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....

[Debra300]

@Paul1255,

Attaining Superhost status really didn't/doesn't mean much to me except that I do use the $100 coupon.  I don't believe that it really impacts whether a guest will book your place (e.g., guests are obviously booking with the host in the months before SH status is attained).  Personally, when I am looking for an Airbnb, SH status isn't part of my filtering criteria.  I read the listing details and reviews on all of the host's listings, and the host's profile.

The dedicated Superhost customer service is still staffed with people who don't know the policies and give incorrect information.  The CS reps are still constantly "off for the next couple of days" when responding to an open issue.

Being a Superhost doesn't prevent you from being victimized by a vengeful newbie guest's fraudulent claims or an Airbnb rep giving a refund/over riding your cancellation policy without consulting the host, looking at the listing description or house rules, or applying common sense (of course there will be bugs in cabin in the woods).

[Huma0]

@Debra300 

Yes, you are absolutely right. There are not that many benefits to being a Superhost other than the badge. You maybe get a slight bump up in the search results, but I'm really not sure if that's the case. Guests can filter the search for Superhost only. I wonder what percentage do this. I am sure it's not a lot. You get the coupon, but even with that, I've had issues in the past accessing/using it. I have used it a couple of times though and that was nice, but considering I've been a Superhost for several years, it's not been that often.

I do not love the Superhost hotline. Before I got the status, I was almost always directed to the team in Ireland, who were brilliant (not sure if they exist anymore or all got made redundant due to COVID and Airbnb's outsourcing) and there were also no wait times. So, I didn't get through any quicker with the hotline, but I was much less likely to get a competent and knowledgable rep on the line. So, that has been no benefit whatsoever.

While CS often offer lots of gushing platitudes thanking you for being such an amazing Superhost, the status is not considered in any of the policies nor resolution decisions. Not officially anyway. If a guest with no reviews leaves a retaliatory revenge review (even when the host has evidence it's a lie) that doesn't mean your hundreds of 5* reviews count for anything. That guest still wields more power than you.

I wouldn't mind if the criteria got stricter and it became harder to be a Superhost. However, I do think the rewards need to be greater and I am not talking about the branded tea towel they were supposed to send me recently which never arrived 🙂 I mean that a host's track record should be taken into account when there is some sort of issue between guest and host. Why are so many long standing Superhosts being summarily suspended for days or even weeks at a time with no warning, no explanation and no assistance from CS because one scamming guest reports a supposedly hidden camera, bed bug or gas leak or whatever and all the other reviews are glowing?

[Emilia42]

If a guest with no reviews leaves a retaliatory revenge review (even when the host has evidence it's a lie) that doesn't mean your hundreds of 5* reviews count for anything. That guest still wields more power than you.

I suddenly felt so sad after reading that 😞

[Huma0]

@Emilia42

Yes, I know it is sad. I don't want to be all gloom and doom, but here's just another recent example:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Farewell-Airbnb/m-p/1599936#M367044

[Emilia42]

@Huma0 I am not one for suppressing an individual person's experience; reviews are simply opinions and they can obviously differ. But as you said, in the Airbnb world, hundreds and hundreds of stellar reviews and years and years of flawless experiences hold up to essentially nothing against a false accusation of a security camera or a single measly bug. Sad.

[Paul1255]

@Huma0  And maybe that's what being a Superhost should stand for: having our track records speak for themselves and Airbnb having our backs...both are lacking at the moment.

[Paul1255]

@Debra300  That's good you use the coupon! I think I've used it a couple of times when I've taken a trip and taken a place that was a bit more expensive that I might have otherwise chosen, which is a treat.

Indeed being a Superhost doesn't prevent us from being victimised, and you're right about the Superhost hotline...I suppose it's the usual agents who just have a different script to read from when we call.

Why are they always just about to go on a day off when we speak to them?! I wish I was just about to go on a day off when guests call me because they don't know how to operate a light switch 🙂

[Huma0]

---

@Paul1255 wrote:

Why are they always just about to go on a day off when we speak to them?! I wish I was just about to go on a day off when guests call me because they don't know how to operate a light switch 🙂

---

Lol. Wouldn't that be great. This morning, I decided to have a lie in after a few very busy weeks and in anticipation of a super busy week coming up. Nope. Got a call saying there was something wrong with the front door lock, so I had to come down in my PJs to sort it out. Imagine if I had just responded, sorry, I'm out of office for the rest of the weekend. Feel free to reach out in the meantime and the bot may or may not get back to you.

[Christina1400]

Honestly I wish that the awards were cumulative for superhosts.  I've got 4 small kids and therefore have never gotten to use my superhost bonus code.  I'd love to be able to save them up to go somewhere fun for an anniversary or something!

Funny enough....I've never rented an airbnb just hosted.  That's what small kid life does I guess!

[Paul1255]

@Christina1400  wouldn't that be great if the coupons didn't have an expiration date on them, a really nice idea. Like you, lots of hosts are busy with family life, busy with hosting to be able to take a break.

[Huma0]

@Christina1400 @Paul1255 

I was able to use my last two coupons on a stay (booked each night separately) only because one of them was carried over to the following year. CS agreed to do this because there was some technical error that had made it impossible to use the first one. Still, I had to fight tooth and nail to get them to do it.

Otherwise, I am not sure I would have used the coupons. I didn't use the previous one due to COVID (the date was just out of the extension period, even though COVID prevented travel for most of the year that the coupon was valid and CS wouldn't budge on that one). I was not travelling abroad due to COVID and accommodation is expensive in the UK, so one coupon alone would not have gone far. If I didn't have two of them, I am not sure I would have booked an Airbnb for that trip.

[Helen744]

@Paul1255 It means a lot to me. I have just received it back . three months in the wilderness because of one guest just before Christmas who left me a three when I was seriously going all out . As April came rushing up I kept  a close eye on every little thing . i do IB all the time so do not reject many people but i did not have many bookings six months ago and found at the beginning of this last three month period that loss of superhost meant loss of bookings . Some say it does not matter but it certainly does here. I take most guests and do not try to harvest only those who i think will give me a good rating but maybe try and turn a bad guest or a new guest into a good guest. Stars do not matter but then again they do ?I believe especially after covid that every one deserves a holiday and I do my best to make a safe clean comfy entertaining space for people to have a little down time with those they love. nothing else but the badge means I can do what I do . Without it I think sometimes I might as well give up this work. the star system as far as I am concerned should be attached to a ten star system  and the fact that guests can give every point five stars and then rank a host and house as a four stars, defys understanding. I dont like it but I live with it  H