Photo sizes for Airbnb, Booking.com, and Google Business Profile
The Airbnb photo size to aim for is at least 1200 × 800 pixels, in landscape. Booking.com asks for landscape photos of at least 2048 × 1080 pixels and prefers 4000 × 3000. Google Business Profile takes JPG or PNG files between 10 KB and 5 MB, at a recommended 720 × 720. If you want one set of files for all of them, Vrbo included, export landscape JPEGs at 2048 × 1536 pixels, under 1.3 MB each. That size meets every rule on every official page I checked.
These numbers apply whether you run a hotel, a B&B, an agriturismo (farm stay), or a vacation rental (a holiday let, if you’re British). Here they are in one table, then platform by platform, with the catches.
Hotel photo sizes at a glance
I checked every number on the platforms’ own help pages on September 21, 2026. Specs change, and some platforms contradict themselves: where their pages disagree, the table shows the stricter number and the section below explains.
| Platform | Minimum size | Recommended size | Files | Orientation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbnb | 1200 × 800 | Bigger is better | Up to about 10 MB | Landscape |
| Booking.com | 2048 × 1080 | 4000 × 3000 | JPEG, 1.3 MB max (strictest page) | Landscape only |
| Vrbo | 1024 × 683 | 3840 × 2160 or more | JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, SVG | Landscape displays best |
| Google Business Profile | 250 × 250 | 720 × 720 | JPG or PNG, 10 KB to 5 MB | Not specified |
| Instagram feed | 1080 wide | 1080 × 1440 | Not specified | From 1.91:1 to 3:4 |
| Your website (my advice) | None | About 2400 wide for full-width photos | As light as possible | Landscape, plus vertical versions |
One size that works everywhere
If you want a single set of files, export landscape JPEGs at 2048 × 1536 pixels, under 1.3 MB each, in sRGB color. Three reasons:
- it clears every minimum in the table, including Booking.com’s 2048 × 1080, the highest;
- it’s the size Booking.com’s own upload page calls ideal;
- under 1.3 MB it passes the strictest file limit I found (Booking.com’s again) and Google’s 5 MB cap.
If your photos are 3:2 rather than 4:3, 2048 × 1365 works the same way. Lightroom Classic, for example, can set both the size and a file-size limit when you export.
Keep the full-size originals too. Booking.com prefers 4000 × 3000, Vrbo’s ideal is 3840 × 2160 or more, and Airbnb says bigger files are better. Where an uploader accepts the big files, use them there.
Airbnb photo size
Airbnb’s help center asks for photos of at least 1024 × 683 pixels. Its photo guide for hosts asks for at least 1200 × 800 and says bigger files are better, up to about 10 MB. Follow the higher number: a photo that meets 1200 × 800 meets both.
Take horizontal photos. Airbnb crops photos into squares in search results, so keep the main subject in the middle of the frame. You need at least five photos to get started. The first five are shown prominently on your listing, and the first one is the large photo guests see in search. I show how to choose and order your Airbnb photos in a separate post.
Booking.com photo requirements
Booking.com’s photo requirements ask for landscape photos only, at least 2048 × 1080 pixels, preferably 4000 × 3000. Upload at least 10 photos, with at least four of each room or unit and one of its bathroom.
The file rules depend on which Booking.com page you read. The upload help page says JPEG or BMP, at least 300 × 300 pixels, ideally 2048 × 1536, and no larger than 1.3 MB. The registration guide says PNG or JPEG, at least 1280 × 900, under 47 MB. A 2048 × 1536 JPEG under 1.3 MB meets all of them, which is why it’s my safe size.
Two more things change what guests see. Your property page shows at most 40 photos from your main gallery, and Booking.com reorders them automatically unless you switch off Smart ordering. For the order that works, and where to find the switch, see how to order your Booking.com gallery.
Vrbo photo size
Vrbo’s photo guidelines accept JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, and SVG files of at least 1024 × 683 pixels, ideally 3840 × 2160 or more. Horizontal photos display best, though vertical ones are accepted. Every listing needs at least six unique photos: fewer than six for more than 30 days can get it suspended.
Watch the details. Vrbo may reject close-ups, collages, and photos with text or watermarks, so keep your detail shots (a cup of coffee, a linen texture) for Airbnb and your own website.
Want photos delivered in the right size for every platform?
Google Business Profile photo size
Google’s photo requirements are the most relaxed: JPG or PNG, between 10 KB and 5 MB, a recommended resolution of 720 × 720 pixels, and a minimum of 250 × 250. Photos should be in focus and well lit, without heavy filters, AI edits, or big alterations: they should show reality. Videos can run up to 30 seconds and 75 MB, at 720p or higher.
Google’s help pages give no size or shape for the cover photo, and Google doesn’t promise to show the one you pick: if it looks low quality, a customer’s photo may appear instead. For hotels, Google suggests at least three exterior photos, three of your most popular guest rooms, and one of each common area, such as the breakfast room.
One catch: a single vacation home can’t have a Business Profile, because Google lists vacation homes as ineligible. Hotels, B&Bs, and agriturismi can, and so can a rental agency’s office. The rest of the profile is covered in my guide to a hotel’s Google Business Profile.
Your website and Instagram
Your own website has no platform rules, so size photos for the layout. I use about 2400 pixels of width for a full-width header photo and about 2000 for gallery photos; a well-built site then serves lighter copies to phones. For the image that shows when someone shares your page on Facebook, Meta recommends at least 1200 × 630 pixels, as close to 1.91:1 as possible.
Instagram shares feed photos at up to 1080 pixels wide, in any shape from 1.91:1 (landscape) to 3:4 (portrait), according to its help center. At that width, a 3:4 photo (1080 × 1440) is twice as tall on the screen as a 3:2 landscape one (1080 × 720). Cropping a landscape photo to 3:4 later throws away about half the frame, so ask for vertical versions of your key scenes during the shoot.
Shoot for the crop, not only the size
Pixels are the easy part. Shapes are where photos go wrong, because each platform shows the same photo in a different shape: square in Airbnb’s search results, pre-cropped in your Booking.com gallery, and best as a tall 3:4 on Instagram. Three habits keep one shoot usable everywhere:
- Keep the main subject in the center, with some space around it.
- Shoot the key scenes twice, horizontal and vertical.
- Name each file for where it goes (double-room-4x3.jpg, double-room-3x4.jpg), so nobody uploads the wrong version.
Every photo shoot I deliver comes in the right formats for each channel, so you don’t have to resize anything yourself. Whoever you hire, ask about formats before you book; here are the other questions to ask before you hire a photographer.
