Guest Favorites: Most-loved homes according to guests

[Airbnb]

Airbnb has more than 7 million homes all over the world. Each home is one-of-a-kind, and this uniqueness is what sets Airbnb apart. But guests have told us that with so much variety, it can be hard to know what they’re going to get. This is why many people prefer hotels, and it’s the #1 obstacle preventing them from booking on Airbnb.

One of the best ways to find a great place to stay is by knowing which homes guests love the most. That’s why we created Guest Favorites—2 million of the most-loved homes on Airbnb, according to guests. Guest Favorites are based on ratings, reviews, and reliability data from over half a billion trips. Guest Favorites are updated every day, so if your listing isn’t included now, it could be soon. 

Guest Favorites, the new Listings tab, and even more upgrades for Hosts are part of the Airbnb 2023 Winter Release. Find out more on the Resource Center.

[Adriano78]

@Jennifer892  hi

No Comment 😁

Guest Favorites   badge 4.77

Superhost badge 4.62

[Jennifer892]

Analysis of our past reviews seems to say that perfect scores for the most recent 5 reviews are not by themselves enough to qualify for Guest Favorites.

Listing Review Analysis:

The analysis  of the first listing shows a poor score 5 reviews ago; it is excluded from Guest Favorite Status. 

The analysis of a second listing shows 5-star scores in all 6 categories for the most recent 11 reviews, and then a poor review 12 reviews and almost two years ago. This listing was also excluded from Guest Favorite Status. 

First listing:

One prominent factor that I can see that may have contributed to the exclusion of the first listing from the "Guest Favorite" category,  is a single guest's triple negative 4-4-4 score. This occurred 5 reviews ago in May, 2023. The overall score is 4.96 for the listing.

BTW, the text for this particular review was positive, and solicited feedback for this poor rating also had only positive things to say. This guest was also a host . Not cool. 

Second listing: 
The second listing, which I also managed, has a similar problem in that a single guest gave a negative score of 4-4-4-3-3. But this was almost two years and 12 reviews ago (Dec, 2021).  Regardless of all perfect 5-star scores since then, and a 4.97 overall listing score, this listing is also not categorized as a "guest favorite". Again, this guest was also a host.

Two years (?):

One of the Airbnb representatives that I spoke with mentioned a time-frame of two years. I didn't understand quite what she meant by that , so I will check to see if the second listing gains Guest Favorite status in December of this year. If so, I'll report back. 

[Jennifer892]

Here are my further discoveries, thoughts, and guesses about the Guest Favorite category upon more reading:

1. Selection criteria generation:

The selection criteria for Guest Favorite was generated based on the ratings, reviews, and reliability data from over half a billion trips. The source material for this generation ended September 30th, 2023. This comment is apparently intended to indicate that selections are made based on a robust and extensive evaluation process, and that the data that informs this evaluation process is current. 

1. Purpose is to solve choice overwhelm:

Apparently, the purpose for this new category is to help guests choose among overwhelmingly large numbers of highly-rated options. Airbnb's release highlights the frequency of positive feedback on their platform, with over 100 five-star reviews submitted every minute globally. This deluge of 5-star reviews is said to indicate a need for differentiation, resulting in a curated collection of Guest Favorites to help guests choose among the numerous highly-rated options.

1. Evaluation frequency:

The evaluation of a listing for Guest favorite status apparently occurs daily (?). 

1. Two million cap:

Guest Favorite is a collection of the top 2 million homes on Airbnb. It appears to be capped at 2 million listings (?).

1. AI Determined?:

My guess is that "guest favorite" status may be determined by AI. If so, there may not be an exact rule set to follow. The reason I think this is that there does not seem to be a clear limit to the recency of reviews taken into account neither in time nor in the number of reviews (last two years or last 5 reviews, for instance). Also, given that there is may be a cap of two million listings, and all listings are evaluated daily points to AI. This evaluation may take into account complex and subtle factors  such as review language, review length, level of enthusiasm, and review frequency, and possibly things like occupancy rates. ?? If this is true, it may be impossible to create a straightforward rule set to follow. To me, AI determined selection seems likely. Either that or whatever they are using is simply getting it wrong. Who knows. I really wish they were more transparent about this category. Let's see. 

[Ryan3422]

I read on Reddit that it only applies to properties that have 5 stars overall and 5 stars in cleanliness over their last 5 reviews.  You would think if this is the case, Airbnb would put it in their "articles" or that support would be able to explain this.  I do not see a filter on the guest search anymore to filter by superhost, just a giant filter button right at the top of the filter page for Guest Favorites and Luxe Properties.  Essentially filters out any Superhost that has gotten a 4 (in overall or cleanliness) over their last five reviews, even if you have a 5 star overall rating.  

@Breanna - Can you explain where in your response or your "article" this is spoken to?  

@Adriano78 @Jennifer892 @Lorina14 

[Ryan3422]

 **[Private conversation removed in line with the Community Center Guidelines]

can someone explain what I'm supposed to do with this information from support?

[Salma17]

I think this Guest Favorite Category is completely redundant, unnecessary and even confusing.  With a well-established Superhost program in place, I don't see the need for an additional badge which as far as I can tell, does not do any better job at identifying top-quality listings (which is what I want highlighted as a host, and as a prospective guest searching for properties)