I usually travel to make photographs of places. On this trip, I ended up making them for a business, too — and it turned into the clearest example I have of why hospitality photography actually matters.
The setup
We stayed at a holiday home in Queenstown, New Zealand called The Wanderlust, run by Arrowtown Holiday Homes. It’s the kind of property that has real character — the sort of place a great photo can sell in a single scroll, and a bad one can quietly bury. While we were there, I photographed it: not just “here are the rooms,” but the mood of the place — the light it gets, how it actually feels to be there.
Why it matters (the part every host should hear)
A guest experiences your property online long before they ever step through the door. They’re not reading your description first — they’re scrolling your photos, and deciding in about two seconds whether this is the place. Professional images don’t just make a listing prettier; they set the expectation, build the trust, and win the booking before anyone’s packed a bag.
The result — in the owner’s words
“Preston took photos for us in Queenstown, New Zealand. The images are absolutely stunning! They capture the mood and personality of the property so beautifully… It can be tricky finding a photographer who really ‘gets’ the holiday home.”
— Sarah, Arrowtown Holiday Homes
The part I’m quietly proud of: they’ve kept using the photos — they still turn up on the property’s Instagram months later. That’s the real measure. Not a nice compliment on delivery day, but images that keep earning their keep in the marketing long after the shoot.
The same thing, closer to home
I do exactly this for short-term rentals and boutique properties around Salt Lake City and Utah — capturing the mood and personality that make a property book, not just a checklist of rooms. If your listing photos are doing the bare minimum, that’s a fixable problem.
— Preston