How to Stage Your Maui Property for a Photo Shoot

You only have one chance to create the first impression. 

You have one thumbnail photo as your cover. 

You have a few seconds to capture your audience to click into your listings among all the other online listings.

According to the National Association of Realtors, “85% of those buyers say it’s the photos that are the most important factor in deciding which homes to go view.”

I often suggest to my clients, that if it is a home for sale, your main goal is to clean it very well. You do not need to be over-staged with things that are not even included in the sale. But if you have an empty house, you may want to consider staging it with furniture or have us virtually staged for your potential clients to visualize how the space can be used. 

If it is a vacation rental, give a little bit more effort to stage it. Your wine, fruits, and Aloha decoration will give off vacation vibes better than an empty home. If you are thinking of staging it yourself, check out these staging tips:

First task: Declutter & Clean

The very basic task before adding anything else is to declutter. Less is more. We would rather have fewer unnecessary plants, old books, and worn-out decorations than to have more. Throw away things that have been in your condo since you bought it over 15 years ago. Not everything there is what people want. Not every extra decoration adds value. If it looks too old, half-used, or almost falling apart, please get rid of it. 

Here is another article about how to clean and tidy your home for photos. 

Accessorize Smartly

One of the easiest ways to update a room is to accessorize it well. A few of our favorite main areas to stage are the lanai table, kitchen island, and coffee table. These are the areas that we would take the most photos of, and the more “colorful” it is, the more your photo will stand out. 

Here are some general suggestions, just pick a few, you do not have to do it all: 

Lanai:

• Place freshly cut colorful fruits on individual plates (mango, papaya, watermelon etc.) or cheese, and grapes on a wooden chopping board.

• Place one flower next to the fresh-cut fruit plate 

• Place a glass (be mindful of the wind)

• Place a centerpiece in the middle of the table (e.g. Pineapple or a bottle of wine or juice or flowers)

• If you have colorful table mats you can use them

• Set only for 2 persons for small size lanai table

*Some of these sample photos are staged by a professional stager or by our clients, and some photos are staged by us. Ideas credit to original stager.

Kitchen Island and Dinning Room:

• Place a bowl of colorful fruits (no need to cut) in a beautiful bowl OR

• Fresh flowers

• Your gift for guests: Aloha Chocolate + Special Complimentary Water 

• Set out the table for 2-4 persons if you have an island with a bar counter or for your dining room

Bathroom:

• Less is more, mainly to show super clean towels, remove any unwanted items

• Sometimes we put a single plumeria flower on the counter 

Pay attention to the bathroom

Along with kitchens, attractive and clean bathrooms are an important selling feature in a home and will be scrutinized when viewed online. Even if your bathroom is a little outdated, you can spiff it up for minimal effort: Clear everything off your sink top except for soap, roll up some towels and put them on an available shelf for display, buy a fresh, bright shower curtain, and perhaps most important is to make sure the toilet seat lid is closed. That last item makes a huge difference in photos.

Coffee table: 

• Maui book, or anything colorful that helps your photo pop, but not too much. 

Bedroom: 

Ask yourself, is it time to buy a new set of bedsheets? The color of the sheets itself would change how a bedroom feels in the photo. Some people may hate bright red or green color sheets, maybe changing the sheets itself can already help boost your booking. Choosing more neutral colors and ocean themes with a beach vibe is usually fitting for Maui. 

Potential suggestion for bed:

• A tray of “breakfast”/ bread with coffee mug

• A beautiful lei 

• OR nothing on the bed, because it could be visually too busy and unnecessary if you already have colorful sheets or room decor

• Appropriately display art on walls, and make sure it is in the photograph position to add color to your background that would add a wow factor to pictures viewed online. Note that grouping also looks best in odd numbers and at varying sizes. 

Yet, do not to over-accessorize

Accessorizing is important, but it needs to be tastefully — and minimally — done. Overstuffed shelves with various books and wall decor can create a visual nightmare. Sometimes, overly decorated with too many “cheesy” Hawaiian decorations would simply shout “too touristy” or “old school”. The main goal is to have a few items that enhance the overall colorfulness of your room, fresh flowers, fresh-cut fruits, some colorful plates, and a beautiful Hawaiian lei will do. 

Do not over-accessorize, just because you have bought those items does not mean you have to put them in the room. Some vacationers prefer a clean, modern look. If there are too many furnishings, where are they going to put their belongings?

We recommend skipping the oversized items or cheesy decorations, old worn-out floral decor which can become more of a distraction than an enhancement.

Do you include those items?

Another consideration is how much of the additional items you used to stage will be included in your actual vacation rental experience. Do you include wine? Do you include the Aloha chocolate as a welcome gift? If you do, YES! put them on the table when we are doing the photoshoot. But if you include nothing, you may not want to mislead your potential clients with high expectations. We also like those units that are tidy without too much clutter for looks. Staging is an enhancement, but it is not a requirement.

It is a fine line for us to promote your listing in the most aesthetic way possible and it is the owner’s decision and responsibility to consider what is a realistic representation of their condo. Do not sell something that you are not offering. That will just end up with poor reviews on your listing.

Don’t forget the small stuff

Remember, it’s those first impressions that are most important when buyers are viewing hundreds of photos of homes online. A few other photo prep tips:

• Hide your wires. Hide TV cords and other cables. 

• Check if your photos are on the wall. Are they placed straight or crooked?

• Move any trash cans (indoor and outdoor).

• Clean any glass and reflective surface (windows, slide doors, mirrors).

Clean everything

We’re not just talking about the counters and floors here. Everything in your home should get a scrub, from muddy siding or dingy carpeting to wood furniture and curtains. Don’t let your potential clients get distracted by a grimy door, walls, or windows — they might start to wonder what other home-upkeep tasks have been neglected.

Share with us what is your favorite staging items. We love to hear from you! 

Hope this is a helpful article for those who are trying to figure out how to stage their vacation rental.

Contact us for photographing your vacation rental in Maui! It’s your home, we do our job to show it off.