It's SUPERHOST season!

[Paul1255]

What does that little Airbnb Superhost badge mean to you??

For me, when I first started hosting it felt like something I really had to work towards! I wasn't a Superhost, other hosts were...I wanted to be like them, Airbnb wanted me to be like them. Come on Paul, book a few more guests in- don't worry too much about if they'll be a good fit, don't worry too much about what they'll do because you want those 5* reviews to get you to Superhost!

I got Superhost yay! Now what? SuperSuperhost status? Something extra-special? No. The challenge now is even greater: to maintain your status. You've got it, now don't worry about guests being a good fit or what they'll do during their stay as you need to maintain your stats to keep your Superhost status that you worked so hard to get. Don't do anything to lose it, think about the shame and failure if you do!

As a co-host, I have spent the last 4 years working with over 25 different hosts and their listings all at different stages of their hosting lifespans- some brand-new to hosting, who really want to be a Superhost ASAP and want to know how to get there, some 100s of stays into their hosting who have gained and lost, and gained it again, some who don't even know what it is- but are overjoyed when they get the email from Airbnb telling them they're a Superhost.

What I do see and know is that having the badge or not makes no difference to the booking rate or pricing of the listings I manage, and in a saturated market like London I find that interesting.

When I started co-hosting I thought that one of the first things a potential client would ask me would be if I was a Superhost or not, and actually no-one has ever asked me! All they want to know is if I'll be a good host or not- and I suppose the same applies to guests....

[Emilia42]

@Paul1255 I would actually like to see Superhost become more exclusive. There are plenty of hosts who lack basic experience but who quickly gain the Superhost title with only 10 reviews, sometimes within only a few weeks' time from the start of a listing. 

I like to maintain my Superhost status because I find the $100 yearly coupon very valuable. You can gain a lot of experience by staying with other Airbnb hosts.

[Paul1255]

@Emilia42  How could it become more exclusive do you think? For sure you can quickly gain the badge without much experience that's very true.

[Emilia42]

@Paul1255 Exclusive in that it is harder to achieve so not every new host with only 10 stays under their belt can quickly become a Superhost. As it stands now, there is not really any skill or knowledge of the Airbnb platform needed. I suppose I am saying, that from a guest's perspective, I wish it meant more.

[Colleen253]

@Paul1255 Ah Superhost season, indeed, with all the gushing posts from enthusiastic starry eyed new hosts who haven’t been jolted by reality yet.

I do my utmost to provide a great experience for guests and that’s all that really matters to me. I see ‘Superhost’ as a game or challenge, and it’s more about avoiding crappy guests and handling tricky situations with finesse, rather than good hosting. I enjoy the challenge of detecting and avoiding those guests who have a high likelihood of causing me grief, either in payout, house damage, slapping a 1 star in retaliation for something, or exposing me to the threat/danger of Customer Circus involvement. I do admit it’s satisfying maintaining good reviews and high ratings. But I do not lose sleep over ‘Superhost’ in any way shape or form. 

[Paul1255]

@Colleen253  Indeed! I like your angle on it, not losing any sleep either 🙂

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Paul1255That little badge obviously means nothing because we hear about superhosts being suspended on a daily basis without any explanation.

[Paul1255]

Indeed I hear you @Branka-and-Silvia0 happening more and more, it's really disheartening.

[Huma0]

@Paul1255 

It's funny, because this is the first quarter since I got Superhost status a few years ago that I forgot about it completely. I literally forgot it existed until I got the confirmation email from Airbnb.

That's not to say I don't give a **bleep** about it, quite the contrary. I was freaking out in late December because of an unexpected 3* review. Because I host long term, because of hosting far fewer guests in 2021 due to the pandemic and a couple of direct bookings, and because only three of the six Airbnb guests who stayed remembered to leave reviews, my 5.0 rating was suddenly tanked to 4.2 with a warning message from Airbnb. Even if all remaining guests for the year left 5* (which they did), I was stuffed. It reall upset me, but I have to question why.

I think you maybe right, that it might not affect bookings at all. Does it affect ranking in search results, which is really important in crowded markets like ours? Possibly, but not as much as IB or other factors. Let's face it, there are lots of hosts with much lower ratings that end up at the top of the search results. I do think that guests are much more aware of Superhost status than they were when I first got it in 2016, but probably only a small minority regard it as one of the most important factors when booking. I do, but that's just because I'm a host myself.

So, when it comes down to it, I think it is just my own personal pride that makes it so important to me. It's like a runner, who always wants to beat their personal best, not run the next race slower. Still, I have to say, completely forgetting about it this quarter was kind of blissful. I was so focused on work and on hosting that it didn't even cross my mind and that's great, as it's one less (possibly trivial) thing to stress and worry about.

[Paul1255]

@Huma0  doesn't even seem to affect ranking in search results! For sure hosts with much lower ratings seem to appear at the top of search, which I assume is probably more to do with price being an important factor.

[John5097]

@Paul1255 I only thought of it when I started and that it was an encouraging achievement I was off to a good start. I have completely forgotten about it after that. I did use one of the $100 coupons. 

If I lost SH status that would mean there was some other conflict on interest. For example, so far all my guest have been pleasant and civil, but if a future guest did call me the night before and was angry or threatening I would cancel them regardless of penalty. 

I doubt a single guest would ask why I'm not a superhost. I also have never received less than a 5 star review, but once again that's because I haven't had any problem guest. So that could change, and there could be more problem guest, which means I would change my booking requirements, to maybe only allow guest with positive reviews and not meet the SH requirements. So in that scenario I would much prefer quality guest, less stress, at the expense of a badge I had forgotten about. I don't even notice is here at the CC on someone's profile pic.

[Huma0]

@John5097 

Besides the fact that you are a great host with a great listing, you must be doing something else to never have received any less than 5* reviews. I mean, even the best hosts get the odd nightmare guest who doesn't understand the listing no matter how many times things are explained to them, or comes with unrealistic expectations or simply never scores anything 5*.

I would love to know how you vet your guests and avoid these types.

[John5097]

@Huma0 

The reviews are totally up to the guest so can only go by what they say in the reviews. For example the most mentioned complement is that its really clean.

Otherwise I was also thinking about this recently and I think there has been at least 20 minor adjustments I've made, or more, that changed a 4 star to a 5 star. 

For the next guest I'll go ahead change out the sheets, pillow and mattress protectors. I'll retire two sets and introduce three new sets. 

I also try to keep the listing and communication as accurate as possible. I let them know before booking what the policy is and after that happy vacationing! 

[John5097]

So in short, I do what I can to improve my own listing. My guest rate me on my listing, communication and how I respoind, not someone else's listing, behavior or any other problem in the world. In that way its pretty simple. They just want a nice place to stay without any drama. 🙂 

[John5097]

@Huma0  I really don’t vet my guest. Ive used instant book. The only guest I’ve declined was the one time I used request to book. .I do manage my own listing from beginning to end. I’ve only contacted customer service four times for minor issues in agreement with policy. Each time a guest had missing info such as no phone number. I only provide essential info they need for their stay. So just do what I’m supposed to do. Thanks for asking but tHis off topic and taking my comment out of context. I do keep my own listing and communication very concise and structured. I also avoid any situation where there could be potential for problems. I do what I’m supposed to really well and rest takes care of itself. That was my original point I don’t have any special control over guest or anyone. The only reason I mentioned my star ratings is that I’m doing my part and if I start getting bad guest it’s out of my control so losing superbhost status would mean there is something else wrong and my listing would no longer be compatible with the platform. I’ve tried to make some suggestions and share what’s working for me. I do find ways to make adjustments to solve issues, usually with communication. I remember your listing is also very concise but also have situations that are unique to your listing and that’s your choice. And at end of the day it’s up to the guest who stayed at each listing, and up to each host to manage their own listings.