4 Reasons Why NOW Is The Best Time To Book Your Holiday Cottage Photo Shoot

Feb 11, 20193D virtual tours, Still photography

Holiday cottages throughout the UK are currently being repainted, refurbished and generally spruced up for the start of the new year, in the hope that this investment will pay off with higher rates of occupancy for the rest of the season.

But have you thought how you might capture this fresh new look for your guests to see? And whether your visual imagery could also do with a spring clean?

ACT Studios founder and managing director, Andrew Dalby, considers 4 reasons why now is the very best time to photograph your holiday cottage in readiness for the peak letting season:

1. Low season is the ideal time to refresh your holiday cottage photography

Chances are, with the exception of the February half term, this month is a quiet one for you in terms of bookings. Much the same with March.

Which makes it one of the best times of the year to refresh your interior visual imagery before the warmer weather arrives and it becomes more difficult to find a suitable time to access your property.

With minimal interruption, ACT Studios can capture the very essence of your holiday cottage within one day, making sure every room is photographed in order to show off its features in the best possible light.

And what’s more, we can come back in the warmer months to photograph the exterior of your property, including the grounds, to capture the best natural light as well as the gardens in full bloom.

Better still, if you book us in for a photography session before the end of March 2019, we will return in the summer for no extra cost!*

2. Just one photograph can increase the likelihood of a booking inquiry by 225%

Research conducted by the American travel and restaurant website company, TripAdvisor, reported that having at least one photo of your property on a property page actually increases the likelihood of a booking inquiry by 225%!

Which is welcome news in this increasingly competitive marketplace.

TripAdvisor also found that in properties with at least 100 photos, engagement levels rise to 151% and that the likelihood of a booking inquiry rises to 238% compared to properties with no photos. Source

So if you are looking to increase engagement with your guests as well as bookings, then commissioning fresh, new photography with ACT Studios could easily pay for itself within days.

It’s also worth remembering that your new pictures can be used across all forms of marketing, including social media as well as your online property listing.

3. ACT Studios’ photographers can photograph come rain or shine

ACT Studios’ team of friendly and professional photographers are hand-picked. Not just for their skills as photographers but also for their quick thinking and adaptability on every shoot, which ensures that the day runs as smoothly as possible.

Fortunately, shooting interiors photography at this time of year is not weather dependent – we bring the latest in lighting equipment and can easily compensate for low levels of lighting on the day.

We also employ the very best people in our editing team whose job it is to edit the photos and virtual tours once the shoot has finished.

So if the skies are grey and you need a blue sky adding, we can do that no problem. And if you need your log burner to be lit after the shoot, we can add that in too.

Our editing team have an incredible eye for detail and will not rest until you’re delighted with the results. 

4. ACT Studios can shoot both still photography and 360 degree virtual tours in one day

As well as the more traditional static imagery, ACT Studios is also expert at creating 3D ‘step in’ virtual tours of your property.

And the good news is that we can do both for you on the same day!

We carry the latest digital SLRs for our still photography as well as a special Matterport camera which allows us to capture your holiday cottage in three-dimensions.

What are the benefits of offering 3D virtual tours photography?

By offering a combination of the two types of imagery, your guests can browse still photography as well as ‘stepping in’ to each photograph to look round each room in more detail.

With 3D tours, guests can then zoom into any area that interests them to check, for example, whether or not the shower tray has a step up, for those who are less mobile.

Or whether there is enough space in the lounge to accommodate everyone in front of the log burner.

ACT Studios can also create both a floor plan as well as a dollhouse view of your property. Which means that guests can understand how the rooms are laid out in relation to each other – for example, how far the bathroom is from the bedrooms and whether the stairs need to be a worry for parents of little ones.

And adding this 3D imagery to your website is easy – we will guide you through each step.

How to prepare your holiday cottage for a photo shoot

In our experience, we find that simple, advance preparation for a photography shoot can make all the difference on the day.

It’s not just about buying a huge bunch of flowers and some local produce to accessorise the shots.

It’s checking that the windows are all clean, that the bedding is free of creases and that all the light bulbs work.

The little details can make a huge difference, not just in still photography but also in our 3D virtual tours.

Which is why we have created a handy guide to preparing for your forthcoming ACT Studios shoot, in order to get the very best results on the day.

*Free exterior shoot during the summer months

If you would like to capture up to date images of your property right now but wait until the summer months to photograph the exterior and surrounding area, then we have a time limited offer of a free exterior shoot of your property during the warmer months, for all interior photo shoots booked to take place before the 31st March.

Terms and conditions apply. Please contact us for more information or a friendly chat about any aspect of hospitality photography – and how it can help increase your occupancy rates.