Losing Superhost status due to renovation work on my rental property

[Felicity40]

What do people think? 

I have been a Superhost for sometime now, and intend to carry out extensive renervation work on my rental property which will take about 6 months. 

I have contacted Airbnb as I was concerned that I'll lose my Superhost status during this time, and they have confirmed I will lose it.

Oh dear!

Has anyone had this happen to them?

It seems rather harsh to penalise a host for improving their property ......

I have asked for my Superhost status to be manually reinstated when it is lost, and I am waiting for the management team's response through the feedback mechanism.   I will post any resolution on this. 

In the meantime, I'd love to hear what you all think about this strange management situation.

Many thanks for your responses,

[Robin4]

@Felicity40

Well, it's not such a strange management decision Felicity, there are always going to be those who want the boundaries blurred for their particular situation.

The Superhost requirements are quite clear...

1/. A host must host a minimum 10 stays in a given 12 month assessment period.

2/. A host must have no reservation cancellations in a 12 month assessment period.

3/. A host must have a 90% response rate.

4/. A host must have an overall rating of 4.8

5/. A host must have had at least 50% of their trips reviewed.

Now which of those requirements are Airbnb expected to make the odd exception for? Each and every one of us could mount an exceptional case that would warrant consideration..... so why have a Superhost category at all?

Felicity you are a wonderful host and I understand all this work is going to make what you offer even better.....but you had to climb to Superhost initially and you will get it back within an assesment period or two! 

You can't keep good hosts like you down, your reviews are spectacular.

Please do not blame Airbnb for this situation, your reviews will remain in tact along with your impecable 5 star rating, and your rewards will return Felicity, just be patient!

All the best.

Cheers.....Rob

[Felicity40]

Thanks Rob for your input.  No doubt I will have to be patient! 

Please don't think I 'blame' Airbnb for this outcome - I'm simply proposing to open it for discussion with them. 

Many thanks again Rob for your time and clear explanation.

[Linda108]

@Felicity40  Looking at the criteria for Super Host what did Air BNB base their opinion that you would not qualify?  Number of bookings or response rate or cancellations? Are you really not going to have 10 bookings in a 12 month period?  Many listings are not active for 6 months at  a time due to weather or other local reasons.  Your listing looks pretty active.  

If you snooze the listing, rather than just block the dates, you will not have to deal with response time during the renovation.   Then you will be able to update the pictures before activating again.  Not sure what your renovations would be as the listing is quite lovely as is!

[Felicity40]

Ah, thank you Linda.  

I think I need to look more closely at the 'Snooze' option.   I had thought that during a 'snooze' the rental would be invisible to guests for future dates as well as the period where it is closed.  Perhaps this is not the case?

A lot of our bookings are done over the winter months by guests booking their summer holidays, so that's why I just blocked out the time - in order to remain 'active' online to catch these bookings.

Thanks so much for your time and response - your help is much appreciated.

[Jeff158]

@Felicity40 I think it will depend upon when you close and re-open, if you schedue the work for your quietest period, you still have the busy months to get the required bookings/reviews. I close for 4 months every winter and maintain superhost.

[Felicity40]

Thank you Jeff,

It is good to know that you're still qualifying with a 4 month gap. 

I'm closing between Oct and March, which is our quietest time, so hopefully things will work out.

Thanks for your time and your advice - much appreciated

[Barry-and-Lera0]

@Felicity40We will be in the same boat as you. We are looking to do an extensive renovation on our guesthouse and property that will take roughly 6 months to complete in late 2019. I think we could still meet the parameters needed to keep our Superhost status with the remaining 6 months.

It would be nice to have a Superhost option to suspend or freeze an account based on renovations or other extenuating circumstances. During this "freeze" a host would obviously not be able to rent their space via Airbnb. Once whatever time period the host has choosen inside of a year (3 months, 6 months, 9 months etc) comes to an end the listing will go back to where it it was when the freeze was put in place. If a host could not meet the parameters of Superhost with the remaining time inside that calendar year the host would lose their Superhost status.

[Felicity40]

Thank you Barry and Lera,

A 'freeze' sounds a good idea, fair from both sides.  May I bring this idea into my conversations with Airbnb? 

I think I'll be penalised as it stands, because I will only have 9 rentals via Airbnb in this last year period if I close now until next April.  (I have other rentals from our local tourist office etc.)

[Barry-and-Lera0]

@Felicity40: Of course. Will they listen? I am unsure, but please do.

[Felicity40]

Many thanks ...

We'll see ....  I've sent a feedback statement, but have not yet heard anything.

I'll let everyone know the outcome. 

Thanks again for your input.