Journal · Bookings
Does a Listing Video Help Vacation Rental Bookings?
Probably, but there is very little public data on videos that owners add to their own listings. What published research does show is that better visuals lead to more bookings: one study of 7,423 Airbnb properties found that listings with professional photos had 8.98% higher occupancy, and a 2023 study found that video made by a booking platform raised booking rates, most of all for listings without much of a track record. At Legacy Luxury Media we read that as a good reason to test a video on your own listing, not as a promise of a set result.
What the research shows
Better visuals, higher occupancy
Researchers from Harvard Business School, Boston University and Carnegie Mellon studied 7,423 Airbnb properties over 16 months. They compared listings that got verified photos, taken by Airbnb's own photographers, with listings that kept photos taken by the host. The properties with verified photos had 8.98% higher occupancy. The study was published in Management Science in 2022 (source).
The same study looked at what made the better photos better: composition, color, and how clearly the main subject stood out from the background. Those are qualities you can see in a single frame, which matters later in this post.
Video as a quality signal
A 2023 study by researchers at Yonsei University, presented at the fall conference of the Korea Society of Management Information Systems, looked at an accommodation sharing platform that added two kinds of content to listings: written inspection reports and video. Both raised the booking rate. The video had a bigger effect for properties that lacked an established reputation, which the authors call the cold start problem (source).
What the research does not show
It is worth being plain about the limits. The photo study measured photos, not video. The video study measured video that the platform produced, not video an owner commissioned. No public study we have found measures what happens to bookings when an owner adds their own walkthrough film to a listing.
So anyone who quotes you a guaranteed jump in bookings from a listing video is guessing. The fair reading is that guests respond to clearer, better visual information, and that video helped most where guests had the least else to go on.
Why a walkthrough film can still help
Guests choose a stay from what they can see. Photos show rooms one at a time. A walkthrough shows how the rooms connect, what you see from the sofa, and how the deck opens onto the view. That is the kind of information that is hard to get from a grid of stills.
A film made from your existing photos also keeps the qualities the photo study found mattered, because it is built from the same frames. If your photos are already well composed and well lit, the film carries that through. If they are not, better photos should come first.
Owners use a walkthrough film on their own site, on Airbnb and VRBO, and on social. The full film from Legacy Luxury Media comes with vertical cuts for Reels and TikTok, so the same work covers each place guests might find you.
When a listing video is most likely to pay off
- New listings and listings with few reviews. This is where the 2023 study found video made the biggest difference.
- Properties that sell on layout or setting. Estates, waterfront homes, vineyards and wedding venues are easier to understand in motion.
- Managers with many units. A flat price per property keeps the cost predictable. Our post on what a property walkthrough video costs covers how that compares with a traditional shoot.
A video is less likely to help when the photos behind it are weak, or when the listing has a pricing or availability problem that no visual can fix.
How to test it on your own listing
- Ask for a free teaser. It runs about 15 seconds, is made from 3 to 4 of your photos, and is yours to keep either way.
- If you like it, order the full film: 8 to 12 photos, a 60 to 90 second film in 1080p, $450 flat, with the first draft within 72 hours and one revision included.
- Write down your listing views, inquiries and bookings before you add the video, then compare them with the same weeks afterward, and with the same season last year if you have it.
Your own numbers will tell you more about your property than any study can.
Frequently asked questions
Does a listing video increase vacation rental bookings?
Published research points that way but does not prove it for owner made videos. Studies show that better visuals and platform made video both raised booking rates on accommodation platforms. No public study has measured what happens when an owner adds their own walkthrough film, so nobody can honestly promise a set increase.
What does the research say about photos and Airbnb occupancy?
A study published in Management Science followed 7,423 Airbnb properties over 16 months. Properties with verified photos taken by Airbnb's photographers had 8.98% higher occupancy than properties with photos taken by the host.
When does a listing video help the most?
A 2023 study of an accommodation sharing platform found that the booking effect of platform made video was strongest for properties without an established reputation. That makes new listings, newly renovated properties and listings with few reviews the most likely to benefit.
Can a listing video be made from photos I already have?
Yes. Legacy Luxury Media makes cinematic walkthrough films from 8 to 12 of your existing listing photos, delivered in 1080p for $450 flat, with no shoot day and no crew. If your photos are too weak to carry a film, you are told before you pay.
How can I test a listing video before paying for one?
Ask Legacy Luxury Media for a free teaser. It runs about 15 seconds, is made from 3 to 4 of your photos, and is yours to keep either way.
Sources
- Zhang, Lee, Singh and Srinivasan, "What Makes a Good Image? Airbnb Demand Analytics Leveraging Interpretable Image Features," Management Science 68(8), 2022. doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2021.4175
- "How Do Text- and Video-based Verification Content Mitigate the Cold-Start Problem in Two-Sided Market Platforms?" Korea Society of Management Information Systems fall conference, November 2023, pp. 389 to 397. earticle.net/Article/A444654
See it on your own property
The quickest way to find out whether video helps your listing is to see your own property move. Request a free teaser or read more about the walkthrough film.