Superhost flag almost always replaced by rare find tag

[Kevin129]

Since the platform changes last summer, my listings rarely show the superhost badge in search results. 

Instead they show "rare find". If guests do a search on AirBnb and see some properties with superhost badge and some without they will assume that the ones without the superhost badge are not superhosts. 

Has anyone found a way to solve this problem? How do you avoid the "rare find" tag? What are its criteria? I can't find anything useful in the AirBnb documentation. 

[Helen3]

Mine both show the rare find and Superhost tag @Kevin129 

it's not the badge people see but the word Superhost 

only when they click on your listing will they see your SH tag 

[Kevin129]

Hi Helen

Thanks for your quick response. Maybe my description was unclear. 

This is one of my listings next to two other listings (not mine) that show superhost.  

Are you saying your listing displays both "rare find" and also "superhost" at the same time?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Kevin129 if searching I would be more likely to go for a 'rare find' listing than a Superhost as I can see the quality rating assigned to a listing as well as the 'rare find' suggesting it is a very popular place.

[Kevin129]

@Mike-And-Jane0  Of course some people might like the tag "rare find". But I can't see any criteria for this tag so it's completely non-transparent. The Superhost tag is supposed to imply quality of service and there are published criteria for this. How effectively it does reflect quality is debatable but that's what the platform offers to guests and I imagine that potential guests would be swayed by that. If I was staying as a guest I would favour superhosts given the choice I think. When I look at search results I often see "rare find" tags on new properties that have no reviews at all. E.g. 

 

[Luke601]

I've got the same "problem" on my listing.  My Superhost tag (which we painstakingly earnt) has disappeared and has been replaced by "Rare find".   

Rare find is good ... but it means a completely different thing than Superhost.   It would be better for hosts if both tags could show?

[Bhumika]

Hey @Kevin129 ,

Thanks for sharing your concerns with us and for some feedback about it in the comments below. I found an older thread, which I thought would be useful: Rare Find Tag.

Did you also happen to connect with ABB Support channels to get more information about this?

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[Kevin129]

Hi @Bhumika  

Many thanks for your reply. 

I looked at the old thread that you linked (thanks for that). What comes across to me from the comments is that the criteria for "rare find" are very opaque. Hosts seem to have formed their own opinion of how it works based on their observations of their

own listings. When read together you can see how contradictory these views are. I have already done my own investigation and have observed these facts: 

1. The same listing (my own) can change from displaying Superhost to Rare Find or vice versa, simply by changing the date range in the search. 

2. The same listing (my own) can change from displaying Superhost to Rare Find simply by changing the geographical boundaries on the map. 

3. The same listing (my own) can change from displaying Superhost to Rare Find simply by performing the same search on a different day. 

4. A listing can show Rare Find when it has been vacant for several weeks and not show Rare Find when it has been booked solidly for weeks and is booked for weeks ahead. 

5. Some listings labelled Rare Find have no track record at all of bookings.

These observations suggest to me that the logic behind this tag is only very loosely connected to the listing or perhaps the software has just been inexpertly designed.

Ideally, I would like to avoid this tag as it hides my superhost status from potential guests.

If you have any access at all to AirBnb and can get some explanation on how this tag works, it that would be awesome. 

Last year when the May release took place I did contact ABB support. All they were able to say was that they didn't know how it worked and that they did not have any communication channel to the developers who implemented it. 

I also gave feedback to the AirBnb web feedback channel a couple of times. This channel does not respond of course. 

Best wishes,

Kevin

[Kevin129]

Hi @Bhumika  

I was wondering if you had seen my message?

Best wishes, 

Kevin

[Bhumika]

Hey @Kevin129 ,

I would need some digging into which team I can get this information from. I will also nudge the technical team if I can get something on this. Thanks for the nudge, Kevin! 

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[Bhumika]

Hey @Kevin129 ,

Just wanted to assure you that I have shared your concern with the technical team. I will get back to you in case I receive any information.

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[Kevin129]

Hi @Bhumika 

Have you found out anything about this query?

Many thanks

Kevin

[Bhumika]

Hi @Kevin129 ,

Yes and sorry for not getting back to you on this earlier. Apologies.

Actually, it is not a bug but the "Rare Find" tag is more of a way to market your listing and make it stand out from other listings in users' searches.

It indicates that your listing is typically booked more than other listings in the area, so it is likely to be popular with guests.

This tag will appear alongside other quality-related tags such as  Superhost. In addition, it will appear in All Homes searches, but not in Category searches.

I hope it helps!

[Elizabeth24]

Hello,

I recently a lost my rare find badge and my bookings went down dramatically to almost nothing after being booked plus for nearly 10 years. Hang onto your rare find badge and don’t try and get rid of it, it is one of the critical factors that helps your listing to trend and get bookings. I too am a Superheat and would pick a rare find badge all day, in fact I’m trying to figure out how to get it back as we speak. Be grateful for it. In my experience as a hose and a guest, I don’t think superhost is a major criteria for guests, they don’t really know /care what it means. It obviously means something good but they are more concerned about your reviews and will go there to find out if you are really super or not. Hope this helps, good luck!

[Kevin129]

Hi All, 

@Jenn8  

@Stephanie  @Catherine-Powell  @Emilie 

I'm still trying to get some clarity on this issue from last May. 

Best wishes, 

Kevin