What do you think of the Airbnb superhost program?

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@anon67190644 Well, as written above I think it’s pretty unfair to give a property owner superhost status after only 10 good reviews and give those priority over hosts welcoming several hundreds guests a year. To base the superhost status on only 10 reviews makes system way to random (luck instead of skills) and leads to an inflation of inexperienced superhosts who looses their status the next round. So I definitely think the number of reviews required should be much higher, at least 50.

Secondly I think the system should be based on each individual property / listing instead of the hosts total performance. I’m renting a great apartment that gets 5 star reviews more than 90% of the time. In addition I’m renting two small rooms in my flat that are typical 4,5 star listings. The apartment is a great choice for those who wants the very best, but many potential guests will probably not consider it because I’m not a super host.

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Yes, It should be because guests are reviewing individual units not collectively.

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50 reviews over what period of time? Or just after you hit 50 reviews, you are assessed at the next quarterly review cycle?

I can see why you are frustrated by the system. It was clearly designed for AirBNB hosts when the bulk of them were room and home shares, not for hosts with multiple listings.

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Good point. I have no problem with a system that favors home sharers over property managers. That doesn’t mean the system is perfect.

When you are trying to slog through 100s of listings, as I have the last few days, anything to make it easier is welcome.

I’ve been told by more than one guest that they use the superhost filter.

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My point is, the system favors inexperienced hosts based on luck and coincidences instead of dedicated active and clever hosts. And since the system is based on the hosts total performance instead of the individual listing performance, people who are using the super host filter are not necessarily getting the best properties.

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I’m kinda torn on this one. I may be new to Air, but that doesn’t mean that I’m new to customer service, rental management, or general “hosting”. I also think that jumping on this forum and immersing myself in collective knowledge and and experience helped. In the past quarter (my first quarter) I’ve had 25 completed stays, and 13 5-start reviews. I’ll qualify for SH. Thankfully my weirdo-flukes didn’t review me, lol.

I think I’ve worked for that, but I also agree that possibly earning this after 10 stays is crazy. My most recent review is from a long-time AirBnB guest who said that my place was the best experience he’s ever had in an AirBnB. That’s a combination of my experiences in customer service over time and learning from this forum. I feel like I’m deserving of this SH badge I’m going to get and I’m going to try to not get hurt if I get a fluke crazy person or two and lose it.

I think there has to be a balance. They need a non-confusing and more reasonable review system so that 1 crazy doesn’t destroy what you’ve worked for. Maybe 25-50 completed trips before you can earn SH? But while I do empathize with your frustration with having 1-2 properties bring your personal ratings down, I like @KKC don’t have any issue with a system that rewards those who just have 1-2 listings as I get frustrated at the increased commercialization on Air when there are plenty of other sites out there for listing professionally managed properties.

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It is only the Overall Experience rating that counts toward Superhost status, not the location rating.

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I don’t understand how you think the Superhost system favors inexperienced hosts. I do think that it favors hosts who host one property and I’m fine with that. The Superhost status is a reward for superior hosting, not for having nicer properties.

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I went from a low of 71% 5 star reviews to 90%. Why? Because I did the research and focused on what guests are looking for in a host and amenities. I think anyone can become a Superhost if they put in the time and effort. Some people are naturally great hosts while other people have prior experience and/or put in the effort.

There are lots of long-term hosts with lots of reviews in my area who are Superhosts. I don’t think it has anything to do with being a new host. It’s possessing the qualities of a Superhost that makes a Superhost. Could Airbnb change their qualifications? Sure. And those that want to maintain their status will adjust as necessary.

And honestly, I think if the guests like you, they’ll give you 5 stars for location. So when I hear people complain about their location rating, I think they’re lacking in hosting skills.

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And what’s sad is that by Air standards, 4 seems bad to us hosts. But it’s the overall rank that matters, so while having a 3.5 or whatever on location as a host when you can’t do anything about it and it seems arbitrary: well, it’s not going to affect your SH standing or your search rankings. But it may give a guest pause to actually look at where you’re located and read your listing and reviews to see if the location works for them.

What guests are (or should be) looking at is overall, cleanliness, and communication. That’s what matters.

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All my reviews start out with my name too. That is not unusual. I’m not a super host and do NOT want to be. It’s overrated.

It’s host shaming too. By flashing the SH badge around, some SHs seem to love to feel superior to us non SHs.

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It favors inexperienced hosts because a new host can get 10 reviews in the first few months & get SH status - that’s what happened to me. It’s easy to meet all the criteria over a short period.

Ive been SH again for the past quarter and i havent noticed any difference with my bookings. I’ll lose SH in Oct (canceled a booking) & I’m not fretting about it, esp after I saw that hosts are rejecting SH as guests. : )

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I couldn’t agree more. Although for hosts like me who offer what amounts to an extra fancy Couch Surfing experience, we seem to be able to sustain our Super Host status a bit longer for a couple of reasons. Guests aren’t as picky when they’re paying a fraction of what it would cost in a cheap motel and–at least for me–I only have one guest at a time, so it’s much easier to please one person than a couple or a group.

Have you approached Airbnb about the issue of your high volume and high revenue earnings for them and that you should be rewarded for doing so?

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You are so right. This is the biggest factor influencing a guests review.

Also, and I’ve said this a few times here, I think it’s absurd to expect over 80% of your guests to give a 5 star review! A 5 star review based on overall experience means the guest’s stay was PERFECT. That term scares me! :)))

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So would you say overall value and personality are the two most important factors J?

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I think you know the answer to that Mr. Mearns :))))

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Yes was thinking along the same lines. :grin:

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If you’ve got good reviews you don’t need to worry about the SH badge. I don’t notice any difference.

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I could care less about SH, getting good reviews is however always appreciated, they add a little more enthusiasm to what we do.

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@EllenN As written before, with only 10 reviews required the superhost status will be very much based on luck and coincidences instead of skills. Anyone can get 10 positive reviews in a row, but maintaining it over time is hard. That’s the reason why a lot of new hosts get the superhost status and looses it over time.

Beside, Airbnb is marketing their superhosts as the best and most experienced hosts, but it is also a skill to be persistent and welcoming a large number of guests over time and still get pretty good ratings (4 or 4,5).