Airbnb May Soon Be Able To Tell What Type Of Photos Attract The Most Guests

AirbnbAirbnb will soon be able to tell what photos work best on its site.

One of the best ways to attract more guests on Airbnb is to use professional, polished photos of your place.

After all, the photos make the first impression, and the guest's decision may ultimately come down to what your place looks like in those pictures.

Now it seems like Airbnb is planning to give extra points to those who use better-quality photos.

According to Bloomberg, Airbnb is working on a system that can automatically determine how attractive the host's photos are to its customers. Based on that, Airbnb may even start to showcase listings with the more "attractive" photos, and eventually offer a "digital interior designer" that can offer guidance on how to beef up photos to increase bookings.

"We are trying to promote listings with more attractive images…we want to bring the insights back to the host," Airbnb's search lead Max Charkov told Bloomberg.

In fact, what Airbnb is doing is part of a big trend that we've been seeing in tech over the past few years. Often called "predictive analytics," tech companies are collecting large amounts of data to analyze the past and predict the future.

For example, HR software company Workday is working on a system that could tell companies when employees are about to quit their jobs. Box, as the Bloomberg report points out, has a system in place that automatically organizes files based on the level of confidentiality. 

And this will only lead to more emphasis on data analysis.

As Norwest Venture Partners' Managing Partner Matt Howard told us, "The year 2015 will be all about what to do with data. How do you make it into a strategic weapon? The hottest job in corporate America will be the chief data officer."