WARNING TO HOSTS - You get penalized for long term rentals & lose superhost status

WARNING TO HOSTS - You get penalized for long term rentals & lose superhost status

I am getting penalized for having long-term rentals & lost my superhost status. It makes no sense at all. How can someone who has been a superhost for over 2 years, had 170 nights rented out last financial year & EVERY SINGLE DAY so far this year rented out, all with 5 star reviews, not have enough bookings to warrant being a superhost. I have literally done everything AIRBNB encourages me to do. I have a real sour taste in my mouth & feel let down by what I thought was a brand which made sense and valued it hosts. I have certainly been warned off accepting, and will not accept any long term rentals in the future.

 

If youre going to accept long term rentals, you need 10 trips total & they wont budge from this, even if you have your apartment rented out every day!

7 Comments
Ann10
Level 10

 

@Josh177-Some people at this company haven't graduated from high school and they believe that ABB keeps the money they get upfront in some super secret institution were they don't make or give out interest. Of course they have no common sense. It's like a cult.

Kevin-s0
Level 10

That sucks!  To me that would indicate that you are a good host, a desirable host.  Some rules at Airbnb are like jumping through ever increasingly difficult hoops.  I feel for you! 

 

It`s great that you posted your complaint here!  In my two year experience at Airbnb, this is how things start to change.  You voice it here at the forum, and then perhaps, someone higher up sees it and decides it needs changing.

 

That does not help you much now, but may help you in the future.

Dede0
Level 10

Yet more evidence that AirBnB's coding (programming) team is pretty low-caliber. Rigid requirements such as the *number* of bookings per time period, versus the number (and/or valuation) of booked nights, just shows how little actual thought they've put into this whole thing. When will AirBnB "grow up" and actually become a professional business rather than just a cash-now cash-cow? I really, really wish they'd pay attention to suggestions from both their hosts and their guests.

On top of that, if I'm a host with a mere 10 bookings I can become a superhost. Yet if I'm a host with over 200 bookings a year from 2 listings—and over 1,000 total bookings—and I cancel A SINGLE reservation, I lose superhost status for ONE YEAR. Is everyone (Airbnb, travelers, us) better off in the big picture if I have 10 bookings and maintain my superhost status by not cancelling one of those ten reservations, or if I have over 200 bookings a year and maybe cancel once? There ought to be some leeway for cancelling based on the number of total bookings, including the total number of bookings over the life of the listing/host's participation, and any previous cancellations. For example, if I haven't cancelled a single reservation in years and CONSISTENTLY have 200+ bookings a year, isn't that a penalty that's out of sync with the big picture?

Tim-And-Melisa0
Level 2

Josh - bumping.  Agree.

 

Fiona - well said, and agree superhost tally/accounting really needs work.  This ties to rating fidelity, too. Important stuff we'd also like to see change asap.

 

Dede - agree with some of those tally/accounting thoughts - but with comments on programming team, I heavily disagree. I've experienced zero 'code issues', which are seperate from the business logic and the business driving the code.  killer product here, executed well vs. some other services, and the business/logic side seems to evolve quickly based host feedback.

Larisa4
Level 9

I have the same problem with my DC apartments, where there is a high demand for 3-4 month rentals. What I end up having to do to keep superhost is juggle the reservations between the three apartments to ensure there are gaps that I can fill with short-term rentals to make up the 10.

 

Airbnb is still collecting fees on the long-term stay nights -- I don't see why superhost is not based on the number of nights booked vs. the number of discrete bookings.

Arlene49
Level 2

I too was penalized for accepting long term stays.  I lost my superhost statues also.  With the launching of th new platform superhost status has become more imprtant.  You are penaized for not having it.  One of the categories that they should include in their categories is long term rental.