Airbnb gives disadvantages to active hosts

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Antonia that is some amazing service you’re providing!

I’m a superhost and have been since the first quarter after I started but there aren’t a ton of perks of being a superhost and I’ve never seen guests make any acknowledgement of it so I bet most guests either don’t know what a superhost is nor do they care. As Kirsty said, most guests are just looking at pricing and location and they most likely could care less if you are a superhost or not.

Konacoconutz if we ever plan a trip to Hawaii we;ll definitely have to meet up :).

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We were superhosts for the last couple of years. Then we noticed towards the end that it seemed to attract a lot of really picky people! People who choose superhosts because they want a super special experience. And when they don’t get it, they can leave scathing reviews. Like the woman who left us a really nasty review, because we didn’t have a teapot - even though I made tea for her on the stove! Oh and because we ate dinner back in our bedroom! Which we do sometimes to give guests their privacy and so we can have our own privacy. But who in the world ever heard of anyone complaining because of what room a host chooses to eat their dinner in! But this woman did.

We then noticed that she had left raving reviews for every other host she had stayed with - except one. And the one host she left an equally nasty review for - was a superhost! And that host didn’t have any negative reviews from anyone else. We knew this woman had just started hosting herself and it almost seemed as if she was going around being extra nitpicky with superhosts to make herself feel better about not being one herself.

We also noticed a few other guests had done similarly. They had left negative reviews for other superhosts they had stayed with but positive reviews for non-superhosts. I think being a superhost can set unrealistically high expectations and it attracts very picky people. Ever since we lost superhost status our rating has steadily climbed back up towards it - which I attribute to our guests who were willing to book with a non-superhost being much less picky.

Once you get it, you get caught in a trap where you don’t want to lose it. And you’ll do almost anything to keep it. A guest checking in at 3:00 in the morning - no problem! (And no complaints from us). A guest leaving a terrible mess in the kitchen - no problem! And not a single complaint from us. It’s a vicious trap! It makes you do things you really have no interest in doing. So since we’ve lost it, the tyranny of having it has been removed and we’ve actually enjoyed hosting again. Now, if someone leaves a bad mess in the kitchen, I don’t mind saying something to them about it. And if they’re not getting in until 3:00 in the morning, I might ask them to check in the next day.

On the requirements for being a superhost, I was looking around at some places today, and noticed several superhosts who were apparently brand new. One had 19 reviews and another had 12. In the pictures of the one that had 19 reviews, their place didn’t look all that good. It didn’t even look really clean from the photos and one of their photos was out of focus! I thought it’s just a matter of having a few more guests before they lose superhost status. And in their description they said a couple of quirky things that you wouldn’t expect from a superhost. I think if a well-seasoned guest saw superhost status from someone who only had 19 reviews, they would probably discount it altogether.

On the OP’s complaint that he’s doing so much work with Airbnb and that’s making it impossible for him to ever achieve superhost status - that’s probably true. Airbnb should definitely have a program from for super productive hosts to help them out. Certainly not automatic superhost status, but there should be some benefits and incentives that would reward them for their extra work, and the extra revenue they bring in. After all they’re bringing in a lot more money to Airbnb through their efforts than the typical host is. But with all the political craziness surrounding Airbnb they can’t really run it like a business should be run. They have to spend half their time compromising with and mollifying politicians rather than being able to move full steam ahead.

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23

Out of curiosity, what caused you to have to cancel bookings? If it’s on the list of extenuating circumstances, you can file for an exemption with that booking.

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Heavy is the head that wears the super host crown!

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25

Since I’m renting on several alternative sites to Airbnb as well, I’ve experienced a couple of double bookings despite the fact I’m using the calendar sync system (it’s not in real time). Very frustrating

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It is a burden no doubt kona, and if you notice everyone wearing it is so nervous to make a mistake. When I get mine, I will pass it on to you kona, think looks better on your head than mine anyway. No need to thank me really.

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27

In lieu of taking the penalty of losing the badge, if it’s important, there is a feature to offer a guest a certain amount to cancel or modify their reservation. It just depends on the value of that tag.

From the company’s point of view, if a host cancels a reservation, it will probably drive people away from this type of arrangement in the future.

Alternatively, it may be better in your situation to cancel the guests on a different site with less severe penalties. At least one of the other listing sites offers guests insurance against double-bookings.

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I made Superhost right off thd bat in my first quarter but I won’t this quarter due to a couple weeks we blocked here and there for family. Also, if you have guests that stay longer it makes it harder to fit the 10 reservations/reviews in per quarter. So, I think you should be able to maintain Superhost status as long as you do not have to cancel your guests and stay in the 5 star reviews even if you have less than 10 per quarter.

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@Charlie It’s 10 guests per year not per quarter.

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30

Your right. My mistake. Thank you for the correction!

31

Giving personal attention and the little details are what superhost status encourages and is given as a reward for hosts who go the extra mile. It is hard to imagine renting out a bunch of locations you could possibly so this. When I travel I like to know I’m dealing with a host and not a service, so the way it is setup seems smart to me.

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32

Well, that’s a nice thought, but I have to say I earned super host status before I had the slightest clue. I don’t know how many completed trips I had at that point, but not many at all. So while I may actually ‘go the extra mile’ I don’t know how airbnb could have guessed that at that point.

Most of my guests say they pick me because of the reviews and because I make breakfast, or, because they want to live with an American family. Never every anything about super host. Most of my guests are newbies anyway.

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33

Not talking about becoming a Superhost. I’m just trying to cope with my 6 rooms in 4 different apartments and provide a good service for my guests.
With an increasing number of bookings, it’s getting more and more difficult. I try not to forget something important, besides it would be great to find something to save my time!

As the way out I found this management system. http://www.airbnbmultichat.com/. I am not sure, whether it is really helpful, but if you share your opinion, I’d be really grateful.

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@Jan_J, you are not a host, you are an investor and you are managing a business. It’s not the same thing at all as hosting. That being said, Airbnb is making a lot of money from you, so I kinda get your complaint, but then again, you are not hosting. You are a business. So, maybe they should have a ribbon for ‘super-business’?
@superhostnyc, it does not take 100 experiences to become adept at making guests feel welcome in your home and enjoying the best your community has to offer! Laughing at the absurdity of the statement.

All that is required is cleaning as if my mother is coming for a visit with her white gloves, ensuring that the guests will have things they may need (emergency sewing kit, brochures, toiletries) and will take pleasure in the basic necessities provided (towels, linens), gauging the level of privacy or interaction that people need, having an excellent knowledge of every single thing to do/see in the local area.

It’s basic people skills and a desire to have your guests enjoy things that they would not know about if not for you. For instance, my current guests are ecstatic that I was able to point them in the direction of the most local horseback riding business and that I’m starting a bonfire for them so they can try, for the first time in their lives, to roast up some smores.

It’s also about learning from your guests. I’ve met so many interesting people and it’s opened my mind and heart to issues and ideas I either didn’t previously consider, didn’t know about, or they give me a new perspective! For instance, the gentleman who stayed here to take photos of trains on tracks for calendars…had NO clue that was such a lucrative business, and he was able to show me so many different parts of the world from his photo stash. Or the gentleman who owns only enough that he could fit it all into his car at any given time, the minimalist movement, while I was familiar with it, I had never met someone who truly practiced it. Or the couple from Europe, the young man had won a scholarship from Jamie Oliver, who basically enabled this at-risk young man to learn a creative trade, had no idea Mr. Oliver was such a philanthropist. (he also cooked for me the most incredible meal, bonus!)

So go ahead and scoff at my 20-30 rentals per year, but my guests are getting a HOST, a resident concierge, a person who is going to share with them and allow them to share, at a price that for some people allowed them to actually have that 2 day vacation, as a hotel would have been cost prohibitive. It’s the personal connection and interaction, THAT is hosting.

Like many other hosts, I work full time (and part time) elsewhere, but once there is a system in place, and believe me, it was in place before I activated my listing, I assure you that any person who has run a household can pull it off, it’s easy to provide little things that make people feel that Airbnb has allowed them to have a truly unique and remarkable experience. Whether it was showing them something new, or just being appreciated for their knowledge or insight. That personal connection would not have happened by interacting with the delegate of some business owner.

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35

I agree, all these investor ‘hosts’ are just running a business and often an illegal business.
As for super host status, I would have said it was not worth worrying about, however…
I asked my assistant to search my town to see where I came up in the listings.
He said, this is strange, I did not click anything but nothing came up but superhosts…lo and behold, there was a big, red Super Host button on the search page and it turned out to be an opt out feature…leave it on and all you get are the super hosts in town! Opt out and I was on the first page.
This may be one of abb’s ongoing tests but it is completely unfair. Perhaps the choice to see superhosts is fine but to make it a prefferred option is ridulous.

Go search your town and see if you are all getting this new feature.

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Remember that search results have lots of variables that determine results. This includes remembering the last search state (from previous searches on your same browser). So if someone had clicked that filter previously there’s a good chance it would be on the next time a search was done.

37

You are so right about the Super Host thing. It’s a gimmick Airb uses to coax us into being overly conscientious about our listing, and I totally understand why they do it. They are dealing with the general public (we hosts) without having any face to face contact with us, yet we are their employees. We bring them revenue.

Most guests couldn’t care less about the little “badge”. The bottom line for them, like all of us, is price and some decent reviews. As for getting the Super Host Badge, I committed the cardinal sin 2 times of canceling a reservation, even though the guests were over the top koo koo.

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38

i like the little badge.

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39

So true. I have been a “superhost” for a year, and it’s had ZERO affect on bookings, quality of guests, etc. Just a silly gimmick. I assure you it is not something guests take into account when looking for a place. They have no clue what it’s about and don’t care.

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40

I’ve had two guests tell me they look for “superhost.” It’s only 2 of 100+ but it’s not nothing. I also had a Dutch guest tell me he looks for longer positive reviews as a sign that it is a really excellent host.

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