Better photos for Airbnb listing, 5 reasons why

1 December 20201 December 2020 | stancabigas

Let’s admit it. Many travelers want that personal touch or local experience, thus Airbnb is one of the biggest companies in the so called sharing company. In many countries around the world, it’s competing with established hotels as far as accommodations are concerned. Even your friends sometimes prefer staying at an Airbnb listed site than at a swanky hotel. And of course, you have an extra space in your house that you want to offer to travelers and you want to earn at the same time.

But why should you invest in better photos for Airbnb listing? FIVE reasons why. Read on.

1 Better photos for Airbnb listing, better chances of having it booked

Yup! That’s right. Airbnb even says so. The better the photos, the higher the chances that your listing is booked, as much as 50%. Think of yourself as the one searching through the site. What catches your attention? Does a badly photographed, badly exposed or dim photos attract you to click on the listing? Or are well composed and pleasant images will pique your interest and book it instead?

2 Professionally photographed images highlight your space better

Airbnb has its own accredited photographers and they are trained to photograph your listing in the best light possible using gear intended for Architecture and Interior Photography. They know what to highlight in your space and what needs to be photographed so that potential guests will have a good idea of how your listing looks like.

3 It’s a competition out there

Especially in tourist areas like Pattaya in Thailand, with the great number of hotels, inns and hostels competing with a great number of Airbnb listings, it’s a real competition out there. One thing to up your game is to have better photos. Just like in #1 above, you are competing with other properties and you need to catch your potential guests’s eye.

4 Its all about telling the story of your space in images

Airbnb photographers know how to better photograph your listing, yes. But it’s not just all about angles and stuff. Airbnb photographers know how to tell your listing’s story in photos with details that make your space unique and homey. Images are photographed in the best natural or existing light possible so what you see online is what you will actually see when you arrive at the listing.

5 Better photos mean you are serious and professional

Your Airbnb listing is a reflection of you as an owner. Remember that many travelers want that local touch, that authenticity that extends to staying at a your home. Better photos establish your credibility as a serious Airbnb host and potential guests respond to that by checking your listing out compared to the other listings that are poorly photographed.

Where do you go from here

If you are an Airbnb host, I encourage you to have your listing photographed professionally either by a real estate/Architecture photographer or avail of Airbnb’s photography services which is cheaper but there are certain conditions that you have to consider. Also, Airbnb can only offer the photography service for areas where there is an Airbnb accredited photographer. How to do this? Check with Airbnb’s photography service.

Get $33 off your first AIRBNB booking! SIGN UP HERE!

Hotel Celeste, a pleasurable boutique hotel in Makati

16 November 202016 November 2020 | stancabigas

You won’t miss it. In fact, you will definitely take a second look at the well lit building. It glows mauve with the coming dusk as you drive past Arnaiz and Makati Avenues in Makati City. Hotel Celeste, a beautiful but modest curved building is a looker. It is a unique structure in the area.

Hotel Celeste, opened in 2008, is a boutique hotel within a stone’s throw from the major malls, hotels, and offices at the Ayala Center. At a corner just where Makati Avenue ends and San Lorenzo Drive starts. But it’s not just an ordinary boutique hotel. From the outside, it’s masculine and solid. But once you step inside, you are in for a stunning surprise. Architect Roland Polendey designed the building. The roundedness of the facade was inspired by the Colosseum, in Rome.

Hotel with a homey feel

The concept was to build a high end hotel with a homey feel. The owner has extensively researched and traveled abroad to check other boutique hotels and incorporating the designs and motifs that she liked. Pouring her passion in making her dream a reality. The result, a European inspired boutique hotel with 29 rooms. To achieve the homey feel, each room is unique with its own color scheme and motif. Painstaking attention to detail, from decor to furniture, from texture to color that beautifully result to a stunning, unpretentiously classy and elegant space.

While the 25 deluxe rooms of Hotel Celeste are stylish, it’s the limited superior rooms, all five, that really shine. Named after European queens: Eleanor, Isabela, Marie Antoinette, Catherine and Blanche, it’s tastefully decorated, spacious and homey. A living room, a bed chamber, dining area as well as a marble tiled bathroom with stand alone bath tub completes the space. Colors are rich, wall painted decors are interesting. Furniture varied from high backed chairs, lounges to ornately carved and opulent day beds. Textures are aplenty and keep the rooms fascinating.

Other amenities of Hotel Celeste

The boutique hotel is not lacking in amenities that provide modern comforts and connectivity. It also has a roofdeck for after hours unwinding while a small function room can host small workshops and seminars. At the stylish lobby, the restaurant, Lucia, serves good Italian cuisine with Chef Davide Lombardi bringing in his extensive knowledge.

Hotel Céleste is one of those unassuming boutique hotels that will indeed surprise and make your stay satisfyingly memorable.

Hotel Celeste
02 San Lorenzo Drive Corner A. Arnaiz Avenue
San Lorenzo Village, Makati City

Originally published in D+C magazine 4th quarter of 2015

Avant Offices, a modern coworking space in Cebu

10 October 202010 October 2020 | stancabigas

This coworking space in Cebu is probably the best designed in the city. Located at the fourth floor of Avenir Building. It is just several meters from the Waterfront Hotel and Casino. Cebu City is the second biggest city in the Philippines. And just next to the National Capital Region which is Metro Manila. As such, it’s the center of business in this part of the country while Cebu province itself is a top tourist destination.

Avant Offices is one of those trendy companies catering to the modern worker. As a coworking hub, ideal for freelancers, it has open seating or dedicated workstations. It has office spaces for small companies or teams with fully furnished, IT enabled work areas including broadband internet access. Catering also to startups, it offers virtual offices. Like most spaces, there’s free flowing coffee, tea and water at the pantry.

The interior design is modern and minimalist. It has great ambiance that enhances the overall atmosphere in a 200 sq meter area. The space is bright with floor to ceiling windows. The series of semi opaque blinds running the length of the glass walls diffuse the outside light. Floors are carpeted in subdued colors. The efficient use of wood in the paneling, flooring and ceiling adds to the organic touch. The curves and forms provide an interesting visual counterpoint. The seats and lounging couches are comfortable too.

A glass walled area serves as a mini conference room at one end while the gorgeous round pantry at the opposite end balances the layout. Overall, you have this well thought interior and a great lounging area that will surely positively impact one’s productivity. This coworking space in Cebu is also close to IT Park, an important business hub in the city.

Avant Offices
4/F Avenir Building
Archbishop Reyes Ave.
Cebu City
www.avantoffices.ph
Local: +63.32.324.7047
Mobile: +63.917.714.4806

STAN CABIGAS

architecture