Stephanie,
Thanks for reply.
However, I don't accord with most of what you write, in part given analysis of Stats that you have gleaned from others is erroneous and therefore misleading, as I will demonstrate.
Firstly we seem to concur that location is potentially the most important factor in determining numbers of bookings. Yet I would qualify twofold in respect of our contrasting locations:
i) You contend if you were in a primary location as I am then you would have 100s of bookings,
You fail to take into consideration that London is saturated with Airbnb. When I began hosting in 2013 there were about 7 - 8,000 listings. Now there is ten times this amount, c. 80,000.
This level of competition has significantly affected my type of bookings.
I hardly get regular tourist types as I used in the early years. Now, the vast majority of bookings are neighbourhood based searches, (e.g. family & friends, jobs, courses, temporary housing, events).
Still, when I do neighbourhood searches I find that it's only a select number of hosts who have many reviews, and quite a lot of listings have very few It clearly shows that some listings are far more popular.
There are a variety of reasons that need not detain us.
ii) Despite your rural location, your pattern of bookings appear either in monthly bookings or clusters of shorter term bookings.So it seems a matter of choice and if you chose the shorter bookings you could well have many more bookings.
As it is, you have 30 Reviews in the first year you hosted and 26 in the second year.
These are statistically significant numbers that would comfortably allow you to overcome an initial 3* booking and qualify you for SH which only requires 10 bookings per annum.
Now, turning to the Rating Stats.
You initially fail to mention that Stats only begin after 3 Reviews. (I think it used to be 5, but could be wrong). In any case, they are currently displayed on the listings after 3 Reviews.
Thus with the scenario you present, an initial 3* followed by two 5* will give an average of 4.3. If the 4th is also 5* average climbs to 4.5 And if 5th is also 5* then average climbs again to 4.6.
And contrary to what you write 'when you're below 4.6* you are subject to delisting.' In fact, none of these numbers would threaten Delisting!
Lets begin as you write:: 'AirBNB expects a 4.8 rating or 96%.' This again isn't accurate, rather as you later equate 4.8 = 'Super Host territory'.
We need also crucially make a distinction between two set of figures in OPPORTUNITIES & OVERALL RATING
1) OPPORTUNITIES' - pertains to SUPER HOST evaluated on QUARTERLY basis over a 1 year period.
2) OVERALL RATING pertains to Total period of Hosting. [2 years in your case, 6 yrs in mine]
The former BASIC REQUIREMENTS for SH 'TARGET' is 4.7 average .
If the average is 4.7 it is marked in black. below it, figures are in red/orange colour (i.e. needing attention)
The latter Overall Rating acceptable figure is rather 4.5 in black. 4.4 and below is shown in red/orange.
This equally applies to 'Overall Experience and the other 6 criteria
Finally, I can use my own record to demonstrate how the Stats work in real & practical terms.
Following more than 6 years of hosting I achieved SH for the first time July 1st 2019.
But while my past annual record is 4.8. My overall Rating is only 4.5 (an aggregate of my 5 listings).
To be more specific, a year ago 1st July 2018, I was well below SH requirement, at 4.5.
The following 4 quarters the figures gradually rose from: 4.6. 4.7. 4.7. 4.8.= Awarded SH 1st July 2019.
Despite this ascension in past 12 months, my OVERALL RATING for 6 years is only 4.5!
My overall 5* Reviews is 66%.
More minutely still, aside the 'Overall Experience', among my 5 listings some of my 6 criteria fall below the acceptable 4.5.
(As mentioned all figures below 4.5 are highlighted in red/orange.)
A few of my criteria are below 4.5. Indeed, the lowest figure for any one criteria is 4.0
(This is a record over 6 years and 338)
Lastly, it's imperative to mention that in the past year I experienced a 5 Day Suspension of one of my listings.
The suspension was triggered when 'Overall Experience' for this listing fell to 4.2.
(In fact, I had reason to question this figure, because the automated email for the suspension 4.2 did not match my Progress/Performance showing 4.4 at the time.
I contacted CS and it took a month to sort out this mess, and though the suspension came and went, a Case Manager saw fit to delete 3 damaging Reviews, two with 1* ratings due to violation of Undisclosed 3rd Party Bookings).
Consequently, I am left to adduce the figure for complete Delisting must be below 4.2. Though thankfully unknown to me, it would seem to be below 4.0.
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I leave you to consider if this reappraisal of the Stats qualifies for 'Maths 101'.
It seems a bit more complex and nuanced with a far greater safety net than propagated on the Community Centre.
Thus we should rather summarily contemplate why there is a popular myth on the Community Centre that "4.6 = Delisted"
There are evidently two interconnected reasons.
a) The person who popularized this myth in a thread titled 'GUANTANAMO' has only herself ever hosted very few bookings on Airbnb.
She currently still only has 4 Reviews as a Host. In short, she has little or no personal experience of the Stats to draw on.
b) The persons who eulogize 'Guantanamo' and refer others to this thread are exclusively long standing Super Hosts who evidently obtained SH early on.
Thus it's most unlikely they ever experienced low ratings, and so may never have seen any of their figures in red/orange Requiring Attention.
As a result, this group unfortunately end up scaremongering the less experienced contributors on CC.
And this group are extremely sensitive when they are questioned over this matter, seeing it as 'criticism' of their lack of knowledge of this matter.