Superhost Evaluation Timeline - 2019 Q3

[Lizzie]

Hello everyone,

As we settle into October, I’m pleased to say we have reached the next Superhost assessment. We will evaluate your past year’s performance up until October 1st to determine your Superhost status, which will appear on your profile for the next 3 months. 

How will this work:

• Every hosts’ performance will be reviewed between October 1st - 14th. It can take up to 14 days to account for reviews written towards the end of the month as we calculate Superhost status.

• You will receive an email confirming your new Superhost status between Oct 7th - 14th! (So remember to keep an eye out)

• As a reminder, we calculate Superhost status based on a set of criteria, looking back at your past year of hosting activity. There’s no minimum tenure required for becoming a Superhost. 

*Please note, during this time, you may see your dashboard update to the next Superhost 365-day window, which will be assessed in January 2020. If you see this, please don’t worry. Though we track your activity dynamically, we will only be looking at your performance from Oct 1, 2018 through October 1, 2019 for the assessment that’s happening now.

A huge thank you for all your hard work throughout the year and let us know if you have any questions.

Lizzie

[Lucy98]

Hello Cathryn

I have almost identical situation as yours and I was wondering how much support will I get from Airbnb if I cancel one upcoming booking in my house due to a severe flu. From what I see is that I will not get any break or support from them . They are so much Pro- quests and very little Pro- hosts . Maintaining a Super Host status is sooo much work and I bend backwards to please every guest. But one little fault from the host , one imperfection and you are Being punished for several months . So now, I am sick and if I cancel I will be penalized monetarily or I have to accept the guest and just spread the flu to them with a smile ... hahaha 

that’s what we get for doing business with Airbnb .

please let me know if you have any better developments in your situation 

[Cathryn24]

@Lucy98 @Lizzie 

Hi Lucy, thank for you post and support in my situation, and your situation is same as mine was. Hostt aren't allowed to get sick, you will be get punished by Air BNN big time

They have no heart only a brain with little thought and a one yrack mind for the next dollar coming their way.

I would suggest contacting ypur guest and inform them of your health situation and leave it up to them to cancel. Also phone Air BNB and inform them of this as they will sed the mesdage on your mesdage threads to the guests. Also ask Air BNB their thoughts and also ask th will you lose yoir super host status.  Air BNB will probably ask you for evidence you are sick, have you been to the doctor? Do you have a drug store receipt for medication? Otherwise I would leave it up to your  guest to cancel out first, if they don't well dont worry go and purchase face mask to wear  and they may leave immediatly when they see you wearing them on arrival. 

[Cathryn24]

@Lucy98Sorry Lucy for the typos, however I was in a car replying to you.

Contact Air BNB and  tell them of you health situation, and also your guests. Air BNB will read on your message threads to you potential guest that you had in fact contacted them and advised them of your illness. Hopefully for your sake and theirs they will cancel . This way you should not be penalized by Air BNB.

[Lucy98]

Hello Catgryn

i did all of the above that you mentioned .

messaged the guest - 24 hrs later no acknowledgment of receiving my message. Called Airbnb to explain only to receive the same excuses for their policy for cancellation . My only option now is to wait for the gust to arrive with the mask on my face ( which I thought about) or cancel and get penalized. I am strongly considering doing business with Airbnb . So far I haven’t seen any great financial benefits for myself . From the rate I put I get less and the guests are doing whatever they want . One of my last guests arrived at 1 AM , even though I say I don’t accept late check -ins . All I got is a sleepless night and “I’m sorry “ from her . And all the cleaning and washing and sanitizing after every guest . They arrive from airports and bring to my house all the germs from traveling and some of them don’t even wash themselves upon arriving . 
And I constantly get this messages from Airbnb forcing me to lower my rate to the similar listings in my area . Then I’m gonna get the crumbs from guests . 
there must be something to give us the excuse for being sick ( unexpectedly!!!!) 

we don’t plan that and we don’t want to cancel reservation but there’s no mercy for hosts if that happens 

you can call in sick to your work several times per year here without doctors notice . Why being penalized from Airbnb ?

need to research on that 

[Cathryn24]

@Lizzie  @Lucy98 @Sarah977 @Rich-and-Yan0  @Jsmart0  @Dan-Gui0 @Todd109 

Hi Lucy, I have forwarded your reply onto Lizzie for her interest, see if she replies or has any input to ours and many other host's feeling devalued dealing with Air BNB

It's true what you say, you can call in sick to your regular employments throughout the year, but not Air BNB.

My question that Lizzie hasn't answered is:-

 How do you gain Super Host Status?

How do you de gain Super Host Status?

My thoughts on this is:-  It's obvious that Air BNB Team cannot control or manage the Super Host Programme fairly for all hosts, so this is discrimination. It's just a joke and very stressful trying to communicate with the call centre.

I say :-JUST SCRAP THE SUPER HOST STATUS. AND FAIRNESS FOR ALL HOSTS

What do other hosts think? please post your feedback. Hopefully Air BNB gets the message, us Hosts are not happy. ( please read a reply to my post from Lucy )below

Hello Cathryn

i did all of the above that you mentioned .

messaged the guest - 24 hrs later no acknowledgment of receiving my message. Called Airbnb to explain only to receive the same excuses for their policy for cancellation . My only option now is to wait for the gust to arrive with the mask on my face ( which I thought about) or cancel and get penalized. I am strongly considering doing business with Airbnb . So far I haven’t seen any great financial benefits for myself . From the rate I put I get less and the guests are doing whatever they want . One of my last guests arrived at 1 AM , even though I say I don’t accept late check -ins . All I got is a sleepless night and “I’m sorry “ from her . And all the cleaning and washing and sanitizing after every guest . They arrive from airports and bring to my house all the germs from traveling and some of them don’t even wash themselves upon arriving . 
And I constantly get this messages from Airbnb forcing me to lower my rate to the similar listings in my area . Then I’m gonna get the crumbs from guests . 
there must be something to give us the excuse for being sick ( unexpectedly!!!!) 

we don’t plan that and we don’t want to cancel reservation but there’s no mercy for hosts if that happens 

you can call in sick to your work several times per year here without doctors notice . Why being penalized from Airbnb ?

need to research on that 

[Cathryn24]

What do other hosts think? please post your feedback. Hopefully Air BNB gets the message, us Hosts are not happy. ( please read a reply to my post from Lucy )below

Hello Cathryn

i did all of the above that you mentioned .

messaged the guest - 24 hrs later no acknowledgment of receiving my message. Called Airbnb to explain only to receive the same excuses for their policy for cancellation . My only option now is to wait for the gust to arrive with the mask on my face ( which I thought about) or cancel and get penalized. I am strongly considering doing business with Airbnb . So far I haven’t seen any great financial benefits for myself . From the rate I put I get less and the guests are doing whatever they want . One of my last guests arrived at 1 AM , even though I say I don’t accept late check -ins . All I got is a sleepless night and “I’m sorry “ from her . And all the cleaning and washing and sanitizing after every guest . They arrive from airports and bring to my house all the germs from traveling and some of them don’t even wash themselves upon arriving . 
And I constantly get this messages from Airbnb forcing me to lower my rate to the similar listings in my area . Then I’m gonna get the crumbs from guests . 
there must be something to give us the excuse for being sick ( unexpectedly!!!!) 

we don’t plan that and we don’t want to cancel reservation but there’s no mercy for hosts if that happens 

you can call in sick to your work several times per year here without doctors notice . Why being penalized from Airbnb ?

need to research on that 

[Sarah977]

@Cathryn24  With all due respect, I think you're getting far too worked up about this Superhost status.  To me, it really doesn't matter that much. Excellent hosts lose the status for all sorts of reasons. And those who've had it and lost it say it didn't affect their bookings at all.

I block my calendar for a month and a half in the summer for my own holiday, block it if I have friends or family coming. I've never called Airbnb about it. I still manage to get 10 bookings or more in a calendar year. 

I'm sorry you had such a rough year, and it does seem like they should have some way of putting your listing on "hold" if you have medical issues that you can verify, so it doesn't cause you to lose Superhost status, but you have to realize that Airbnb is a money-making machine- If you aren't generating money for them, you're not of any value to them. That's just reality.

And BTW, Lizzie is just one of the forum moderators here- she doesn't make any of the Airbnb policies, she doesn't even work for Airbnb- she works for another company that contracts out to Airbnb. Her job is to moderate the forum- I don't know why you keep demanding that she answer your questions about losing Superhost, or what you expect her to do about it.

[Cathryn24]

@Sarah977 @Lizzie @Lucy98 

With all due respect,getting worked up is an understatement, It would be really nice to receive a reply from  Air BNB head office, being ignored only goes a long way before you have to have your say about how you feel, whether it's on this platform or otherwise.

I was unaware that Lizzie doesn't work directly for Air BNB,. how were we to know?, or informed? . Can we be confident that Lizzie is really passing our concerns onto Air BNB?. If she cannot provide input only moderate, then  I feel this forum is a wast of energy. I have written directly  to Air BNB's rep here in Australia and also voiced my concerns directly to Air BNB call centre, however I don't even get the courtesy of a reply from them, only saying they will follow, up end of story.

You are very lucky to get that many bookings per year. Here in Byron Bay Australia, we are one of the most visited place, and have the highest rates of Air BNB listings, so I'm competing big time with a very low nightly rate. So if I block out my calendar regularly, my listing wouldn't be missed, there are plenty of other listings for tourists to book.

As per putting my listing on Hold, well this wasn't suggested to me by Air BNB call centre, and how was I to know about this. I also  want to generate money, however Air BNB isn't making it easy for hosts to do so with all their demands and rules.         I say far for all, we work darn hard.

[Sarah977]

@Cathryn24  I wasn't saying that you could put your listing on hold, I was saying that it would be nice if Airbnb could come up with something like that for Superhosts if they can't host for awhile because of personal circumstances, so they don't lose their status.

Most hosts don't find this forum a waste of energy, because it's good  to be able to vent here to others who have experienced similar things, and can offer empathy and maybe some helpful advice. And there's a lot of humor here as well, which I enjoy.

As for the lack of response from CS, pretty much everyone experiences the same- the company has terrible customer service, and it's been getting progressively worse. You have to just view them as a listing service and not expect much more. Trying to get them to reinstate your Superhost, when you didn't meet the criteria, is an exercise in futility, I can pretty much assure you- I'm sure you have better and more pleasurable things to spend your time on.  

There's actually a lot of competition where I live and sometimes I just squeak by with the 10 bookings, occasionally it's been up to 15. I started doing Airbnb because my guest room just sat empty most of the year unless friends or family were visiting. I certainly don't want a full-time roommate and I don't rely on Airbnb to pay the bills, so I don't get too wrought up about the whole thing. If it gets to be some big hasle, I'll find another way to get guests or just let the room go back to sitting empty most of the year.

And yes, most hosts work really hard- it's definitely not "easy money".

[Lizzie]

Hello @Cathryn24, 

Thank you again for getting back to me.  I do feel you frustration here and I do want to help as much as I can. 

Hopefully some of my points below will help to clarify a few things you asked about:

To achieve Superhost status, there are several requirements, the main ones being: 4.8+ rating, 10+ stays, 90% response rate and 0 cancellation for less than 100 reservations per year. 

This Airbnb Superhost page provides an overview as well and also a direct button to your account to check your progress for this quarter. I'm quite a visual person, so I find it easier to look at this page than read about it! 🙂

I know you mention you feel you need to contact Airbnb every time you need to block your calendar. This isn't the case, unless your listing is already booked and you need to cancel it. As @Sarah977 said, you can block out the days you can't host and/or 'Snooze' you listing for a period of time too (but this would also hide your listing from search). As long as you meet the requirements for Superhost outside of this within the set period you will retain your badge. 

If something comes up and you are seriously ill or there is major damage to your home (covered as an extenuating circumstance) which would lead you to cancel at the last minute, this will not be counted as a cancellation and therefore won't impact your Superhost status. You can read more about this on the page above and also here. In these situations I would always try to call a member of our Support Team, to speed up the process. I think when I'm ill, it's one of those times where you just want you own space and your duvet! 

I know you feel pretty fed up with the Superhost program at the moment and when I said in my last reply I want to pass you feedback on, that's exactly what I mean. I work very closely with the Host Team (which includes the Superhost program) raising the feedback and important concerns from members here in the CC. Making sure our community's voice is heard. As you can see there is a lot of feedback shared here and by asking for more details on exactly what you think would help to make improvements, just helps me to make sure I'm interpreting your points correctly. So any help on doing that is always much appreciated. 

I hope this helps and I look forward to speaking more on this. 

Lizzie

[Cathryn24]

@Lizzie @Sarah98 @Lucy98 .

 As the saying goes, you can't flog a dead horse.

I feel host are  devalued and will eventually stop hosting,  as too many restriction are put in place.

I feel The super Host programme is the beginning of the ruins for Air BNB.

Why can't we go back to the good old days ( I'm talking 4 years back for me) when you could phone up Air BNB and speak with a open minded Customer Service personnel, and receive a positive result on the spot. Back then their wasn't such a thing as a Super Host Status Programme, no restriction/conditions etc , everyone was happy.

[Cathryn24]

@Lizzie @Sarah977 @lucy98

Hi Lizzie.

I feel you haven't fully answered my questions.

1. See below, I was  advised by Air BNB Customer Service Team of the points I raised below :- is the information I received  true? If not why did the Customer Service Team advise me so? OR they need more training?

I was advised by Air BNB Customer Service Team, that I must phone them up, and advise them each time I have an issue in my life when I cannot host for some days etc, and the reasons why I have to block out dates on my calendar. And I must be able to verify/prove my case/issue with a medical certificate etc. and this will protect my Super Host Status?

So let me get this straight. I have to phone up Air BNB each time:-

When I have family coming to stay? ( you cannot deny family visits)

When I have an emergency in my life? (last thing on your mind to do)?

When I go away on a holiday, and at the same time I am using Air BNB for my accommodation.?

When I'm sick?

When I have to go to hospital etc etc?

Question 2.

Lizzie you say:-To achieve Superhost status, there are several requirements, the main ones being: 4.8+ rating, 10+ stays, 90% response rate and 0 cancellation for less than 100 reservations per year.

So to retain super Host Status.

example:- I have every day available for booking open on my calendar for the whole year 365 days. Say  I only receive 5 confirmed bookings thought out  that  period ( not 10), will I lose Super Host status for not achieving the allotted number of bookings.

Air BNB has to realise that in such a popular  tourist destination as mine, we have many many Air BNB listings for guests to choose accommodation from,. You cannot make people book your listing, they choose where they want to  go.

Lizzie,  I'm a stickler for details, but I need  to have  the correct procedural information regarding hosting for air BNB.  If in the future I need to contact Air BNB over an issue, and being equipped with correct information and procedures,  then I  will be able to plead my case with confidence.

[Dan-Gui0]

Hi Lucy, unfortunately this is the online business... If you are sick or not people tend to lie on the internet so not a lot of can be done about it at this point, you also have to look at it from the guests perspective... You probably would go crazy if someone cancelled your booking while you are travelling and you end up not having a place to stay at... 

If you are are serious about business... One way of overcoming this situation would be to find an alternative accommodation for your guests... Explain your situation... I had a boiler explode at one of my properties and we had a full month of bookings that we had to juggle... Some guests will understand your situation other guests won't be able to cancel their bookings because they ge penalties as well so I say make sure you got a backup all the time and raise your prices so you get better quality guests! 

[Susan1188]

@Cathryn24  Dear Cathryn so sorry about the bad pass you are going through .

Honestly losing "superhost" should be the least of your worries, and it is telling that with all you are going through, you are even thinking about that!

If you lose superhost, you might not even feel an impact on your reservations when you start back up again.  Many say that it's the best thing that happened to them.

Many guests don't even know what superhost is.  More important are your photos, your amenities, your number of total reviews and of course long term star average over time.

Having said that, Airbnb has to make the booking process the most reliable possible for guests. 

=> As a result they have to reward people who are able find solutions - such as hiring and paying help during a difficult time, or reaching out yourself to the guest to ask them to go elsewhere, or researching other options such as local hotel or other airbnb host for the guest and trying to get the reservation off your calendar - these are all things you can do if you can't host the guest yourself.

Nobody is forcing you to receive guests when you are not physically or mentally able.  Your listing will stay up, you just won't be superhost anymore if you start cancelling reservations, for whatever reason.  To be a superhost you are expected to be proactive and find solutions without just cancelling even in difficult life situations (but then, again, why do you care about superhost).

[Jsmart0]

Hello lizzie,

Thankyou for this platform  

However some of my listings  have reached the threshold of 4.8 and I have i been a superhost for 3 rows,

Please advise why my superhost has been taken down.

Some of my competitors  that has 4.6 are super hosts..

How is this possible.

Kind regards 

[Sarah977]

@Jsmart0  The rating is one rating that affects all your listings- each of your listings doesn't have the Overall score counted separately. So, unfortunately, you could have a 5* rating for one property, but if you have a 4.6 for another, it will average out the 2 ratings. In other words, the rating is attached to your profile as a host, not to the individual listings.