Now, imagine you are planning your dream vacation in Colorado’s picturesque town of Breckenridge. Scrolling through countless rental property listings, what attracts your attention first? The answer must be high-quality, enticing photos. Visually stunning photos can dramatically increase your rental rates in the competitive rental market of Breckenridge, CO.
In this blog post, we'll showcase the importance of great photos and how they can enhance your rental property metrics, boosting your revenue by a significant percentage.
Photos: Your Key to Successful Bookings
"A picture is worth a thousand words," said a wise man. And in the Breckenridge rental market, this truth is more than evident. Charming photos play a pivotal role in shaping the decision-making process of countless holiday-goers. A blend of captivating images and engaging storytelling can paint a picture-perfect portrayal of your rental property. An inviting image can encourage a prospective guest not only to read your description but also to envision themselves experiencing a memorable stay at your property, driving them further down the booking path.
Great images distinguish your rental property from the vast pool of competition and can significantly influence your performance metrics. They create the first impression, capturing users' attention as they scroll through a sea of options in Breckenridge. By offering a visually engaging experience, your property will immediately stand out, increasing its click-through rate. This, in turn, leads to more views, inquiries, and eventual bookings, organically pushing your listing higher in search results. Ultimately, these factors collectively contribute to enhancing your rental rates.
As travelers increasingly rely on online platforms to seek and finalize their holiday accommodations, stunning property photography has emerged as a crucial element to inspire, impress, and persuade potential guests. Naturally, users are drawn to aesthetically appealing images that exude warmth, comfort, and style. They are more likely to delve into the details of a property if its visuals evoke a sense of familiarity and belonging.
Excellent photography effectively highlights the unique features, amenities, and ambiance of your rental property, creating a vivid and authentic representation of the experience your guests can anticipate. By investing a little extra effort into curating and sharing visually engaging photos, you can harness the power of visual storytelling to grab the interest of potential guests and elicit a strong emotional connection, fostering trust and credibility.
An Insight into the Spectacular Effects of Great Photos
To illustrate the impact of good photography, let's consider three hypothetical rental properties in Breckenridge. All with identical designs and similar reviews, but different visuals.
Snow Blizzard Cabin: This magnificent cabin is priced at $700 per night. Its online listing features an array of spectacular photos illustrating its soaring ceilings, luxury amenities, and breathtaking mountain views. The copious details and the beautifully lit, crisp images evoke an immediate sense of wonder. Potential guests can already imagine themselves relaxing before the expansive fireplace or preparing a meal in the well-appointed kitchen.
Mountainville Lodge: Priced slightly lower at $575 per night, the property boasts captivating images that aptly depict its rustic elegance. The pictures beautifully convey the size and coziness of each bedroom, the lodge's attractive living spaces, and even the outdoor entertainment areas perfect for summer barbecues or winter s'mores roasting. These images catapult the viewers into envisioning themselves on-site, experiencing the warmth and comfort that the Lodge has to offer.
Frosty Pines Retreat: With decent, albeit relatively duller photos, this property rents for $350 per night. Although the textual descriptions are relevant, there is a noticeable lack of visual vibrancy. The pictures do not capture the essence of the property as effectively as the previous two, leading to a considerably lower rental rate.
The correlation between high-quality photography and rental rates is starkly clear. While all properties are similar in design and receive comparably positive reviews, a striking difference in nightly rates is noticeable. Snow Blizzard Cabin, with its exceptionally enticing photographs, earns nearly 100% higher rates than Frosty Pines Retreat. Further, Mountainville Lodge, too, takes in around 64% more due to its attractive imagery.
Good photographs do more than just represent a property; they tell a story. They convey not just the physical aspects, but also hint at the experiences and emotions guests could witness during their stay. For property owners in Breckenridge seeking higher rental rates, investing in top-quality photography can indeed yield substantial returns.
To elevate your property visuals:
- Plan your shoots during the golden hours - just after dawn or before sunset for natural, warm light.
- Ensure to capture the property at different times and seasons to provide a complete picture.
- Focus on the details as well, for instance, the fireplace set for a cozy evening, the coffee machine ready to provide a morning brew, or the plush cushions on the outdoor lounge.
- Finally, don’t forget to capture the unique aspects of your property – like a private ski locker or a hot tub with a view.
The comparison is clear: good photography can drastically increase nightly rates. The average nightly rate of Snow Blizzard Cabin is 100% more than Frosty Pines Retreat, and Mountainville Lodge is up by around 64%.
How To Get It Right With Your Property Photos
To ensure major success and optimize the effectiveness of your property photos, owners should always consider the prospective tenants' potential questions. The key is to think like a tenant; ponder what information you'd crave if you were the person looking to rent a property like yours. When photographing your property, use visuals to provide as many answers to these queries as possible. Guests might wonder about the size of the living room, the view from the bedroom window, the comfortability of the beds, or if your kitchen has the essential appliances.
Below are some comprehensive guidelines to aid you through the process:
What to Photograph?
Ideally, you should photograph every space your guests can access, and have a good number of pictures of each room from different angles. This gives a more balanced and honest insight into the layout and size of the spaces. Remember to add images featuring various aspects of the property during different times of day, to showcase the ambience in various light conditions.
An inclusion of local attractions, nearby ski resorts or hiking trails in Breckenridge can paint a more vivid picture of the experience a guest would have at your property. This encompasses not just the property itself, but also the lifestyle, activities, and attractions that come with it.
Photographic Logic: Planning the Shoot
Consider the “wow” factor of your property and the hierarchy of different spaces' importance. Start your shoot with focus shots of unique features that make your property special—this can be a grand fireplace, a luxurious hot tub, or simply an interesting architectural detail.
Next, proceed with common spaces such as the living room and kitchen, as these are integral areas where guests will spend a considerable amount of time. Finally, move outdoors to capture the view from the deck, the garden, or surrounding scenery. Each shot should purposefully tell a part of your property's story.
The Hero Image: First Impressions Matter
This is your banner, the paramount image and the very first glimpse anyone will have of your property. Choose an image that attracts their attention and encapsulates the best attributes of your property in a single frame. This image should represent the overall allure of your property and create an emotional pull convincing enough to click for further details.
For Breckenridge properties, an image with a vista of the ski slopes, a cosy fireplace, surrounding mountains or a beautiful patio can be very appealing. Therefore, investing time and effort in crafting a delightful 'Hero Image' is certainly worth it.
The Optimal Group: The Perfect Portfolio
Most rental platforms organize pictures into a gallery to offer a virtual tour or a sneak peek into your property. This visual portfolio offers potential guests a comprehensive glimpse of your property without revealing all its intricacies.
The selection of these images should give a complete sense of what the property is like, including key features, elements that make your property stand out, and the atmosphere of its surrounding environment. Strategically order these pictures to take the viewer on a journey through your property, from its exterior and common living spaces to bedrooms, bathrooms, and amenities.
Ultimately, remember that good photography requires good preparation. Before the shoot, clean up, declutter, and stage your property in a way that looks inviting but not personal. While setting the stage, stick to neutral themes that resonate with a larger audience.
In conclusion, high-quality photography is an investment that not only portrays your property in the best possible light but is also guaranteed to boost the perceived value of your rental property, leading to increased interest, more bookings, and thus, higher rental rates.
Partner with Great Western Lodging
In conclusion, the realm of property management extends far beyond just managing bookings. From effective and appealing representation of your property through high-quality photography to meticulous local knowledge about the Breckenridge area and vacation rental industry, property owners need to consider various aspects to succeed in this market. This is where Great Western Lodging steps in. With an extensive portfolio of premium properties, years of industry expertise since 1997 and a dedicated team of professionals based in Breckenridge, Great Western Lodging is adept at understanding the nuances of the local rental market. We offer not just property and rental management services, but also peace of mind ensuring that owners can maximize their rental income while having our properties well cared for. With our comprehensive approach to rental management, Great Western Lodging is a partner you can trust, making it the ideal choice for property owners seeking their property to shine amidst the vast array of lodging options in beautiful Breckenridge.