Superhost Status - A LOAD OF BULL!!

[Marius-And-Rochelle0]

We just received our Superhost status and so I did a search for our place expecting it to be higher up in the rankings. Not only was it LOWER in the rankings for our area, BUT THE VERY LAST LISTING ON THE LIST!! I know Airbnb will tell me that its because we only just got Superhost status, blah blah, but there were many other Superhosts who were also lower in listing rankings than some places who didn;t even have a review yet or very few stars that had a higher listing ranking. WhAT A LOAD OF BULL! After all our hard work to get a higher ranking, we end up with THE LAST LISTING ON THE PAGE!

Also, there is no longer ANY PLACE ON THE SITE to actually contact airbnb. Even the "contact us" link which states you can contact airbnb by... AND i QUOTE... "phone, email or chat" goes absolutely nowhere (except back to pre-programmed questions and replies)!! 

Am I the only one who feels like maybe the entire airnbnb is just a huge big scam and that (Although we may have been paid out for previous bookings) that one day  NO-ONE will get paid for their reservations and airbnb will walk away with billions of dollars for all booked reservations!!

[Marius-And-Rochelle0]

@Matthew285

Hi Matthew,

Wow! I find that amazing! One can't find a way to contact airbnb on their own website but one can find their contact details on a "fan" page. Excerpt from the link you posted to me...

"Important! this is just a fan website and is not directly endorsed by Airbnb, thus we will not be able to support you with your direct enquiry."

Its also disappointing that even in the link you sent me, it states how difficult it is to contact them (as below). Thank goodness I never had a guest issue and had to contact them urgently. Surely as an accommodation booking system where guests can come and go within 24 hours and things can go wrong from time to time, one of the highest priorities should be an easy way to get hold of them and a quick response time? Thanks again for your help.

"How do I call Airbnb? 

Often hosts and guests need to urgently get in contact with Airbnb. However, finding the phone numbers to call directly Airbnb is not easy, as they are well hidden inside of the Help Center."

[Matthew285]

@Marius-And-Rochelle0 yes, you are correct.

Finding a way to contact Airbnb is sometimes like trying to open one of those wooden puzzle boxes. You have to slide the right pieces to the right places in just the right order...

[Marius-And-Rochelle0]

@Matthew285

Thanks again Matthew. 

The major issue is have is not about the badge or even the benefits lost, it is about my trust in airbnb. Airbnb's dealings involve millions of individual people all around the world. The reason we use a platform like airbnb is because of the trust we are able to gauge regarding our potential guests through reviews and the processes that potential guests and hosts are required to go through. At least that is why I use airbnb as opposed to other platforms as I have guests directly in my house with my family. I need to have some form of trust for each guest before I can let them into my home. 

However, when the very people we are relying on to give us this information (ie. airbnb) are cagey or hide their contact details, it diminishes our trust in them! As they are the ones running the plaform, if there is an issue (as one can undoubtedly expect when dealing with millions of people, networks, banking systems, booking systems, and the like in numerous countries) then the first thing that should be easily available are their contact details surely?

[Matthew285]

@Marius-And-Rochelle0 yes, very well said!

You did remind me of one thing though: one of the supposedly tangible things we are supposed to get as Superhosts is a Superhost-specific phone number to call. Was that included in the "Welcome to Superhost" email you received? I have never called it, and I have no idea if it is a good or bad way to contact customer support.

[Marius-And-Rochelle0]

@Matthew285 No, this is all I got below.... No number or contact details for anything let alone a Superhost contact number. Only a link that sends you to an airbnb twitter account (I dont have a Twitter account and dont want one) and which seems to be for anyone and only seems to have 4 tweets for this entire year, all related to technical difficulties of their website.

When clicking on the "and more" link below, all I got was the info on the pic that starts with Superhost Rewards.... with most things... "coming soon." 

[Matthew285]

@Marius-And-Rochelle0 I sent you a private message about this.

The "Welcome To Superhost" message is different, even from just 3 months ago (when I first got it).

[Matthew285]

@Marius-And-Rochelle0 I finally got around to looking at your listing.

Your home is beautiful! Your reviews are terrific! Your price is very competitive! You have a pool!

How the heck are you dead last in the search rankings? Something must be wrong. #281 out of 281? Impossible.

I have seen hosts who have cancelled multiple stays and have no good reviews have listings that ranked higher than last.

I notice that the words "Private Room - 1 Bed" are in red for your listing (instead of grey). Does this mean something?

I think there is something wrong with the Search Ranking algorithm as it relates to your listing. It should be at the top of the list, not the bottom.

You definitely need to get in touch with someone at Airbnb who can help.

[Marius-And-Rochelle0]

@Matthew285 Hi Matthew, 

Thank you for checking out our listing and your kind words. Hence, the frustration! Winter does get quiter with bookings but as we are only in April we expected to have a few bookings during this month. We have not got one and being last in the search rankings (as a Superhost?) I can now understand why.

In terms of the RED text on the room type, I also wondered why this is the case. I checked out other forum comments and no-one seems to be able to come up with an actual definitive answer.

Best regards.

[Matthew285]

@Marius-And-Rochelle0 there is no doubt in my mind that you should be ranking higher.

I know it is not your fault (and a shame that you have to deal with the low ranking),

but as a temporary measure, would your situation allow you to turn on Instant Booking?

(At least until Airbnb tracks down what the serious database problem is that is causing the mis-ranking of your listing.)

Instant Booking is (sadly) one of the biggest factors Airbnb mentions for improving your search ranking. Maybe turning it on will break whatever log-jam is keeping your listing in the basement and allow it to float free (to mix several metaphors).

[Marius-And-Rochelle0]

Hi Matthew,

When I click on "its something else... it does not give me those options. By the way, here is the screenshot I received when getting Superhost status...

[Michael956]

Wow.  A bit over the top with the drama.   As a Superhost, I enjoy the occasional compliment from my guests and the $100 a year in credit towards an Airbnb stay.  You need to lower your expectations and chill with the paranoia.  

[Gordon0]

I'm with @Michael956. And you know what, if you think it's such a "big scam", you know where the door is, right...nobody is holding a gun to your head. 

[Cormac0]

@Marius-And-Rochelle0Euros 21 per night 

@Matthew285Euros 159 per night

The Euro 21 per night point of view V the Euros 159 per night point of view.

I locked horns with a host you basically gave me a lecture on how I should manage my costs (I charge Euros 47 per night) while he was charging circa Euros 500 per night with practically 100% booking.

How is it realistic of Airbnb to expect the same level of standard to be applied to one Host and another when there a 657.14% difference in price riddle me this Matthew!

Superhost status is a culling process nothing more.

[Matthew285]

@Cormac0 that is an excellent observation!

You are absolutely right; if a host's market is relatively expensive, the perspective of the host is very different. What was the topic of discussion with the other host?

I have never liked the "standards" that are supposed to apply worldwide. That makes no sense to me. The world cannot even agree on something as basic as what an electrical plug should look like. How can a company expect to apply one single standard across the entire world of hosting?

Airbnb seems to know what is normal for a given area. When you search in a city, the page often tells you what the average host rating is in that city. Maybe the Superhost standard should be "rank in the top 30% for your city" instead of one fixed rating number for the whole planet. The same logic could be applied to Acceptance Rate. Maybe you can be Superhost as long as your Acceptance Rate is not far our of line for what is normal in your city.

[Sandra126]

Usually, with the Superhost congrats message there is a phone number attached. This time, for the first time, there was no number in the message. But it says ''faster response time'' so I will keep using the number given. Here's how it has always been:

Ring the Airbnb number, put in your registered phone number and press #. Wait about a nanosecond and someone will answer.

I am in Australia but usually there's an American voice at the other end. It sounds like I am ringing a lot, but I'm not! Have rung for maybe 4 issues over the years, but some issues have needed more than one call. Have found it to be consistently speedy.

And this is the real benefit.