of this community centre, and I can say.......I would never book an STR that used a professional photographer for the listings promotion.

It stands to reason the professional photographer is to get the best out of the available material. Rooms are always going to look twice the size....that rubbish that generally resides on the kitchen benchtop will be hidden from site to be replaced by a massive leaf  potplant and some art nouveau piece hanging on the wall where that assemblage of shopping lists and local services cards pinboard generally belong! 

In all instances, walking into a listing that has been professionally shot is going to be a disappointment, at the very least it is going to look different.

The fluffy looking bed with the intriguing striking quilt cover and 9 assorted pillows cascading from the headboard will be nowhere to be seen. It will be replaced with a mortuary slab with a green cheneele bedspread and one worm out cushion!

STAY AWAY FROM PROFESSIONALY SHOT LISTINGS!   All will not be what they seem!

Cheers......Rob

[Huma0]

I also have photos from Airbnb professional photographers. In over 200 reviews, I only had two guest complaints about it, one that the house was smaller than pictured and one that the photos made the place look gorgeous but they didn't like it for various reasons. Both of these guests were a nightmare and impossible to please so I think they would have found something to complain about whether I had professional photos or not.

I have also had countless guests comment in their reviews that the house looked exactly like the photos or better. So, I'll be sticking with the professional photos for now. I don't see that they are misleading. The lighting is better but it's the same room. Yes, a wide-angled lens can make the rooms appear larger, but they are big rooms and you can't get much of them in the photo with a regular lens.

Here's my photo:

And the professional one:

[Paul154]

@Huma0

Your before / after pictures are amazingly different. Both are beautiful, but...

[Huma0]

@Paul

Yes, they are quite different, but it's important to note HOW. The main difference is the lighting. Also, the wide-angled lens doesn't really make the room look bigger. In the professional photo it looks bigger because the photographer shot it landscape and got more of the width of the room in, including the full sofa and more. I took it portrait format because I was trying to get more of the chanelier in and therefore got more height, less width. Neither are misleading RE the size of the room.

Other than that, the furniture has been changed around slightly but the professional pic is more representative of how the room is now. The rug has been removed because my photo was taken in Winter (when I put rugs out) rather than the Summer, which would also explain why the room is brighter in the professional picture. Again, nothing misleading there. What you see is what you get.

In the photos of the kitchen that @MarcoAntonio59 posted, there are several amentities missing. The blown out door way totally hides the less than attractive utility room at the back. That is trickery because it gives the impression there is natural light when there is none and there is no way that area would look that that in reality. You cannot see what is through my doorways in either of the photos above because they are blown out by REAL, not fake, natural light.

I don't know if the professional photo is supposed to be out of focus or not, but that kitchen doesn't look too clean to me in the other pic. Of course, we are all going to clean up before the photographer comes round. I don't see the problem with that as long as you are cleaning up before the guests come also! That kitchen needs a good clean out...

[Paul154]

Competition and Capitalism abound everywhere - even in Communist and Socialist countries.

All hosts must have pictures as good or better than other hosts or we die. That is marketing.

I'm not going to take pictures  on a gray day. But this is Seattle, so it's kind-of deceitful.

I'm going to put colorful pillows on the bed. It makes the photo pop, but they are useless, so I take them out.  I take plain straight-on pictures of my bedrooms, but I am definitely at a disadvantage to those hosts who use wide-angle lens. I have just discovered that there are services that will put a "Real" fake fire in your fireplace photo.  I understand why.  My "real" fireplace photos don't show the fire well

We don't have to worry about lying with photos. Customers are smart. They are always looking for the best for the least. We all know "If it's to good to be true, it is"  When shown beautiful hotel pictures, we like the dream. We know we are NOT going to get the expensive newlywed suite with a budget YMCA price.  Customers are able to figure out "Fake" listings with "Fake" pictures. I know I can.

Reviews are what makes Airbnb truthful

[MarcoAntonio59]

the kitchen

 @Linda108 @Paul154 @Huma0 @Robin4 @Branka-and-Silvia0 @Gerry And Rashid  @Julie

This is the kitchen of the listing I am staying at. 

[Paul154]

They are the same kitchen.

The first picture is a marketing picture - look but don't touch.

The 2nd picture is a real kitchen - functional and useful.

[Sudsrung0]

Give me 10 minutes it'll be spick and span

[Julie143]

Hmmmm. Yes, I agree that the difference in the two photos is enough that it becomes deception. The biggest issues are the missing microwave and the smaller dining table with missing chairs. 

Another thing is the room behind the kitchen. In the first photo it looks like a pleasant, well lit space. In the second one it looks like a dingy and depressing laundry room (bathroom?)

I was a guest long before becoming a host. Only one or two of the places I stayed crossed the line from good marketing photos to cheating. When I listed my own place I decided that it was very important to show the house how it really is, good and bad.  Sometimes I get a bit obsessed, making sure to buy the same kind of apples that appear in the kitchen photo before guests arrive.

For me, having guests who felt like I scammed them would be the ultimate shame. So, better to err on the side of caution. 

PS: Another good reason to have non-professional photos is that they are easier to update if something changes in the listing. 

[Mark116]

@MarcoAntonio59  I can totally see why you are disappointed. Not only is it dark and dingy, but it is also missing the formica bench and chairs.

[Ben551]

Wow @MarcoAntonio59... that isn’t just “angle and lighting”.... the entire contents has changed. No chairs on the left, no table, kitchen bench contents different... honestly it looks like the place has been temporarily staged with furniture just for the photographs. I think staging is false advertising and shouldn’t be allowed at all.

I have professional photos and every guest comments how “identical” the space is to the photos, right down to the freshly picked flowers, every cushion, every item... we even iron the bedding so it appears just like the photo when they walk in, hotel tucked corners and all...

Mt wife and I think it’s our responsibility to provide our listing exactly as it appears in the photos. Doing otherwise feels dishonest...

It’s very disappointing to see what you are experiencing right now and I would like to see Airbnb do something about it, to maintain the credibility of the platform.

[Paul154]

@MarcoAntonio59

As the guest, You are guilty of the same deception that you are blaming on the host.

You took your picture during night-time. Of course it is going to look dingy. This kitchen is clean, you just took the picture with poor lighting so that it "looks" dirty.

You also opened the door to the separate utility room. That was your choice to shame the host. It's a separate room. You could shut the door when using the kitchen and it wouldn't bother you.

At this point, I cannot trust that you did not sabotage the photos by putting dishes on the stove or in the sink.  But an acceptable kitchen has plates drying in the drying rack - it just doesn't show well.

Table is different, yeah whatever. No chairs? None anywhere? You could ask for the microwave. 

Did you really expect bananas? Does the listing say you will be provided free bananas?

I'm not arguing that you are dissappointed, that is valid. But you  are using the offensive word "deluding".

Were you unable to cancel and leave this deceptive place and get a refund? Where you unable to leave 1 star for accuracy?

[MarcoAntonio59]

The door to the separate utility room is opened on both pictures.

Besides that, the door to the separate utility room is the door I need to open to get into my room.

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**[Link removed due to safety reasons - Community Center Guidelines

[Sandra126]

@MarcoAntonio59, that's not just a case of good and bad photography, that is terrible because  the furniture is different, the appliances are different, you are not given 15 bananas. The cabinetry is the same!

[MarcoAntonio59]

@Sandra126 the case is not about photography. It's about the lack of honesty and respect, unfortunately.