Is Superhost status worth the angst of trying to keep it!

[Robin4]

Many hosts will say that Superhost status is not worth aiming for, because it's an award that they have no control over. It is awarded by guests and every guest has a differing idea of what perfection is!

Hosts who place importance on that badge find themselves in a downhill spiral doing everything possible to try and build up a happy guest base and, in the process disadvantaging themselves, both mentally and financially........you just can't please everyone!

OK, let’s have a look at a few stats shall we:

• Only 19.4% of hosts achieve Superhost status.
• 80% of Airbnb hosts receive a 4.5+ star rating.
• 57% of Airbnb hosts failed to achieve Superhost status because they didn’t meet the 10+ minimum stays.
• 9.8% of Airbnb hosts failed to achieve Superhost status because they didn’t meet the 4.8+ star review average.
• Superhosts receive an average value star rating of 4.9, standard hosts average 4.6 stars.
• Superhosts charge 11% less per night than standard hosts.
• The average occupancy rate for a Superhost is 47%
• The average occupancy rate for a standard host is 27%
• Superhosts earn, on average, 60% more revenue per day than standard hosts.

*All data and statistics provided by Airdna, who specializes in providing insights and performance metrics for Airbnb.

Now point 6 seems to be at odds with  point 9.....how can you charge less but earn more? 

The answer of course is.....occupancy.

Those last 3 bullet points are the important ones for those hosts trying to optimise what they do.

The stats speak for themselves.

Airbnb Superhosts have higher occupancy rates, receive better reviews, and make more money.

We see here so many times,"My guest stays are drying up, how can I get more reservations" !

I am all the time receiving personal messages and emails from hosts wanting to know how to increase their guest traffic. Rather than answer them all personally I hope this post can be of some help!

Here is my list that might be of some assistance.

1/.........Make your listing description fun, not boring. Make it grab a searchers attention.

2/........Complete your listing thoroughly........Fill in every detail possible. Guests are not good at guessing.

3/........Stay away from 'fashion shoot' photography. Guests don't want to be let down when the reality doesn't meet the expectation.

4/........To improve your listing search placement, keep some activity happening on your site. Keep changing details, photos, description.

5/........Make sure your place is super-clean. Many guests think old is dirty, you have to be not just thorough, you have be seen to be thorough!

6/........Adjust your listing to suit the season. Guests don't want to see snow when they are after a summer getaway.

7/........Send guests a warm, welcoming personal message. They don't want to feel like they are a small cog in a big wheel.

8/........Answer guest enquiries/requests immediately. Guests will look elsewhere if they have to wait 10 hours for an answer.

9/.........Provide an awesome guest experience. Give them something nice they were not expecting.

10/.......Remember, last impression will be their lasting impression. Send them a nice departure message wishing them well for the future and hope your paths will cross again some day!

If you can put these suggestions into your listing, guests will reflect them in their reviews of you, your business will increase, your Superhost status will automatically follow you......and you will have money in the bank!

Good luck.

Cheers...........Rob

[Mary5479]

When my booking rate was highest in 2017 through 2020, i was never a super host. 

you’ll always encounter some fuzzy guests who would ruin your rating. 

Then, I became a super host since i turned down any fuzzy guest. I didn’t improve much in terms of what i offer except a TV.

I don’t think i miss much by knowing Airbnb’s help for super hosts. 

i personally think most junior level Airbnb support is worse compared to early years of airbnb, when it’s hard to get any support, but once it pulled through, those early US support were amazing. 

Nowadays, i try to avoid Airbnb support as much as i can. they don’t really solve any problems and rather become a gun against hosts. 

For almost every time an airbnb support initiated contact, i had a cancellation or alteration. 

Phillipine Airbnb center is the best. their capabilities of research and keen on documentation is the best out of all airbnb teams. Once in a while, i would get in contact with a senior level US airbnb support, and, they are the best single support. it’s like a lottery.

in general, super host isn’t much more helpful, especially if you only want to host non fuzzy guests. Fuzzy guests they know they need to book super host bookings. 

So, i actually think super host doesn’t help much at all since rankings don’t really change much. 

[Robin4]

@Mary5479 

Mary, welcome back to hosting, I hope this time around it works well for you.

I agree with you 100% regarding Airbnb support.....it appears to be the support you get when you don't need support.

I made the decision early on in my hosting (when support was substantially better than it is now) to not involve them in my problems.

It struck me very quickly that when a host calls for help, they need it there and then, not when some jerk in Outer Mongolia decides the problem is too much for he/she to handle and closes the ticket! 

But that aside Mary, Superhost status is worth striving for. I have found over the past few years potential guests are taking a lot more notice of hosts reviews than they did in the past. I am all the time trying to learn, and I do. If the opportunity presents itself, I ask guests why they chose my listing, as there are more than 150 just in my area. 90% of them will say it was because of my reviews. You sink or swim in this game by what your past guests have thought of you.

With my hosting I put myself in the shoes of the guest! What would I like to walk into at the end of a days travelling....and that is how I have set my property up, I want it to feel like home!

My occupancy has sat at around 80% for the last 4 years and the Superhost badge has had a lot to do with that. Harping back to what I ask guests, almost all of the experienced users say they search listings using the Superhost filter! They feel there is less chance of being let down.

So Mary I do feel Superhost status works for me and I would be devastated if I lost it! 

Cheers.........Rob

[Laurelle3]

@Robin4 thanks for your insight of superhost title and hanging in on staying with Airbnb and all good suggestions.

Great to see that you are still here.

I agree with your suggestion of adapting your accommodation page with item no 4 with new photos or changing words as from previous readings. The AI thinks you have something new and keeps your accomodation near the top of searches.

It is interesting to see the new changes with the current pricing of looking at and seeing what the prices are in the neighbourhood. There is lots of discounting going on and it will be interesting who will still be offering properties in 6 months. 

[Robin4]

Hi @Laurelle3 , That list of 10 is just a guide, I personally don't follow No 4 or No 6, I just leave my listing description alone. I figure, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!.........Sure wish Airbnb would use that philosophy!!!

For April I got 29 new bookings and we have another 14 so far for May. I have got 3 bookings out beyond June 2024! Don't even know if I will still be alive to proceed with them!

But, although Airbnb deny it, the algorithm that governs search placement does respond to activity, and that is plainly visible.....the most booked properties in an area search are the ones that get the most prominent placement.

It's like a dog chasing its tail, if nobody sees you they won't book you....bleedin obvious hey! 

Those points are all quite valid though Laurelle and although they might seem obvious,  a lot of hosts think all they have to do is post the listing and guests will beat a path to their door. It isn't as simple as that and as you know, you do really have to work at it!.

Hope all is going well for you and Alex over there at Jervis Bay.

Cheers.......Rob

[Carol7249]

Hi Everyone, 

My team & I were working hard to achieve 'Superhost' status, with considerable success, when, at Christmas, I received a 'confirmed' booking for which I had no availability-this was the second time this had happened in as many days. The problem had been caused by Airbnb not using the information I had given to link 2 listings. Whilst I was able to accommodate the first 'booking', I was unable to accept the second & therefore (stupidly I now realise), I cancelled it immediately in order that the person was able to find somewhere else. This resulted in me being fined-as Airbnb never accept anything is their fault-but also, far more importantly, this single cancellation has meant that it could now take me years to achieve Superhost status. Why? The cancellation rate must be less than 1% of bookings-but if, like me, you mainly take 'whole house' bookings, you need 100 bookings before a single cancellation can be called 1% of bookings. Frankly, I just do not understand why, on every other criteria it is qualitative data which is important, but on this aspect it is numerical-it does not seem consistent & has been immensely dispiriting for me, as on all other criteria, I was exceeding target comfortably.

Just recently, however, I have had a nightmare with the behaviour of a guest-which was then compounded by Airbnb "support". In essence what happened was that a lady arrived with her family, she told my Manager that they could not have a man working in the property as her mother was, her words, "hijabi".This was complete news to us, as this had never been mentioned in advance, or any questions posed to us on how we could accommodate such a demand. She therefore demanded that he leave the property immediately & gave her the keys. Upon his refusal, she indicated my Cook/Housekeeper, who was about to leave having finished her work for the day & said to the Manager : "you are to go but SHE can stay". When, again, my Manager refused (quite rightly) to acceed to her request, she stated that she was cancelling the booking & swept out of the house.

Despite my having a 'firm' cancellation policy, Airbnb wrote to confirm cancellation-but then asked me how much of the client's payment I would like to refund to them-to which my response was 'none'.

The client contacted me several times demanding 'her money back', which again I refused. I contacted Airbnb 'support' several times, as I was most concerned not to receive a review from this woman. Each time, I got a different response on policy-even though it was recognised that the woman was only in my house for 30 minutes & I was eventually assured that she would not be able to write a review.

Needless to say, exactly as I feared, the woman was able to write a review and, if anything, it was even worse than I feared. in it she calls me a 'racist' and tells anyone reading the review to on no account stay in my property. As if that wasn't enough, in the 'personal message' section of the review, she tells me that she hopes I get a horrible illness & die!

I might say that this review is in stark contrast to all of my other reviews, which were averaging 4.9-& indeed this calendar year, were all 5* on every aspect...

As you might imagine, I found the above experience immensely upsetting and had assumed that the vitriol which this woman had used would not be considered acceptable by Airbnb, resulting in the review being uplifted.

How wrong I was- I was told that the woman WAS allowed to write a review, as she had elected not to cancel the booking, once she realised she would be 'fined' & even though she did not stay.

Secondly, to my astonishment, I was told by Airbnb that calling me a 'racist' & writing that she hoped I would die of a horrible illness, quote: "does not contravene our guidelines" & so the 'review' would stay in place.

There were also several hints that if I would just give a refund, this decision might be changed....

Needless to say, the above nightmare has now depressed my overall rating-but worse than that, I have had a letter from Airbnb stating that, unless I improve on the points listed in her 'review', I might lose my listing all together.

I cannot understand why the reviews of all my other guests are effectively discounted and I am not believed either, despite a very positive past history with Airbnb.

I am so very disappointed by the total lack of positive support and now considering other options...

Your views and/or experiences on this platform would be most welcome.

[Christine3645]

I"ve had a very similar experience with AirBnb and reading your story not only made me feel better but made me laugh, unlike AirCover,  which is the real joke. Like you, I took AirBnb's disregard for hosts very personally but gradually began to realize the company is a maze of algorithms and bots. And then you have to decide how to screen out the bad guests and still maximize your income. After awhile you learn to cut out the middlebot.

[Helen3]

Why did you have someone working in a listing when you had guests there @Carol7249 

[Mary5479]

@Robin4 thanks for the insight.

Great to know your experience. 

[Debottom1]

This is so true … it’s like lottery. Most of the support guys are extremely uneducated about the service they provide. They’ll blame the system error … you’ll laugh as they’ll make things up. You feel like banging u r own head in the wall while talking to them 

[Jenny]

Fantastic post @Robin4 - thank you for taking the time to share your experience and wisdom with us, as always!

Jenny

[Debottom1]

As you have said it’s impossible to please all the guests and u r always on their mercy. I would say best is do whatever you can and make sure u provide the best service and help guests as and when necessary. Listen to them make small changes and be happy … don’t run after the illusion ☺️

[Helen3]

Hi @Robin4 

I obtained SH within my first three months of hosting and have kept it ever since (eight years later) . 

I just provide the sort of guest experience I would like to receive.  I don't ever worry about achieving or retaining SH status . 

Some details like providing bathrobes and decent towels, a good selection of teas and coffee, a personal tour of my local area and home baked goodies mean more to guests than a sterile /this could be anywhere STR accommodation . 

In my experience it's perfectly possible to please most guests most of the time @Debottom1 

[Robin4]

@Helen3 

Helen, one only has to look at your listing photos to see how meticulous you are, your attention to detail. You leave nothing to chance and I am sure the guest experience you provide would be outstanding. You are a social person as proven by your 4.95 rating, a feat that I haven't been able to achieve, and not many host actually do. The best I can manage is a 4.9.

I guess the issue I have is that, it seems every 11th guest will give me a 4 star for no other reason than.....they can. The review is ok, complimentary with no criticisms, no feedback on possible improvements, some of them just a straight 4, not just the overall but every category, 4 for location, 4 for value, 4 for check-in, 4 for communication, 4 for cleanliness.......

That could have just as easily been a 3! This guy just pulled a rating out of his head and said.....'that will do'!

It's not that I worry about achieving or retaining Superhost status Helen, I feel reviews like that belittles the effort Ade and I put into what we do.

I always respect what ever you have to offer here because you have the runs on the board Helen, you are not like some of my reviews......you are constructive!!!

Cheers........Rob

[Helen3]

Ah thanks @Robin4  i really appreciate such feedback from such a great host as yourself .

Quite honestly I live in an inner city area and have an older Victorian house so nothing like the immaculate looking listings I see that attract lower ratings.

I think one of the thing one of the things that work in my favour is that I'm honest about my listing and location and vet all my guests to make sure they are a good fit .

my rating is actually 4.97 rather than 4.95. Airbnb for some reason shows two different ratings in host profiles 😁