Superhost filter gone?

[Jessie90]

Appreciate the new filter for guest favorites, but that is not equivalent to booking with a Super Host, which gives  me a lot of comfort when booking in an unfamiliar location.  Guest ratings are always a little suspect.  I hope this filter is reinstated, I may never book on airbnb again, too risky otherwise. 

Any one else have this issue, it's gone both on the website and app.

[Casey397]

What you are saying doesn't actually make sense. My wife and I use Airbnb most of the time when we travel but not being able to filter this way makes me want to just go with a hotel. 

[Julie732]

This is just an awful decision Breanna. I was an Airbnb host for a couple of years and there is a very specific and defined criteria for Superhost that is VERY different than what is being described as Guest Favorites. A Superhost is defined based on:

1. 4.8+ overall rating
2. 10+ stays
3. <1% cancellation rate
4. 90% response rate on all messages
   1. I would add that knowing you are going to get quick replies an issue for women's safety!

So Airbnb is still letting people filter based on Hairdryer, Parking or Pool, but allowing a filter for Superhost is just adding too much confusion? My suggestion would be to remove the filter for Beachfront vs. Waterfront. I find that to be confusing. I mean wouldn't beachfront guarantee water? Is Waterfront just water and no sand? So if Airbnb needs to remove a filter to keep thing simple for everyone, start with this one and keep Superhost.

Thanks, 

Julie

[Amy2988]

Okay thanks. That means I'm out. Now I know I'm better off ordering hotel for my 8 person group. I have had to many bad experiences with out being able to directly find a superhost.

[Dom-and-Teri0]

If this were true you would have simplified the filter categories. Unfortunately this is all aimed at ABB attempting to sell more.
Really, what is the point of encouraging hosts to raise the bar in order to achieve Superhost and then hiding this fact away in the small print.
Again ABB has failed to consult with their users (hosts and guests), as it is clear from the responses below that this is a backwards step.

[Michele511]

What is the criteria to be considered a guest favorite? 

And,

What does it do that star ratings do not?

[Aswin3]

This is a complete dishonourable act on Airbnb to superhosts who make everything possible including sacrificing their time, money and effort to obtain and maintain the status with pride. 

As a traveler myself, the guest favourite doesn't provide any value to me as the listings are now very mediocre and taking me longer to find a place to book. Bring it otherwise I wont be back as a traveler.

[Robyn509]

I completely agree with everyone!  I've ONLY stayed in places that were by a Superhost.  I don't trust "Guest Favorites" - they don't mean a thing to me and can be very biased and based on reasons that are not at all important to me.  A Superhost is a more secure way to book and having to look at every individual listing instead of being able to filter by Superhost is a terrible change by Airbnb.  

[Sandra6428]

I'm a big fan of the keeping the "superhost" filter accessible. I usually do a long-term stay and I appreciate having someone who can respond to issues quickly. Breanna, you say it's to simplify, but I can just as easily review the airbnb rating and read the reviews once I've filtered down to superhost listings. Please bring it back.

[Anita918]

Will this ever get changed back! ???

[Sharon625]

@Breanna 

We have been hosting on Airbnb exclusively for five years now. We love receiving guests and ensuring they have the best quality experience. 

The removal of this filter has significantly reduced our average monthly bookings.

The super host search function was a differentiator between Airbnb and other platforms, allowing guests more confidence and rewarding good hosts with more bookings.

Sadly, if this stays the same, we will be forced to list on other platforms to increase our occupancy, which, if others do, will, over time, ultimately dilute Airbnb's unique offerings. 

We also used this function exclusively when booking a place to stay on Airbnb to ensure we stayed with quality hosts. 

I hope that they bring it back. 

[Lyn-and-Gavin0]

Hi @Breanna 

Trying to understand why my biz dived off a cliff on introduction on Guest Favourite Icon.

There’s lots of speculation on what constitutes the status. Some say it’s connected to cleanliness ratings or only to the most recent reviews.  Others say it’s a move to start charging hosts for prime positioning on algorithms (ABB’s new T &C’s imply that you are planning on introducing charging for rankings).  Others say the location algorithm has gone crazy and that listings not in search area are appearing, others have said it’s Central London search taking priority over London (wider area) taking a lesser positioning …..there’s loads of listings with 4.71 appearing with GF badge despite a supposed 4.92 or above being widely bandied about. Many say it’s price…. I reduced mine by 25 percent.  Really want to try and understand as I have 2 spare rooms empty and GF and Superhosts badges and 4.98 rankings and about 700 reviews. I have 5 stars, for cleanliness, accuracy, comms, check in and 4.8 for location and one room has 4.9 for value other room has 5 ⭐️ for value.  Hosting 10 years, greeted about 1300 guests, I have NEVER cancelled a guest and haven’t had a 4 ⭐️ review since about 2018……and I absolutely loved being airbnb host but my biz and lots of others are reporting on Facebook groups that their biz has also disappeared?

[Arnold126]

Terrible decision.  I based all my bookings on the Superhost Filter.

[Gillian421]

I agree with all of these replies. This is a cynical move by Airbnb which has absolutely nothing to do with simplifying filters.  Superhost is one of the most valuable filters on Airbnb. I have never not filtered by superhost when using Airbnb as it gives me a certain level of comfort and security, especially as a female traveller.  It’s also incredibly unfair to hosts who go the extra mile to become super hosts. Guest favourites is not even close to an equivalent. Taking away that option would mean I have to waste significant amounts of time scrolling through multiple listings I would never book because they are not super hosts.  This would make me reluctant to use AirBnB again as the only message it sends is a loud and clear message that AirBnB doesn’t care about its service users or their security.  This abysmal decision should be reversed immediately.   

[Rob7820]

Thanks for the confirmation and additional information. Both filters seem like they would have a very useful role on the site: the SuperHost filter for new properties that haven’t had many guest reviews or qualified for the designation, yet are hosted by a trusted member, and the Guest Favorite for well reviewed properties whose host hasn’t yet qualified for SuperHost. There are many other great reasons to keep the SuperHost filter available, so hopefully Airbnb reinstates it. 

[Alfred818]

This literally has ruined my wish list/Japan trip. I had everything saved by "Superhost" setting. I can no longer find those listings. All the work I had and trust in the work is gone. You can claim that the new setting takes in new algorithms to insure trust, but how is the trust there if all the places I had are no longer available...?

It seems like this fundamental platform change was based off the property owners and not the end users. This will hurt the AirBnb users because of hiding the property owners from their lack of accountability. Short-term vs. long-term issue.