Superhost status lost - how can I regain it?

[Catherine2267]

I have been a Superhost for the last 5 years. And am disappointed to have not qualified this season because I had two 1⭐️ Reviews from guests that canceled on the day of arrival and due to my cancellation policy they did not receive a refund. Both these guests were only staying for one night (oh! The bane of  one nighters!). This has dropped my score down to 4.7. 

my point is - is it really fair that a guest who cancels gets to review you. Both of these guest were quite rude to me and I pay the price for their inadequate planning. 

Is there a way I can redeem my status?

[Kate867]

@Catherine2267   I appreciate just how upsetting this can be, but your listing still shows as 4.81?  If these guests did not actually set foot in your property but instead cancelled prior to arrival then as I understand it you can ask for those reviews to be removed as they cannot possibly accurately reflect the guests opinion of your listing.  If they did actually enter but found some issues, provable or not and chose to leave as a consequence then unless their review violates Airbnbs policy I think you are stuck with them.

[Anonymous]

@Kate867   See here: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jul/27/airbnb-agrees-reviews-loophole-intervention-cma-r...

Airbnb's stated position is that guests who cancel same-day but don't actually arrive are still entitled to review, because the rest of their experience (communication, etc) is relevant. But they haven't bothered to develop an alternate review protocol for those situations that omits ratings, because they're too busy developing new ways to screw up your listings.

@Catherine2267  Why take one nighters at all? Are they really worth it?

[Kate867]

@Anonymous   Oh Wow!   I have heard of reviews being deleted because they were clearly revenge ones due to refunds being denied and the guest never set foot in the property.   Thanks for the heads up!  It really is outrageous…. So, a guest can cancel same day, due to changed plans, illness etc. Be unhappy because the host sticks to their cancellation policy and then is able to leave a 1 star revenge review?  Airbnb need to sort this one out.

[Anonymous]

@Kate867  My position for years has been that when stays end in cancellations or damage claims, the written reviews should stay but the ratings should be bilaterally suspended. That would fulfill the regulatory requirements while blunting the impact of purely retaliatory strikes. 

But Airbnb will never do that; it wants hosts to be so afraid of losing their orange badges that they'll do anything to appease the customer.  And the manipulation works so well that some hosts will issue ridiculous amounts of money in unnecessary refunds and overlook even more in damage in exchange for that puny $100 coupon at the end of the year. "Superhost" is so banal it means nothing for guests, but it's a brilliant behavior modification tool against hosts.

[Suzanne302]

@Anonymous 

I know you are anti-1 night stays, but just know for some hosts these are very lucrative!

I understand it doesn't work for every listing however, 75% of my stays this year have been 1-nighters. I've ALWAYS loved 1-nighters.

I'm a homeshare host, so I don't have crazy cleaning costs because I do it myself. Most of my one-night stays are simple layovers. They arrive early evening or later (6pm+) and leave early morning (7-8am). Rarely do they cause a fuss, they are in and out, and their footprint on my home is MINIMAL.

I LOVE my one-nighters!

[Anonymous]

@Suzanne302 even though one night guests have never been a good fit for me personally, I'm not against them for all hosts. Everyone should decide what's right for them and their own specific style of hosting. But whenever I see a complaint about a recurrent situation that's always caused by the same kind of booking, I don't understand why someone continues to take that kind of booking. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. 

[Suzanne302]

@Anonymous 

Yes, THAT is true. And that's why my maximum stay is 3 nights. I realized early on that I don't need "roommates" in my house for longer than that at a time. Guests that stay longer than 3 nights tend to forget that they are renting a space and are more likely to use my personal things, create much bigger messes, and hang out in the house instead of enjoying what my area has to offer.

I also fully recognize I am an anomaly due to my unique situation.

[Catherine2267]

Thank you for your help, I appreciate your opinion about 1 nighters. They can be a lot more work as they come, stay and leave without really appreciating the space. Rarely do they clean up after themselves or take their rubbish out. But I have to ‘suck it up’ as this is my main income and they are my bread and butter during the off season. After reading all the supportive responses I am happily feeling better about my situation and will not stress so much about my status. Over the last 3 years I think we have all changed hosts and guests alike. Especially for hosts like me who have intimate  contact with our guests, many of whom have not been away from home in years. I am sure in the end loosing my super host status will have little impact. Fingers crossed 

[Genaro18]

Oh I feel your pain, and have exactly the same trend. Exactly.

trust me - over 4,000 bookings since 2014. Superhost a long time, stressed it out, got it back twice (you profile checkers out there, no, you won't see it, and that's by design and geography)

Here's the truth.

You have only two at the moment and stings. (I remember 2018) My listing is 90% the "bane of your existence" because of our location, everyone is one night. It's 95% of our income. 

Suck it up buttercup . . don't give in, it won't help. Your refund policy and listing are pretty great. 

We made over $1k last month just on non-refundables, and it felt weird until the real analysis.

We operated at 107% occupancy? Huh? that's not possible.

Yes, Virginia there is a Santa "Clause". We rebooked within minutes of the cancellation from the airport, so were paid twice in effect.

Our discounts for risk are almost 15-20%, we lose a lot on those, we make it back by sticking to our policies, but it's hard - you have to be prepared to take the abuse - including the 1 star "revenge review" - which is what it's actually unofficially called. 

You can get the words removed! Oh joy! 

But it does nothing.

You cann get a review hidded! Oh joy!

But it does nothing.

Why? Because . . well....math. 

★★✧★★Stars and the average live forever.✦✶✮✫✪

NEVER EVER are they fully removed, and we checked over 2,200 averages, even when everything looks removed the average didn't budge.

given your trend line . . just breathe. . . .it likely will continue but you will come out ahead - but more may happen, and I will help alleviate the panic with these coming attractions to your inbox

1. It takes5️⃣ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ five star reviews to just pull the average up .5 star. (rounding)

2. A one week suspension or more like the famous "5 day suspension" comes. It is AUTOMATED and only math based, and no one can do much, or will override the default action. 

3. We've tried every analysis - 3.9 trigger, 4.2 trigger, 4.4 even triggered. No one will say, it can have to do with the "sub" star average as well. 

4. THE GOOD NEWS:➔➔➔If you are booked, it doesn't cancel or change anything

5. THE BAD NEWS➔➔➔ If you are  NOT booked, you're invisible.

It can happen more than once. 

[Denice0]

This is how Airbnb cheapened the Superhost badge and manipulates who shows in a search.  I do prefer to stay with SH's.  This listing came up when I filtered for SH and it is rated 4.57 stars, the policy says we need a 4.8 to make the cut.  It's a property management company that apparently is a SH, not the property.  This is very misleading. 

[Helen744]

@Denice0 It is calculated every three months so it is possible for a low rating to stay in place and retain the badge from one three month period to the next . Its not automatic. this makes those guests just before 'super host day ' of more 'weight ' and of more value than those earlier in the three month period ,especially if like me ,you hover around 4.8 .4.81 and one guest in the last six months has been very vindictive  H

[Helen744]

even if it is a company stars are still based on individual listings .H

[Denice0]

I checked the reviews for this listing and the score of 4.57 seemed accurate, property definitely shouldn't be a Superhost.  Though when I did a search and filtered for Superhost properties it had the badge.  @Helen744 , The poorer reviews were from last year - many complaints because guests are asked to wash/dry towels and charged a hefty cleaning fee, needs updating, cleanliness and hot tub issues. 

So why is Air promoting a less than 4.8 property as a Superhost property and the Property Mgmt. Co?  Actually the Property Management team only showed 3 houses listed, and all 3  were rated less than 4.8!   @Catherine2267 , unfortunately, it appears the Superhost rules apply for some owners but not some managers.  This is not the first time I've seen 4.5 listings as SH; there were also numerous new listings with no rating.  Pushing less desirable properties on travelers seems to be a goal of the summer 22 roll out. 

[Helen744]

@Denice0 I am not sure how a new host has no stars ? I am pretty sure they start with all five and can only lose them the same as others do . Frankly its the people who keep solid fives who make me wonder. Are they bribing people or just going over and above . sometimes iam suspicious H