I spent much of yesterday exploring a great vacation rental website for the next part of my favourite vacation rental web site series. It was a delight to see a well thought out site created by people who are clearly 100% professional about what they do. That is to come in the next couple of days so watch out for it. However, in the true spirit of Dug in ‘Up’ , a squirrel passed by and I went off on a tangent and took a look at some other sites where I found this picture, advertising an over-priced and underwhelming looking property. This is what really irks me – a prime example of an owner and astonishingly, a rental agency as well, depicting a barely furnished bedroom with an unmade bed. Not quite in the Tracey Emin class but not far off.
As a responsible owner, as so many of my readers are, I know I’m not alone in feeling that this type of image creates a perception of our industry that we’re striving to change. Although I agree that accurate depiction is important, am I wrong in thinking if this is the way a property is presented to arriving renters, it should not be offered for rental in the first place?
As a benefit, from a competitive viewpoint, I’m thinking that potential renters are more likely to pass over this listing with its attendant ugly photos (this one isn’t the only bad photo shown), and be more likely to choose one where the images are more attractive and welcoming. That can only be good for the rest and best of us, but if we could somehow weed out these bad apples, the overall image we are presenting to the travelling public would be considerably enhanced.
How do you present your bedrooms? Can I feature them in a Best of Vacation Rental Bedrooms special? Send me your links…….
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Heather. Here in France, there’s often pictures showing bare beds, as it’s the French way. Many owners here don’t provide linen, or will charge extra for it. For me that’s a no-no! A BIG no-no! Even if the beds will be bare when you arrive, what’s to stop you making them up, as you say, to attract visitors to your place?
Here’s one such example I found within 2-clicks! There are many, many more!
http://www.leboncoin.fr/vi/94915529.htm?ca=18_s
It’s the same here in Ontario – traditionally rental cottages don’t have linen supplied. However it doesn’t take much to make them look attractive. I’ve been trying to encourage owners here to supply the linens – that way guests don’t have to start off their vacation making up beds – but it’s tough to change some ingrained perceptions as to what is and is not acceptable.
Hi CG.
Totally agree with the feelings of your post. To keep an eye on the competition we have google alerts for VR postings in our area (that’s how I found your page!). I am STUNNED at the lack of attention to presentation. However, I am likewise amazed at how far some will go to make a VR look like more than it is.. i.e. obviously touched up photos, wide shots, etc.
We have always taken pictures of our properties thinking that the renters want to see exactly where they’ll be staying and not be surprised for any reason.
Our website has been, and still is, a work in progress as we ad more house pictures, more information, and more local information. I think the entire package is important for a VR searcher. And our return renters vouch for that (well, the houses are pretty great also!)
I look forward to reading your future posts!
Jason
Pine Hollow Lodging
Thanks for the comment Jason. Yes, it is mind boggling sometimes to see the lack of attention to detail. I also agree with you on the ‘staging’ of photos. It is worthwhile staging a room for photos as long as the actual presentation reflects the image accurately. I think most people can recognise touched up photos but it’s a shame some feel it is OK to misrepresent a property in any way. It comes back to bite at feedback time!
@Jason – I couldn’t agree more with the sentiment that a website is a ‘work in progress’. I really do believe that if you stand still, you go stale. Our website’s the same, it’s a constantly changing entity. It has to be, not only to try and stay ahead of the competition, but to inform and entertain potential guests too. There’s far too much excellent competition out there not to be on top of the most important asset you may have to entice guests – your website! If I ran out of ideas to update it, I’d pack this game in and go back to work for a living!
@Stu – “There’s far too much excellent competition out there not to be on top of the most important asset you may have to entice guests – your website!”
You’ve said it so succinctly – I shall have to use that somewhere (with credit of course)! And please don’t go back to the day job – you are a shining light for what a good site should be.
Hi Heather, we have found this on our site as well, even some owners who use very poor image quality. It’s hard of course to monitor everything and convince (with tact) the owner to change them. But we do make a point of reviewing each new listing and contacting the owner where we notice something that could improve the image of the listing. We realise it’s not just a reflection of the owner but of the quality of our site as well. So it’s part of our responsibility to try. Thanks for raising it!
@Andy – It’s good to hear that you take the responsible approach to listings and review them before posting. I know you can’t make people change their images but raising the issue may be all that’s needed to get those owners look at their photos from a renter’s perspective.