Building and Improving the Superhost Program

Airbnb
Official Account

Building and Improving the Superhost Program

Superhost Criteria.jpg

 

As our global host community grows and becomes increasingly diverse, Airbnb’s programmes and policies need to grow and adapt as well – both to ensure the success of people from all over the world, and to show our appreciation for hosts’ hard work and amazing hospitality. That’s why we’re updating the Superhost programme to make it more fair, inclusive, and valuable to hosts everywhere.

 

 

Review rates

Great reviews are essential to earning Superhost status. They also help create a community where trust and transparency is shared between guests and hosts. But, hosts can’t control whether or not their guests choose to leave a review. After examining global data and speaking with Superhosts in a number of countries, we discovered that review rates aren’t consistent worldwide – some travellers always leave reviews, while others rarely do. This discrepancy can put some hosts at a disadvantage when it comes to consideration for Superhost status. In order to make the evaluation process more fair for everyone in our global community, we’ll no longer require that hosts have at least a 50% review rate in order to become Superhosts (or retain their existing status).

 

 

Cancellation policy

As part of our effort to make sure Airbnb programmes are built to meet the needs of all hosts, we’re also updating our cancellation requirement. Previously, we required that Superhosts have zero cancellations, but for hosts with an extremely high volume of bookings across multiple listings, that standard is impractical. To make the programme more fair for high-volume hosts, we’re now allowing one cancellation per 100 trips booked over the past year, which means a cancellation rate of less than 1% across all of your listings. It’s important to note that we still take cancellation as seriously as ever. Over the past five years, the Superhost community has worked hard to earn the trust of their guests and we will continue to reward that trust by recognising the most reliable hosts with Superhost status.

 

Both the changes to our cancellation and review requirements will take effect on the 1 July quarterly Superhost assessment. We’ll also be updating hosting dashboards at this time to reflect this new criteria.

 

 

Stay tuned 

We’re committed to continually improving the Superhost programme so that it works for the entire host community. That includes using clear, fair qualification criteria and making it valuable for every Superhost. From the overall design of the programme to how it rewards the community, we’re looking at different ways to not only make your hosting experience more positive, but also help you be more successful. So, please stay tuned, there’s a lot of exciting news to come.

674 Replies 674

@Mike780    Congratulations on maintaining your great reviews!  I hope you understand that there are bad apples out there and you have been lucky to not have one.  I worked very hard putting my Airbnb together, going the extra miles (fresh flowers, snacks, etc.). I usually received great reviews until the first disgruntled woman who was irritated that there was a misunderstanding about the code to procure the keys. Although this was resolved as soon as she called me ( within 5 minutes or less) she complained about one of the bathrooms being too small and she did not like the ‘old flannel’ sheets so she marked me down on several questions.   A couple of months later I had a guest who checked in with two additional people. Unfortunately the air conditioner broke and the next day, after I was informed, I immediately arranged a repair person ( it was a weekend) but the whole compressor was going to have to be replaced the following week. I offered a refund if they wished to leave but they decided to stay I brought extra fans over and opened the windows  when it rained and the temperatures had cooled off.   He proceeded to leave me a 3* review complaining that I had not offered him a refund. I did!  And after reading his review I refunded him the first night. All he had to do was ask!  I had not had the chance to do so after he checked out since I was tied up cleaning for the next guest who had decided to also keep the reservation without a/c.  That guy hosted a loud and drunken party, police were called and I had to evict them in the middle of the night.   He left me a 1* review which Airbnb would not remove even though they said I had done the ‘right thing. ‘. 

 

My point is is that the current review system is not working for many good, conscientious hosts and they are penalized for doing the ‘right thing’. Although we are not supposed to utilize the review system as a form of extortion apparently @Airbnb  allows guests to do so and even encourages it.   

 

 

Aurora18
Level 4
Santa Clara, CA

Topic: Long Term booking cancellation

My guest was in the process of moving to Hawaii and booked a long-term reservation with me. She quickly found an apartment and while she let me know she would be leaving our place early, she would honor the 30-day agreement. Shortly after she canceled with Airbnb, a customer service agent called me. He explained they were going to refund the remaining days on the reservation. I was in shock. I called our guest and asked her what had happened. She said she had told them she didn't want a refund and that she wanted to abide by our agreement. In this case, Airbnb did not listen to the guest or to me, the host. She and I are going to meet after she receives the refund. She is going to pay me the balance of the money then. I'm surprised that Airbnb would not enforce their written policies. They are leaving themselves exposed to legal claims, even class-action lawsuits,  by not doing so.

@Aurora18 They can do these things because they have VERY little risk of a law suit or class action filing.

As their terms and conditions  would forces the claimants into private arbitration. I state VERY little risk because with the right funding and persistence claimant(s) MIGHT prevail and would be able file a lawsuit.

Paula66
Level 2
Nelson, New Zealand

My annoyance is that there is no consistency with "superhost" Im always unsure is it the person or the property that get the revived Badge of honor.  I have friends who have 4 very different properties and the reviews for all properties can be very different. (one a beach front large house,  one  a caravan, one studio room in a high rise apartment) Especially when you offer a self check in service and you never get to meet your guests. 

But the thing that annoys me the most is when people review your accommodation and say "exactly like described, pictures accurate, clean, good value" and give 5 stars for each individual thing, BUT  overall 3 stars (because its not the Hilton) This has happens to us a lot, making it difficulty to keep the 4.8 star golden figure. 

Nicola226
Level 2
Kingston, Jamaica

Good move on the Reviews.

Have to say I am not clear on your allowance for cancellations.  Things happen, sometimes beyond

a Hosts or Traveler's control.  Cancellation Policy needs further clarification.

I work very hard to maintain my Super Host status and want to retain it. 

I do love your Super Host contact line, thanks for support, Nicola, Jamaica

 

Cheryl308
Level 1
Hines, OR

I do not like the value rating.  I don't think it should be part of the rating for Super Host.  I do not think a whole house for less than a room at the local motel should never be questioned as to value by any guest.

@Cheryl308  the value rating doesn't come into lay at all for Superhost. Only the Overall rating does.

@Cheryl308  The value rating doesn't come into play at all for Superhost. Only the Overall rating does.

Clark20
Level 2
Ashland, OR

At one point i had to decline a bunch of requests because of an emergency, one of my units triggered a "too many declines per day" automated response that shut down my entire account of 20  listings. This shut down lasted 5 days and so i lost 1000's of potential dollars, i spoke to multiple different CS managers and they all told me that it is out of thier hands, the automatic computer response is non removable. After hours of conversation no response. No action. Airbnb is ruled by computers! Very Scary! 

I had a great experience with the customer service agent - Johnny - I had to cancel a reservations due to circumstances that were NOT on the list of exceptions that will not incur a penalty for cancelling. I called and within 2 calls and 10 minutes, Johnny was able to call me back and ensure that no penalty will be applied and that he will make sure the guest was notified.

Once in a while when I read online review and comments in the news, I get very concerned, I am a host simply because I enjoy meeting people from all parts of the world (Germany, Holland, Spain, Brazil, and our good ole USA travelers) Some of them leave, it feels a family member is leaving. I am happy to share that I really had a good reason, was polite and stated facts, the CS on the other side wanted to help, after all it is a collaboration.

Lea-And-Muriel0
Level 2
Tulum, Mexico

I am grateful to see that you can have one cancellation for every 100 bookings in the past year. We had some guy show up at the door ten minutes before check-in ended and we did not hear him. We lost our Superhost status for six months! Sucked.

 

John2855
Level 1
Alamo, CA

I send a message with my top house rules the day before arrival and had a guest want to host a party. I don’t allow parties. He never showed up but was allowed  to review the cleanliness? This is  nonsensical. 

 

Chris-and-Lynette0
Level 2
North Arm Cove, AU

Location is a strange thing to be given a Star Review on. We have sometimes received 4 stars for our Location, however, that is something we cannot change. We are always very clear, from our Description Summary and our first contact message, where we are located. Port Stephens has a busy, Tourist side and a Quiet, on your way to somewhere else side. We do not want to mislead people when they search on Port Stephens. The pin even clearly shows where we are but we still get rated down. Some people love our location while others are going to want something in the middle of the action, that can only be determined by the person making the booking.

I frequently have the same issue. In my welcome email, which is automatically sent immediately after booking, I state that we are a quiet rural location 4 miles (6km) from the nearest shops, public transport, pubs, restaurants etc. and yet I still OFTEN get marked down on location. It makes no sense.Garden view from our glamping podGarden view from our glamping pod

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Airbnb 

 

 Why are guests misled by being told that 4*s is a Good rating, and then Airbnb turns around and punishes hosts for anything below 4.8?

 

 Why are retaliatory reviews allowed?

 

 Why is a guest who cancels the day of the booking and never stepped foot in the place allowed to leave a review? How can a person review something they've  never seen?

 

 Why is the guest review form written in such a way as to prod a guest into criticizing the listing?