Last quarter - 100% response rate, 12 stays 609 nights, 0.0 % cancellation rate, and a 4.7 overall rating - Have hosted 1000s of nights but not superhost material now?

[Andrew1991]

I've been on AirBNB since 2017.  Since starting, I have ONLY hosted fully furnished spaces with a 30 day minimum for folks relocating, travel nurses, interns and folks relocating from California and New York.   I've been a superhost for the better part of this period and always consecutively.    

My gripe is that I have sold literally THOUSANDS of nights at the $80 - $125 a night price point over the past four years which has made AirBNB quite a lot of money.  We have made superhost the past 5-6 times.   Since we rent spaces for extended stays, oftentimes our clientele will occupy our spaces for months at a time - we have had a couple rentals for 6 months and  one for a year.  It is a heck of a lot easier to clean and maintain a home four to six times a month than it is to do every other month or every six months.

To exclude me from superhost status this time for receiving a 4.7 instead of the necessary 4.8 is a travesty.  Way to go AirBNB, piss off a happy AirBNB host and for what?  Do people think a 4.8 is OK but they wouldn't be happy with a 4.7?  Are you effing kidding me?

So basically I'm being thrown under the bus for being  .1 off yet consistently meet absolutely every other criteria the rest of the time?  Great idea AirBNB this is sure to infuriate anyone else you've done this to.  Anybody else get robbed of their status like this?  Might be time to start looking at diversifying my listings.  

[Sarah977]

@Andrew1991  A travesty? There are several criteria one has to meet to retain Superhost. You are well aware of what they are. That you met all except one is just the way it goes. 

Superhost status is given far more importance by hosts than is warranted. All it is is a carrot dangled by Airbnb to keep hosts stressed out. 

It's really no big deal. Guests don't care. Hosts who have had the status, and lost it say it didn't make an iota of difference to their bookings, and that's what matters, right? Not some ugly badge pasted over your profile photo.

[Andrew1991]

Meh - I vehemently disagree - we do extended stays only.  30 day minimum.  If you are suggesting that my 6 month guests who are relocating to my city don't care about whether a host is a super host or not, you could not be more incorrect here.  I asked the last person who was building a house in Weddington, NC and stayed in my property for 6 months, if my being a super host mattered in his decision.  He said, "The other two hosts we were considering were not super hosts and you were, so we went with you."  I am sure if someone is renting a day or two this matters a lot less.  For exclusively extended stay hosts, we live and die by this.  You must be a onesie twosie STR host which is fine, but that is a waste of my time to use that as my model.  People who stay for a long time need to be assured their 6 month $32,000 rental decision is a favorable one.

[Brian2036]

@Sarah977 @Andrew1991 

It’s the insult factor…

Once again an exemplary host is downgraded due to one or two ignorant or downright stupid guests combined with Airbnb’s obtuse review guidelines.

To take a gander at a platform that goes to the opposite extreme, look at ApartmentFinders.com.

 I see properties there that are rated 5* but have a long list of 1* reviews from unhappy tenants.

 I don’t know how they calculate their ratings, but it’s surely not entirely based on tenant’s opinions.

[Edith158]

I am finding myself in a very similar situation after 3 + years as a superhost.

I have been courting longer-term stays since covid and have been very successful with them, this will be my best year ever money-wise. However, a combination of an 81 day stay and a lone 4 star overall rating in the same evaluation period has yielded a shortfall. My "super-host status has changed."

Airbnb themselves trumpet longer-term stays, however they are (hopefully unwittingly) penalizing those of us who do well with it. Had I continued with the shorter-term , smaller dollar amounts stays I would have continued as a super-host .

I have no doubt that I will continue to have a good year money-wise this year as well as next year even without my super-host status.

I do hope that this inequity is addressed down the road.

Signed, Edie the former super-host. Oh boo hoo.

[Sarah977 · Accepted solution]

@Edith158  It is truly insane for Airbnb to promote long term stays and then strip you of your Superhost status for accepting them.

Equally insane to allow horrible guests to leave 1* revenge reviews that tank a host's rating and also lose them Superhost status.

Instead of hosts striving to make and retain Superhost, and stressing out about it, I have a proposal- all hosts should start asking their guests to please leave only 4* reviews, never a 5*, so everyone loses their Superhost badge within the next quarter and Airbnb can be left wondering WTF happened.

"We don't care about the stinkin' badge, get it, Airbnb?"

[Edith158]

@Sarah977 @Your thinking-outside-the-box solution is brilliant!

[Brian2036]

@Sarah977 

That’s an interesting idea. We could also ask guests to just skip the review entirely and explain why.

 I have found reviews generally helpful when there are enough of them. I look at them when I shop on Amazon and sometimes it helps me make a decision.

 I have noticed that nearly every product has some 1* reviews with such helpful remarks as “This is JUNK!”

”Late delivery! I’ll never buy anything from Amazon again!”

I ignore these. I imagine that most others do also.

 I also keep in mind that people are more likely to take the time to complain than to give a complement.

My point is that Airbnb can leave the reviews as they are, trust customers to use them intelligently, and quit penalizing hosts for low ratings.

[Ben538]

I'm in a similar boat. Just reopened and am following cleaning protocol, including leaving airing out time (expensive!). Weird guests, of late, including a newbie from VRBO who gave me low ratings for my sports rental not having a giant TV. I have never advertised my funky, arty place as a sports rental! The other low ratings came from someone who was moving and brought pests in with them, then blamed them on my place. Neither contacted me during their stay, despite me asking repeatedly to contact me if they needed anything (like always). I'm looking to sell and have always been proud of my place and hope to do 2 smaller rentals, but maybe it should be on another platform. AirBnB won't allow an appeal, rather they keep sending links about Superhost status, like I've never seen them before. Huh

[Judy-And-David1]

Yes just lost super  host status with a 4.7 rating although all the other boxes were ticked. Personally do not care if I am a super host or not, I am happy to be judged on the feedback from those I have hosted, I know how it works, some people will never give you 5 stars and, inevitably, someone is going to be unhappy no matter what you do and rate you low. I know that when I read feedback for other properties or goods and take that into account.

There seems to be little benefit from being a superhost, see other conversations.  What I resent is the arrogance of AyrBNB  who dangle the carrot superhost before us and beat us with the stick of removing status, at the same time we have no recourse for appeal, objection or complaint to an independent body, or even Ayr BNB itself. It is not being a superhost or not that matters it is the sting of having it removed and all the unspoken assumptions that brings. I would prefer to opt out of the superhost programme but we have no say in such things.

Remember that all AyrBNB wants to do is drive up profits for itself, the lack of a real conduit to raise grievances is evidence of this as the lack of consultation with those who rent properties with them. 

I am sure this platform is to allow us to vent, I doubt Ayr BNB actually has any one read or respond to anything in these post, that would cost them money and effort.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Andrew1991 

everything is said here 🙂 https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Host-Circle/Guantanamo/m-p/754779?lightbox-message-images-754779...

[Andrew1991]

Not the point..  

[Helen744]

@Andrew1991 well that time has rolled around again  Here I am with my 4.7 wondering why all my five star reviews since I was demote have not taken me back up the'ladder of superhost' We shall see. one seriously mean minded review seems to have demoted me and full on five star reviews with a four often for'location' well you knew wher it was pretty closely before you booked so did you expect me to pick the house up and move it to Kanas? It is and remains a nightmare of UGHHH H

[Andrew1991]

Yeah all it really takes is one person to tank your score.  We do exclusively 30+ day rentals - there are many people relocating to our area from liberal cesspools.  The tradeoff for us is that in 5 years of doing this on AirBNB, we only have 21 reviews.  I do like to try and maintain super host status but since that is difficult we just do the best we can.  

[Gilles68]

so I have 95% response rate, 5 stars reviews and 0 cancellation but because I have not done enough nights I’m stripped off my super host status that I have since 2016. So abnb is not about a host that receive a guest it’s a rental plateform that just compete with Hotels. Really disappointed by the way it goes. Unfortunately you have lost the essence. Guests are going to abnb because it’s different than typical hotels. Absolutely 0 stars for abnb.