Can you add a virtual tour to Airbnb? What the rules say

Short answer: not on Airbnb, barely on Booking.com, and not as a link on Vrbo either. None of the three has a field today where you can paste the URL of a 360 tour of a holiday let, and Airbnb explicitly bans links that take guests off its site. That doesn't make a tour pointless, but it does change where you use it. Below is what each platform says in its own help pages, what photos they want in the listing, and where a tour is worth having.

One caveat: the platforms change their rules often. Everything here was checked against the linked sources in October 2026. Check your own account before you publish.

Can you add a virtual tour to Airbnb?

Not as a link. Airbnb's off-platform and fee transparency policy prohibits, among other things:

• Including links that take people off the Airbnb platform in listings or messages.
• Asking guests for contact details before they book. All communication before a booking has to happen on Airbnb.
• Asking guests to register on another website to access the listing, unless there's a legal reason you can back up.

The policy doesn't distinguish between a link to your booking site and a link to a tour, so the tour can't go in the description, in a message, or hidden in a photo as a QR code. For serious or repeated breaches Airbnb says it may suspend or permanently deactivate your listings or account.

One useful nuance: the same policy lets you move to another channel after a booking is accepted if the guest asks for it, a chat app for example. The rest of the policy still applies, so don't use that to move future bookings off Airbnb.

What Airbnb offers instead

Airbnb has no 360 tours, but it does have a photo tour that groups your photos by room. A room needs at least one photo to appear in it. It's the tool Airbnb gives you to explain the layout, and it's worth getting right.

Key takeaway: on Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo, the photos do the work. A 360 tour earns its keep off the platforms, on channels you own: your direct-booking site, your social accounts, guests who book direct and, if you manage lets, your owners.

Airbnb photo requirements: size and how many

Since the photos are what counts inside the platform, here's what Airbnb says:

• Minimum size. The Help Centre asks for photos of at least 1024 × 683 pixels. Its hosting guide raises that to 1200 × 800 pixels, with files up to about 10 MB. Any recent iPhone clears both easily.
• Landscape. Airbnb displays photos in landscape in search results, so portrait shots come off worse.
• How many. Airbnb says you need at least 5 photos to get started. It sets no ideal number, but it does say the first 5 matter most and the first is the large one shown in search.
• At least one per room, so every room shows up in the photo tour. Several is better: Airbnb suggests a mix of wide, mid-range and close-up shots.
• Natural light, flash off, and straighten the lines when you edit.

A phone is enough. Airbnb says so in the same guide: a smartphone camera can take listing-quality photos. Practical tips are in property photos with your phone; they work as well for an Airbnb listing as for Rightmove or Zillow.

What about Booking.com?

We found no virtual tour field for properties in Booking.com's documentation. Its connectivity photos guide covers photos, not tours.

For links in messages, Booking.com runs a security filter: by default it strips external links from messages to guests. Several channel managers, such as innRoad, explain that you can approve links or domains in the extranet under Property → Messaging preferences → Security settings, after two-factor authentication. Links you haven't approved are removed from the message.

That route is meant for things like online check-in or a guidebook. If you approve your tour's domain, use it the same way: helping a guest who has already booked find their way round, not steering them to book elsewhere.

What about Vrbo?

Vrbo's photo guidelines require at least 6 photos published at all times, at 1024 × 683 pixels or more (ideally 3840 × 2160 or higher). They reject photos with text overlays such as URLs or contact details, and photos with graphic overlays. A QR code to your tour in the gallery is very likely to be rejected. We also found no 360 tour field in Vrbo's help pages.

Where a 360 tour of your holiday let does help

Your direct-booking website

This is the natural home for it. Embed the tour with an iframe on each property page and guests explore it without leaving your site. Direct bookings carry no platform fee, and people who land on your site tend to have more questions than someone booking in one tap on Airbnb. The tour answers them without an email.

Guests who contact you directly

Repeat guests, people who find you through your website or social accounts, groups asking on WhatsApp. You can send the link with no platform rules in the way, and it settles the usual questions: where the sofa bed is, whether the bedrooms are next to each other, whether the balcony faces the sea or the car park.

Social media

The link in your Instagram bio or a story, or a post showing the newly refurbished flat. People stop and look round.

Owners, if you manage lets

When pitching to a new owner, the tour of a property you already manage explains your work better than a brochure. And an owner who lives elsewhere can see their place after a refurb or new furniture.

Arrival instructions, on your own channels

For direct bookings, a tour with an approximate floor plan works as part of the arrival information: where things are and how the rooms connect. For Airbnb guests, remember the rule: no external links in Airbnb messages.

Doing it with RoomTour

RoomTour is our app, so the limits first: it has no integration with Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Google or any channel manager or PMS. Here's what it does:

1. Capture each room on your iPhone. From the middle of the room, turn slowly following an on-screen target, about 30 shots per room. No 360 camera, no tripod.
2. The app stitches the shots into a 360° panorama per room and draws an approximate floor plan from the phone's motion tracking. Genuinely approximate: good for understanding the layout, not for measuring.
3. Publish and get a link roomtourapp.com/t/… with a preview for WhatsApp and social, plus an iframe for your website.
4. Check the views for each tour in the app, a handy figure for an owner update.

Open the example tour on your phone to see what a guest gets. For how it fits into a host's or manager's week, see virtual tours for holiday rentals. And if you're curious about the technique, 360 photos with an iPhone explains how you get a panorama without a 360 camera.

One last thing: if you only list on Airbnb and Booking.com and have no website or direct guests, put the effort into your photos first. That's what those platforms show.

Frequently asked questions

Can you add a virtual tour to Airbnb?

Not as a link. Airbnb's off-platform policy bans links that take people off Airbnb in listings or messages, and there's no 360 tour field. What Airbnb does offer is its photo tour, which groups your photos by room.

What size photos for an Airbnb listing?

Airbnb's Help Centre asks for at least 1024 × 683 pixels in landscape. Its hosting guide recommends 1200 × 800 or larger, with files up to about 10 MB.

How many photos should an Airbnb listing have?

Airbnb says you need at least 5 photos to get started and that the first 5 matter most. Every room needs at least one photo to appear in the photo tour, and several per room is better.

Can I put a QR code for my 360 tour in my Airbnb photos?

Best not. On Airbnb it works as an off-platform link, which the policy bans in listings, and Vrbo rejects photos with text or graphic overlays.

Can I add a 360 tour on Booking.com?

We found no virtual tour field for properties on Booking.com. It strips external links from guest messages unless you approve the domain in the extranet, according to several channel managers.