Good one @florbone, so true. It would be great if the merits of getting SH are so strong, it ‘allows’ the SH to up their prices.
Thanks @searchedtobelost - I am one of the ones you state must be ‘lacking in hosting skills’ because I get marked down for location. Rather insulting to hosts like me who work so hard to make their home one that guests will have a wonderful experience in.
If you read my reviews you will see this certainly isn’t the case. I have in the majority glowing reviews from guests in terms of my accommodation and the personal touches I bring to hosting from flowers and retro sweets and chocolates in my guest room to taking guests on a personal tour of my area and prompt and friendly communication, clean rooms, free hot and cold drinks etc.
I am clear in my description that I live in an inner city area which can be scruffy around the edges both in my description and with every guest directly in advance of them confirming their booking.
Yet my last three guests while giving glowing reviews gave me a four for location. - According to you that will be because “I lack in hosting skills”.
1 Like
I’ve seen this in my area,too.Beautiful listings,glowing reviews,guests thanking their hosts for everything they did that made them feel welcomed and comfortable and still give them lower points regarding location,value and overall experience.
I don’t think that’s the result of lacking skills at all.
4 Likes
My favorite thing about SH status is the travel coupon. I’ve gotten two and I used them both. SH isn’t any extra work for me, I just do what I do.
3 Likes
For me good side of SH status is the fact that CS calls you within 10-15 minutes,if you ask them for help,which is nice.
Bad side is that you can easily lose it,few "know it all,high demanding"guests and you can kiss that SH badge goodbye.
2 Likes
I disagree. We’re approaching 90 bookings in 2 years, so not a small amount, and we’re maintaining Super Host just fine. The hard part is going the extra mile so that you get 5’s, because 4’s won’t do it. If you get momentum with 5’s, it becomes hard to lose Super Host status.
Hi @taylorcat,
Interesting perspective. What examples do you have of “going the extra mile”? And what does “momentum” mean, in this context?
1 Like
My cabin is booked out 250 nights a year- so over 100 people on AirBnB. I am a Superhost but have lost that status a few times. The problem is, renters think 4 stars is a good rating. I have asked them after about it when I see they didn’t give me 5 across the board and always the same response “I thought 4 was a really good rating. I loved your place and will be back.” I have to explain to them, anything below a 5 is considered bad.
2 Likes
What…? Not true. I am rated 4.7… and I am not BAD. If anything it works in my favor as it keeps expectations down.
1 Like
If you get all 4s you wouldn’t be a super host. In fact less than 80% 5s and you are screwed. So guests who think a 5 is never given, cause problems based on this rating system.
I’m not a SH, never will be. Have been hosting 7 years. Before anyone had ever heard of Airbnb!
1 Like
I am puzzled… if you have a 4.7 for overall satisfaction, isn’t that SuperHost material? What am I missing?
I am not sure. I don’t think I have been reviewed enough. You have to have a certain number of reviews done during the evaluation time period. I’m not really fussed about it. It might stress me out if I did get SH status!
Doesn’t matter, sooner or later you get a grumpy person that had expectations way beyond your place. Although I am a superhost it comes at a cost. Expect a lot of time you have to coddle the guest and kiss butt. For my $57 room they expect a 5- star hotel with unlimited towels and maid service. Then there are people angry they could not cancel, so they stay at your place with all intention of a revenge review.
I just keep shoveling huge amounts of “nice” at them to soften them up before the last day. Sometimes it’s exhaustive and I will block a few days afterward to decompress.
But, AirBnB is a job, mostly just another job…
4 Likes
sounds like burnout is approaching. You didn’t ask, but I’m wondering if you are firm enough in your rules with guests. You have to tell them how you expect them to to behave.
1 Like
Oh yes… tired, not burned out, but, I am a realist.
Lots of clear rules in the listing, in emails prior and in person. But like kids, criminals and puppies, they still manage to “forget”.
You can’t hit people on the nose with a newspaper when they are bad, they don’t like it. I raised two kids and I have been a school teacher, cop, probation officer and now own 5 retail stores, so diplomacy is foremost and customer service is second nature.
If you realize you are not being paid for a room, or home, and understand that they are paying for the “stay” you will keep your super host status.
The “stay” is part of their trip, the room is just the place where the stay happens. For me I push them towards the best restaurants, attractions, and natural beauty. I give them lots of information and a detailed review of every place they can visit.
In the end, their “issues” with the room have melted away and all they remember is the fun they had during the stay.
My place has an entrance through an alley, two small rooms with a bath and no kitchen. The windows were painted shut years ago, there’s no kitchen and we don’t allow pets. But we are booked solid year round and all reviews are five stars.
I make it my job to help them have fun and adventure. They come back exhausted and happy. Usually out at 8AM and back at 8PM they pass out asleep, get a nice hot shower and out they go again. We’re in the mountains and there’s about 2 weeks of available adventure, so I have elected not to allow a stay longer than 2 weeks. No bored guests sitting in their room finding things to grump about.
So, like I said, it’s a job. It pulls in around $2,000 every month and my rent for the whole building is just $1200 a month. I treat it like a job. A customer service job, a vacation guide job and public relations job.
This year I have had two difficult customers with expectations of a hotel room not an AirBnB in the back of a store. A bowl of fruit, a couple coupons for discounted rafting and it’s all good.
But I am tired at 60. There will be plenty of time to rest when I’m really old.
Maybe I’ll travel around staying at AirBnB’s and meet you all!
10 Likes
I totally agree with you Jan_J and personally I think 4out of 5 is a good note. I see it as like IBM valuate their sellers. Superhost is very afraid of getting a single “bad note”, so they act intimidated by guests.
The best solution would be to abandon this superhost issue.
I think it is a way for keeping hosts listing their accommodation only with Airbnb and not with other websites. I keep loosing my superhost status because I list somewhere else. I honestly don’t care about the superhost, it is too risky listing my accommodation with just one website, I don’t want to give all that power to Airbnb
3 Likes
We’ve had SH status for two years now - never got a thing. I’ve heard of people getting travel coupons, coffee mugs, lots of little perks - all it’s gotten us is a bunch of guests who think they can be absolute pigs at our house because, being SH we’re able to handle it and a packet of Princesses for whom nothing is ever good enough.
We’re talking about trying the self-sabotage route and getting a friend to book so we can cancel and lose the SH status.
I’m facing a day of cleaning to get our listing back into order after one guest lied to us about who he is and about the numbers of people he was bringing and basically had a frat-boy pre-wedding party at our house.
So I may not be unbiased about the issue.
1 Like