Superhost

[Kalin5]

Hey fellow hosts. Despite all the hard work we put in this season and the massive discounts offered I have still been declassed as super host. Two days ago I had 5* and all requirements for superhost were fullfiled. We have not had any new reservations and reviews, but suddenly just days before qualifying my score has gone down again just a notch, but enough to prevent me from becoming superhost again. It's greatly disappointing and  I have lost my trust in Airbnb. There is no information from review scores and I don't know what I have done wrong or what to improve.  The reviews are just fine and are not including recommendations. Still AirBnB have asked me to improve the quality of service? Okay, I'd love to do it, but what exactly? Could you please advice on how are you coping with this?

[Gordon0]

I think the issue is your cleaning score, @Kalin5. One listing has slipped below 4.5 and the other is 4.6. Iffy cleaning standards is probably the single biggest red flag for guests, and if they find something wrong in this area, you can be guaranteed they'll downgrade you in their overall score. 

Good luck pulling it back up.

[Anonymous]

@Kalin5   Rather than focusing on the rating scores and the totally arbitrary Superhost distinction (which is known to make people crazy), I'd suggest going back and re-reading the written feedback - both public and private - and especially focus on the two that took the time to write detailed explanations, as J** from Germany and M***** from Sofia. Both had very nice things to say about your hospitality, but they pointed out some problem spots with the condition of the home and some cleanliness issues. These reviews were a year apart, and you didn't post a public response addressing them, so that suggests these were some ongoing issues throughout the past year that probably also affected the other guests in between, who notably chose not to write about their stays in detail.

I don't know how extensive your cleaning process is, and sometimes our perception of it is more about superficial appearances than real sanitation. But if you want to improve guest satisfaction and aren't sure where to start, I think the answers are right there on the page.

[Inna22]

@Anonymous is that movie for real or is it a joke? I seriously can’t tell!

[Anonymous]

@Inna22  Oh, it's very much for real:  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13309978/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Critical reaction is lukewarm; hopefully the filmmakers weren't too obsessed with getting 5 star reviews 😉

[Inna22]

@Anonymous you are hilarious. They should have consulted you for the movie. At least the dialog would have been funny. They are truly running out of original ideas for movies. 

[Kalin5]

Thanks Andrew.  Last year we noted the guests have requested a deeper cleaning process, so we arranged for a  professional cleaner this year, instead of my mother doing it. This has costed us a fortune and unfortunately didn't deliver a better result. We had mainly short 2-3 stays and people often arrive earlier than our check-in time. The real issue I think is how to deep clean in the space of 3 hours between 11am check-out and 2pm check-in. Are you guys using a cleaning company or allowing more time between reservations?

[Sarah977]

@Kalin5  You should never allow guests to check in earlier than your stated check-in time unless the place is completely ready for them. Doing a cleaning rush job doesn't cut it. 

Either set an earlier check-out time or a later check-in time, or leave a day between bookings, which really is the responsible thing to do re Covid transmission, anyway. Covid is primarily transferred through breathing in virus particles. By having one group of guests check out, the cleaner going in, and a new guest checking in 3 hours later, you are putting the incoming guests and whoever is doing the cleaning at risk. This is much more important than all the sterilizing of surfaces, much of which is largely theatre.

But of course, everything must be thoroughly cleaned. Just to give you an idea, it takes me an hour and a half to clean a small guest bedroom and a bathroom. I only host 1 guest at a time, so only one bed to make up. And that's after guests who've left it basically clean and tidy. If it's messy, it takes longer.

P.S. Giving massive discounts won't lead to better reviews. The cheaper an accommodation is, the worse the guests you are likely to get. This doesn't mean you can't get good guests with a budget-minded listing, but being ridiculously cheap isn't a good idea. I don't know how prices are in Bulgaria, but what you are charging seems awfully cheap for what you offer. $19/ night for a place that sleeps 3? That's just over $6/ person. I bet a hostel room costs more than that.