Why Staging Your Holiday Let to a High Standard Matters (Especially in Suffolk)
What Every Host Needs to Know
At Abode Retreats, we manage beautifully presented holiday lets across Suffolk, from Southwold to Saxmundham and beyond. One thing we know for certain? The difference between a fully booked calendar and a quiet summer can often boil down to how well your property is staged and presented online.
In previous years, you could throw up a few average photos, taken on your Iphone 3GS, list your property on Airbnb, and expect steady bookings. But that’s no longer the case. In 2025, the competition in Suffolk’s holiday let market is fierce, and the hosts winning are the ones who’ve invested in high-standard staging, stunning photography, and strategic listing upgrades.
Here’s what you need to know if you want your property to perform like a top-tier holiday let.
The Market Has Changed, Have You?
We’ve been fully booked for the last three months, since we launched our flagship homes, managing holiday lets across Suffolk at consistently high occupancy rates.
But we’ve spoken to multiple homeowners (who don’t work with us) who are finding this peak season quieter than usual. The truth is, the old methods just don’t work anymore. The landscape has shifted, and if your listing hasn’t kept up, you're losing bookings to those that have.
What Staging Really Means Today
Staging isn’t just fluffing a few pillows or putting a coffee table book down. It’s about creating an emotional experience through the screen, so potential guests can feel themselves relaxing in your space before they’ve even booked.
Here’s what matters now:
1. Photos That Sell the Experience
Your main image is your handshake with potential guests. If it’s dark, cluttered, or doesn’t tell a story, they’ll scroll right past. So look into these things:
- Invest in professional photography. It doesn't matter how good your new Iphone camera is! Leave this to the professionals, trust me, you will get your money back and more!
- Lead with your best angle, whether that’s a hot tub, log burner, or sea view
- Use your first five images to showcase different rooms and standout features (not five angles of the same bed!)
2. Descriptions That Are Relevant and Persuasive
Generic descriptions no longer cut it. Guests are looking for places that fit the why of their trip.
- Write for the guest experience, not just listing specs, sell the emotion of your home, What will be the atmosphere in the kitchen whilst Sunday dinner is being cooked up, drinking and laughing with family and friends?
- Talk about the bedding, the local walks, the vibe of the garden in the evening
- Make it easy for guests to imagine their stay
3. A Listing That’s Fully Optimised
Have you completed every section of your listing? Are your captions doing any heavy lifting? Does your title stand out in a crowded search page? These things all matter now.
- Use all 50 characters in your title
- Include every amenity you actually provide
- Double-check your minimum night settings—too high, and you’ll vanish from search results. this is only a good thing if you're catering towards contractor bookings, where it's useful to have free slots in the diary for week+ long stays.
Presentation = Profit
The truth is, great staging isn’t a cost, it’s an investment. It gets you:
More clicks
Higher conversion rates
Better reviews
Justified pricing increases
Put simply: great photos and smart staging earn you more money.
How We Help at Abode Retreats
When we onboard a new property, one of the first things we do is elevate the presentation. That includes:
Staging advice tailored to your property
Access to our trusted professional photographers
Writing compelling, guest-focused listings
Setting smart pricing with our insanely good automatic dynamic pricing software
Ongoing optimisation, because staying booked isn’t a one-time job
Ready to Compete Like a Pro?
If your Suffolk holiday let is underperforming this season, it’s not the market, it’s the listing. And that’s something you can fix. We’re here to help.
Whether you need staging guidance, a listing refresh, or full-service management, Abode Retreats is your partner in creating a top-performing, compliant, guest-loved holiday let.
Want to learn more? Feel free to call our expert team on 01473 845182 or fill out the contact form below.