Hotel commercial imagery
Hotel Photo Sizes for Booking.com and Expedia
Part of the guide Hotel Media Library: Best Practices for Brands and Independent Hotels
OTAs reject or punish small, vertical, or oversized files. Here is the minimum that passes on Booking and Expedia—and the single rule to shoot once, well.
August 4, 2026 · 5 min read · Achy Loukili · Hotel commercial imagery advisor
Many hotels lose quality on Booking or Expedia not because of a “bad photographer,” but because of a poorly prepared file: too small, vertical, iPhone HEIC, or a bloated JPEG the extranet rejects. Guests do not see your camera—they see pixels.
This piece is short on purpose. Useful numbers, one master rule, and a 2-minute checklist before you upload.
Booking.com: the floor that matters most
Per Booking partner guidance, photos should be:
- Landscape (horizontal).
- High resolution: minimum 2048 × 1080 pixels.
- Preferably approaching 4000 × 3000 when the original allows.
- At least 10 property photos (with coverage by type: room, bathroom, etc.).
Expedia: lower threshold, same criterion
Expedia (and related partner guides) often accept more modest resolutions—historically around 1024 × 683 as a floor—but recommend much more (toward Full HD / 4K). Very heavy files also hurt: aim not to exceed ~15–20 MB per image on manual uploads.
Translation for the hotel: do not prepare two different catalogues. Prepare one good set to Booking standard and reuse it.
The master rule (one export standard)
- Shoot or request originals in landscape at high resolution (ideally ≥ 4000 px on the long side).
- Export JPEG, sRGB colour space, no watermark or text overlay.
- OTA target: at least 2048 × 1080; if you can, 3000–4000 px on the long side.
- Rough weight: 1–5 MB per photo (sharpness without stalling the extranet).
- Name with meaning: superior-room-01.jpg, not IMG_4832.jpg.
Technical errors we see most
- Uploading iPhone HEIC without converting to JPEG.
- Verticals that crop badly in the thumbnail.
- Instagram or WhatsApp screenshots (already compressed and small).
- Watermarks, huge logos, or collages of several photos in one.
- Mixing sharp originals with old 800 px captures.
2-minute checklist before upload
- Is it landscape?
- Is it at least 2048 × 1080?
- Is it JPEG (not HEIC / not a social screenshot)?
- Is it under ~5 MB and sharp on mobile?
- No watermark or text overlay?
- Do the cover and first 10 still follow commercial order (not only “pass the filter”)?
Meeting size rules avoids technical rejection. Winning the click is another story: cover, order, and clear room types. If the listing “passes” the extranet but does not convert, the problem is no longer file size.
Continue in the cluster
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum photo size on Booking.com?
Booking asks for landscape photos at high resolution: at least 2048 × 1080 pixels, and recommends approaching 4000 × 3000 when you can. Below that minimum the image looks weak on mobile and in the grid.
Does Expedia require the same sizes as Booking?
Not exactly: Expedia often accepts lower thresholds, but Booking is the stricter floor. Prepare the catalogue to Booking’s standard and it almost always works for Expedia and other OTAs too.
Can I upload vertical phone photos?
On Booking and most OTAs, landscape displays best (and is what they recommend). A vertical crops poorly in the thumbnail and loses impact. If you only have verticals, reframe or reshoot.
Is there one perfect size for all OTAs?
No. Keep a high-resolution master and export channel crops. Prioritise Booking/Expedia hero standards first; then adapt for brand.com and social without inventing a new pipeline each time.
Catalogue meets size rules but still doesn’t sell?
We review cover, order, and cross-channel coherence with advisory criteria—and leave material ready for OTAs and agencies in SeeSuites.