Honest answers, including the boring ones.
Eleven questions hosts and owners actually ask. If yours isn't here, email hello@voliaventures.com and we'll add it.
Capture
01 What lighting works best for a scan?
Daylight at the windows plus your normal interior lights. Cloudy daylight is ideal — direct sun creates hot spots that fight the camera. We can scan after sunset using just lamps; results look warmer but slightly grainier in dark corners. We arrive 30 minutes before the scan to set lighting and pull blinds where needed.
02 Can I scan a room with a lot of glass?
Yes. Glass is the single biggest reason Gaussian Splats beat traditional photogrammetry — splats keep the soft falloff of reflections instead of trying to flatten a pane into a mesh. Mirrors, chrome, polished concrete, and glossy tile all survive the scan.
03 Do you scan exteriors?
Yes, but with caveats. Exteriors need calm wind, no rain, and even light — bright midday sun and deep shade in the same frame breaks the capture. Backyards, courtyards, patios, storefronts work well. Full-house exteriors are an add-on at $150 and require a clear weather window we book separately.
04 Can I scan a place that has guests staying in it?
We strongly prefer empty. If guests are staying, we work around them — quiet capture, no flashes, no markers — but we can only guarantee a clean scan with the space empty. Most hosts schedule the scan during a turnover window.
Delivery & ownership
05 How do I share the tour?
You get a single link. Paste it in your Airbnb listing, your Google Business profile, your website, an email, or a text message. The viewer runs in any modern browser on phone, tablet, laptop. No app, no login, no headset. The file is hosted on our CDN — we keep it live as long as you're a customer, and we hand you the .splat file so you can self-host whenever.
06 Do guests need an app?
No. The viewer is a single iframe that loads in Safari, Chrome, Firefox, or any in-app browser. No login wall, no plug-in, no device prompts. The scan loads in 2-4 seconds on a modern phone over LTE.
07 How long does a scan stay live?
We host the file on our CDN at no cost for 12 months. After that, hosting renews at $5/month or you can self-host using the raw .splat file we delivered. The link format stays the same — your guests' URLs don't break.
08 Is the scan an actual 3D model I can edit?
No. A Gaussian Splat is not a polygonal mesh — it's millions of oriented ellipsoids that recreate the look of light bouncing through a real space. Splats look photoreal but can't be remeshed in Blender or used inside a game engine without conversion. They're a viewing format, not a modeling format.
After delivery
09 I'm going to redecorate. How do updates work?
Each scan is a frozen moment. If you change a couch or repaint, you can book a re-scan at half the original price within 12 months. Most hosts re-scan once a year or when they swap a major piece of furniture. We don't charge a subscription to keep your tour live — you own the file.
10 What if I don't like the result?
If the delivered scan has visible holes, frame drops on a recent phone, or doesn't match what we agreed to capture, we re-scan within 7 days at no charge. If you simply change your mind on style or want a different room covered, that's a paid revisit. We'd rather refund than argue — full refund if we can't fix the issue on the second pass.
11 Are you insured?
Yes — $1M general liability. We bring our own equipment, lights, and tripod, never touch electrical, never move heavy furniture without you, and shoes-off is the default. We carry a certificate of insurance on request and can name your management company as additional insured for commercial bookings.
Email us, or just book.
Most questions are faster to answer over email than to read. If your space sounds tricky, send a photo and we'll tell you whether it'll scan well before you commit.