Why am I not a Guest Favorite?

[Ryan3422]

I read on Reddit that the Guest Favorite badge only applies to properties that got 5 stars overall and 5 stars in cleanliness on their last 5 reviews.  This is nowhere in the "articles" / robotic responses support will send you, or from support over the phone.  This means if you are a Superhost that got a 4 star in cleanliness over the last five reviews (which can take a year for some people to accumulate), then you won't be a Guest Favorite.  They also removed the Superhost filter for guests to search for, and replaced it with a NICE BIG WELCOMING GUEST FAVORITE filter instead.  So, for all you hard-working 5 star overall with dazzling reviews Superhosts that got a 4 star in cleanliness on one of your last five reviews, then you are lumped in with the one star hosts and are essentially un-filterable when a guest searches.  Welcome to the graveyard.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/605669673879860817?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=c7895f3f-9196...

I guess my reviews aren't good enough to be a Guest Favorite.  Thank you Airbnb, for crushing my views and wrecking my chances for any possible stays right before the slow season starts.

[Cody265]

One 4 star rating over a 3 year period won't cause you to lose guest favorite status, so your whole premise is based on false information. The original poster was wrong about how the system works. I know this from experience because I recently had a guest check out way late and one room smelled like marijuana. I got it as aired out as I could and couldn't smell it anymore by the next guest. They could though, and I refunded their cleaning fee. They left 4 star overall and for cleanliness, while commenting that I handled it very well and that they will book again. My Guest Favorite status still remained, so while Airbnb won't disclose exactly how the system works it's clearly not the way OP described.

In any case, the best part of the new system is there are a lot of crappy places in my area hosted by corporate Superhosts. A lot of them have star ratings in the 4.6 range but were still boosted as SH based on thousands of other managed properties even though their local ones are trash.

[Helen3]

Unfortunately you'll find there are hosts on guest favourites with 4.6 and 4.7 ratings on some of their listings @Cody265 

[Cody265]

I have though not in my area.

After comparing GF with other nearby listings, my best guess is that this badge is just marketing the same factors that were already used to rank search results (including ratings, but also things like flexible cancellation policies, lower prices, instant and flexible booking, etc).

[Ryan3422]

@Cody265 You say my whole premise is wrong, but you are just out here talking out of your wazoo firing off "best guesses".  We are not talking about losing the guest favorite status.  We are talking about never getting it in the first place, about still not knowing exactly what it is based on, about how no one at AirBnB support can do anything about it, etc.

To me, it looks like they rolled out an algorithm that swept through all properties in a phased approach, scanned each property once, assigned this badge not based on the criteria AirBnB stated, then never ran it again.  They probably realized that it was not assigning the badge correctly and instead of running it again to pick up the qualified properties that were missed, decided to never run it again to avoid further mistakes.  I have screenshots from multiple conversations with different support reps and ambassadors that say I meet all qualifications for the badge, and to just wait patiently until it gets applied.  If the algorithm is run daily, then how am I still badgeless?

[Jennifer4563]

I'm in the same boat and have been getting nothing but the run around. I actually had the badge assigned and then I had a terrible guest who caused $4k in damages to my property. It took me almost the full 14 days to gather all the documention and quotes to submit my resolution center request. Within 10 minutes of me sending the reimbursement request, the guest left a retaliatory 2 star review. I contacted support and they agreed it was totally retaliatory and pulled the review down. It was up for less than 3 hours, but when he posted the review, I lost the badge.

The review came down and my stats went right back to were they were. The badge didn't come back after 24hrs. It still hasn't despite it being now 7 weeks since the bad guest and the review going up and being pulled down. I've spent more than 10 hours on the phone with support, escalating to Specialists and then further to Supervisors, to no avail. All I keep getting is the same canned robotic response - the link to the page that explains how the GF badge works. 

At this point, it's becoming insulting. I understand how the system is "supposed" to work. The problem is that it doesn't work. If it did, I would've gotten my badge back 7 weeks ago, as I was meeting the requirements and had the badge. The only negative thing to happen was the retaliatory review which was removed. Since then, I have only added an additional eight 5-star reviews. I have 100% communication and 0% cancellation.  Meanwhile, multiple homes around me with stats well below mine have the badge. This system and the supposed requirements are essentially false adverting. 

Also, I know I look like a new host, but I'm not. I have been working in the industry for a decade with several of the bigger national STR PMs. I just recently went out on my own, hence the 2 months hosting tag on my listing. I understand a lot more than the average layperson about how this system all works. I'm absolutely devastated because I went from being booked at 100% occupancy to zero bookings, or even inquiries. This bad guest destroyed my home, then caused me to lose the last two weeks of high season. Airbnb refuses to help beyond a cut and paste job saying the same thing over and over.

I have even asked multiple times for them to point out what specific element on my specific listing isn't already meeting the requirements and needs supposed improvement. They refuse to even answer. I've spoken to 8 different Ambassadors, 3 Specialists and 2 Supervisors. Not one has even answered my question. God, I miss the days of having an account manager. The regular customer service experience is absolutely terrible.

No one is seeing my home anymore because of the filter. All my neighboring homes are still getting bookings because they all have the badge, even with ratings well below mine. Anyway, the point is, no, this Guest Favorite badge system does not work and Airbnb doesn't seem to care or have any plans to fix it. They are inadvertly picking winners and losers and it's no longer a merit based program.

I really hope they get it fixed, or do away with it entirely, because adopting and continuing to rubber stamp false advertising really sucks.

Has anyone lost the badge and gotten it back? I agree with the other gentleman. I don't believe the system reevaluates anything. I don't think anyone ever gets it back.

[Ryan3422]

@Cody265  Since you seem to be such an expert on the subject then please, bless us with your knowledge.  From your comments below, you received a 4 star after already having the guest favorite badge and retaining it.  This leaves me to think that this "daily" algorithm being run is not being run daily at all, which actually makes my original point accurate.  If it was run daily, then surely my listing and the others that meet the criteria but have not gotten the badge would have been picked up by now.  Seems like  they ran it once - in waves, but once overall per property - and have not updated anything.

...and did you really hit me with a do better?!?  This is like a scene out of Seinfeld.  Do some research before you go riding off on that high horse of yours.  My rating is literally better than yours, so I'll play the Uno reverse card and hit you with a do better!!

[Cody265]

Airbnb has been pretty clear that they boost listings that do various things that yours does not: instant booking, flexible, cancellations, fewer length-of-stay restrictions, competitive pricing. Obviously, it's not that they just "ran it once" and left you out and obviously it's not just about review sub categories. Your listing would have been ranked lower in search results prior to GF because of all those factors. So why would it make sense to now mark your place as GF and give it the search ranking boost based only on reviews, when search rankings have never been based only on reviews?

[Damon42]

@Ryan3422 - I am in a similar boat. We have 150+ reviews with a overall 4.94 rating, but we did not get the Guest Favorite badge (we even used to be AirBnB Plus before it was deprecated). That being said, this year we had a weird batch of 4-Star reviews.

1.  One guest gave us 5-stars in all sub-categories, except for a 4-star for "Cleanliness" (dust on a ceiling fan) and gave us an overall 4-star rating (go figure).
2. One guest who was a recovering cancer patient was visiting Atlanta and had an allergic reaction to something - she assumed it was something in our unit (no proof, just a guess from her). We were as supportive as possible and offered her a full refund. She gave us 4-stars. 
3. One guest who has stayed with us multiple times and has given us 5-stars in the past gave us a 4-star rating.
4. One guest complained about a busy road next to our unit, stairs, a shared door with the main house (which is always locked) - mind you all of these things are mentioned in our listing multiple times - she gave us a overall 4-star rating. 
5. Another guest gave us 5-stars in all sub-cates except for "Accuracy" - she gave us a 4-star there because of "steep stairs" - which again are outlined twice in our listing (we should probably add a picture). 

We had twenty four 5-star reviews. So - it was a weird year for reviews (we never get that many 4-stars). I did reach out to the help center. The article on Guest Favorites does not mention recency of reviews. We do have Super Host status, but there is no longer a filter for it. I think Super Host vs. Guest Favorite will be confusing for guest - AirBnB should just stick with one.  

It is what it is and we will just try to work with the system. 

[Desmond28]

I assume it's also about how the Airbnb algorithm sees the interaction online with your listing as well, rather than just what past guests think. My tip? Invest in some pro pics and ditch the blurry ones. Also, consider sprucing up the place a bit—make those beds, stash away the empty soap bottles, and tidy up the cords behind the TV. Little touches like that can really boost your listing's appeal and improve how guests engage with the photos, potentially earning you the guest favorite award.

[Dr-T6]

Yoohoo, a mere level 2 SH has entered the chat. I completely understand OPs frustration. Had laurels once, then lost them. I agree that the guest favorite system is indeed a mysterious rubric. Maybe my listing will see them once again. It would be lovely if that occurred in the next few hours or days. Not holding my breath, but here's hoping. 

[Sidney125]

According to the article that explains ‘guest favorite,’ it states that it is “updated on a daily basis” which I found it to be false, since I have received nothing but 5 stars all the way around from the most recent 15 past guests and I don’t have that guest favorite badge. It also mentions that the host must have a rating of at least 4.9 to qualify, which I also found to be false because I have seen other listings with a rate of 4.7 and 4.8 with that darn guest favorite badge. It bothers me that the super host search was replaced by this “guest favorite.” Been hosting for approximately 6 years, my star average is 4.95 with many reviews and I haven’t yet received this freaking badge 😒🙄

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Sidney125 Guest favourites average 4.9 stars. This means Airbnb can award it to a property with a 4.0 average as long as they  have 10ish properties at 5.0 to balance it. As I have said before this allows Airbnb to award it to anyone they like - Sorry but it looks like they do not like you enough.......

[Norine23]

Glad and sorry to hear I am  

not the only one. I’m newish, with only 5 reviews, but 5 stars in all categories, no cancellations, quick response time and great reviews etc. and  I’m still waiting for my “guest favourite” badge. Clearly it’s not updated daily and a call

to support was no help sadly. Very frustrating. 

[Sowmiya1]

Hi Ryan, I see that you have already got the guest favorite badge. How did you get it? Can you please help me as well? 

[Frances3408]

@Ryan3422. Ryan, just wanted to say congrats on your listing becoming a Guest Favorite. Your place is lovely and clearly you are doing things right. Personally I hate labels but yes, they do seem to impact our business, but they shouldnt define us. All the best.