Airbnb Photography Melbourne
Guests decide whether to open your listing in about the time it takes to scroll past it. Our Airbnb photography in Melbourne exists to win that half second. Holiday House Manager styles, shoots and delivers listing images for short-stay properties across the city, and because we also manage more than 75 of them, we see which photos turn into bookings and which ones get skipped. Packages start at $360, and photography is included at no extra cost for properties we manage.
Why Professional Airbnb Photography Matters
Photos are the first filter every guest applies. Before anyone reads your description, checks your amenities or compares your nightly rate, they have already judged your property on a single thumbnail.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business measured exactly how much that judgement is worth. Their study of roughly 13,000 listings across seven cities, presented at the International Conference on Information Systems in 2016 and later expanded into a paper in Management Science, found that properties with professionally shot verified photos were booked about 9 per cent more often, and that image quality on its own accounted for an extra $2,455 in yearly earnings per listing.
That is a more useful number than the “up to 40 per cent more bookings” figure repeated across most photography websites, which is quoted constantly and sourced almost nowhere.
Airbnb Styling and Photography Melbourne: Presentation Before the Camera
Most of the work happens before the first frame is taken. A styling walkthrough runs through the property room by room and fixes the things that quietly cost bookings.
That means clearing benchtops and bathroom surfaces completely, replacing mismatched or tired linen with white hotel-grade sets, checking every globe so no room photographs with two colour temperatures at once, angling furniture to open sightlines rather than pushing everything flat against walls, and adding the small props that signal a stay rather than a house: fresh towels folded properly, a set table, styled bedside surfaces.
We also flag what should be shot and what should not. An awkward second bathroom or a small study is often better photographed honestly and briefly than hidden, because listings that oversell get punished in reviews.
If your property needs more than presentation, our Airbnb styling and furnishing service covers the full fit-out.
How an Airbnb Photography Shoot Works, Start to Finish
1
Enquiry and consultation
Tell us the property address, bedroom count and whether it is already furnished. We confirm scope and price before anything is booked.
2
Shoot day: we arrive early
We get there ahead of the shoot and prepare the space room by room, clearing surfaces, setting linen and moving furniture into shape. You do not need to be there.
3
The shoot
Most one and two bedroom Melbourne properties take two to three hours all up. Larger houses take longer. We shoot for natural light and schedule around the best window for your aspect, which for many south-facing apartments means late morning rather than mid-afternoon. The photographer keeps adjusting as they go, since they are the one who can see how the room reads through the lens.
4
Editing and delivery
Images are colour corrected, straightened and delivered as a downloadable gallery within five business days of the shoot.
5
Hero image selection
Alongside the full gallery you receive a shortlist of recommended hero images, the ones we would lead a listing with. The final order is yours to set, and it is worth spending a few minutes on: the first few images carry most of the weight in a search result.
Airbnb Photography Packages and Pricing
Photography is priced by property size. Every shoot includes the on-site styling and preparation, editing and a downloadable gallery.
| Property | Images delivered | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 bedroom | Minimum 24, up to 30 | $360 |
| 3 bedroom | Up to 40 | $400 |
| 4 bedroom | Up to 50 | $440 |
All prices include GST. Larger properties are quoted on request.
Explore Our Airbnb Photography
Who Shoots Your Property
We do not hand your listing to a general real estate photographer. The photographers we work with shoot short-stay and holiday properties specifically, and one of them shoots for Airbnb directly as a photographer for the Luxe category, Airbnb’s highest tier, where properties are assessed against several hundred design and presentation criteria before they are accepted.
That standard is the reference point for every shoot we run, whether the property is a Southbank one bedroom or a four bedroom house in Elwood. The work is briefed and directed by us, so the styling, shot list and final selection stay consistent no matter who is behind the camera on the day.
Why Choose Holiday House Manager for Property Photography
Every other Airbnb photographer in Melbourne delivers a gallery and never finds out what happened next. They do not see the click-through rate, the booking pace or the guest reviews that follow.
We do, because we manage the listings afterwards. More than 75 Melbourne short-stay properties sit under our management, we have held Airbnb Superhost status for six consecutive years, and the same team that shoots your property also sets its pricing, coordinates its cleaning and reads its reviews. When we say a particular framing or a particular cover photo converts, that is drawn from watching listings perform rather than from a photography portfolio.
Melbourne is the only market we work in. We are not a national franchise, and we are not a photographer who also does weddings.
Airbnb Photography Melbourne FAQs
How many photos will I receive?
It depends on the size of the property. A one or two bedroom listing comes back with at least 24 images and up to 30, a three bedroom with up to 40, and a four bedroom with up to 50. We shoot full coverage of every room, plus the details guests scroll looking for and then message us about when they cannot find them: the coffee setup, the workspace, the parking, the outdoor area.
Do you handle styling as part of the shoot?
Yes, and there is no extra charge for it. We arrive before the shoot starts and prepare the property room by room, then the photographer keeps making adjustments as they work. That preparation is usually the difference between photos that look accurate and photos that look appealing.
How long until I get my photos?
Five business days from the shoot, usually sooner. If you have a listing going live on a fixed date, tell us at the enquiry stage and we will work backwards from it.
Is photography included if you manage my property?
Yes. Photography, styling, listing build and launch pricing are all part of onboarding for managed properties, at no separate cost. You can read more about how that works on our full-service Airbnb property management in Melbourne page.
Do you offer drone photography?
No. Aerial shots suit large regional or waterfront properties, and most of what we shoot is inner-Melbourne apartments and houses where a drone adds little and body corporate or council restrictions often rule it out anyway. If your property genuinely calls for it, we will tell you and point you to someone licensed.
Which Melbourne suburbs do you cover?
We shoot across Melbourne, concentrated within roughly 25 minutes of the CBD: St Kilda, South Yarra, Southbank, Richmond, Fitzroy, Port Melbourne, Docklands, Carlton and the surrounding suburbs. Properties further out are usually fine, so ask.
Will professional photos actually increase my bookings?
Better photos raise click-through, and Airbnb’s search ranking responds to click-through, so the effect compounds. The Carnegie Mellon research puts the revenue impact of image quality alone at roughly $2,455 a year per listing. Photos will not rescue a listing that is priced wrong or reviewed badly, which is why we look at pricing and presentation together rather than treating the shoot as a standalone fix.
Send us the property address and how many bedrooms it has, and we will come back with a package price and the next available shoot date. If you are weighing up whether to manage the property yourself or hand it over, the shoot is included either way once we take it on. See the packages above for standalone pricing, or read how much a Melbourne short-stay property can earn before you decide.