For those that don't enjoy Superhost status

Are there many of you? It seems to be a curse to some, bringing in more ‘expectant’ guests.
Would it be an option to delete your listing and start again? Airb boost new listings, and you’s still stand above non-superhosts, as you have all the experience , and a highly polished listing.
I imagine the biggest pain would be to block out dates on the ‘new’ listing, that are already taken with the old.
As I’m not a super host, I’m out of my depth here, just an idea.

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I became super host in October. We have been hosting since June. In the month we became super host it took 4 weeks to get a single booking. So we may have lost our “new listing boost” but it is definitely not compensated by superhost status.
I would think creating a new listing under the same account wouldn’t make you stop being a superhost, as it is based on an owners account rather individual listings. But I could be wrong…

Hi @Barns

I haven’t experienced Superhost status bringing more expectant guests - the majority don’t know what it is or notice I have it.

Your suggestion about deleting a listing and starting again wouldn’t work and could risk you being banned from Airbnb completely.

  1. If you delete your listing, you delete all your reviews and bookings and Airbnb would fine you for any bookings you have in hand but can’t host

  2. If you try and relist for an existing address with existing contact details you would be blocked from doing so.

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I agree with Helsi – you idea is more likely to get you banned than to get you more guests. We’ve been Superhosts for almost two years and certainly don’t see any increased bookings because of it. Our bookings are up and down with the local Season. So are everyone else’s in the area. We charge a bit more that others in the area, but we offer much, much more in amenities – listed or just provided. Most guests have no idea what a Superhost is, and could really care less. Those who do know what a Superhost is expect more value for the same dollar.

Better to spend your time and efforts figuring out how to provide superior service and quality to your guests’ experience, than spending time trying to “game” the AirBnb system. Be the best Host you can be and stop worrying about how much money you’re making.

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I am not sure that this is true. You can list your space more than once on AirBNB with all the same information. I have my space listed twice to offer different amenities [with a lower price point] for the January term. This person, who is clearly running an illegal boarding house, lists her spaces multiple times.

https://www.airbnb.com/users/show/107774734

She has 31 listings for five rooms.

However, I don’t think AirBNB would look kindly on deleting your host account and then trying to start over. There is a logic behind having a history of reviews that follow you, regardless of your listing status. You may not like it, but it is useful for guests, and they are the buyers.

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Hello @anon67190644

I didn’t say you can’t have multiple listings - say if you offer a whole house listing and then as individual rooms. What I said is you can’t canel a listing and then relist it.

I know posters here don’t care about SH status but I can’t (or won’t) believe that it hurts more than it helps. I’ve had multiple people tell me they only book with SH. I filter for SH and IB and only take the filters off if I can’t find a suitable listing with them on.

I think it’s just a convenient excuse to to assign blame for problems.

If one really wants to lose the status, cancel on someone. Pick someone who just reserved and whose stay is as far out as possible so that your action is as painless as possible.

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How interesting. I haven’t seen a downside to SH status, although I don’t see much of an advantage either. I’ve had it for a few months now. I figure anything that gives me even a tiny edge is a good thing so I like to have it. What I actually like the most is having the dedicated number for support if I need it.

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I wouldn’t know, but there are some threads saying that enquiries dried up almost overnight once they became SH’s

@ceejay. My experience is similar to yours. No downside & I like the dedicated phone number

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Most Guests are not aware as far as I can tell, many of the ones that are have no idea what it means.

Like you I started hosting in June, had a very busy summer, lost the newbie listing boost at the same time as the summer season passed, and as bookings dropped off to a trickle. Folk here were absolutely right that this was seasonal plus loss of the boost for newbies. I was “awarded” SH status in October and can’t say if it’s made any difference at all to bookings/expectations or whatever. What I can say however, is that it is a massive bonus on the customer support front. Apart from the bloody sing song of “Hi SuperHost” when you call (like Ryanair) I’ve been taken seriously by support staff, treated with respect, and even had a good laugh with one of them. I do make their lives easier by ensuring an audit trail of messages about problems they can read when I call with issues. I am still scarred though by a brush off in June, our second booking who brought a toddler unannounced. Despite our house rule of no rug rats, they told me to get lost. Said rug rat fell down the stairs. Fortunately that audit trail of messages included “supervise your child on stairs”!

I know this is not the topic, but I was really surprised while reading through this host’s reviews. It’s obviously some really shady business, yet people keep staying with her and writing bad reviews. I personally wouldn’t dare to stay at such place, no matter how small my budget is.

Being a Superhost may or may not give you more bookings, however, my listing is on the front page if you search for my town with the title “Stay with a SuperHost” and that kind of exposure is good. I am consistently listed in the top 6 listings for this town as well. I do know that we have had guests for whom, paying a bit more to stay with us seemed logical due to the reviews and stars. Do I know that they noted the superhost status? No. But, I do know that they have read the reviews left by other guests which allayed their concerns about staying in someone’s home or getting “ripped” off.

The slow season is the slow season, and we have a long one, but even during the slow season, I have been able to maintain a high percentage of booked nights. Since I am not willing to go to basement prices, the Superhost status and cumulative reviews help justify my price.

As a guest, given location and amenities being equal and price being 10%+/-, I would always choose a Superhost listing.

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I’ve noticed this multiple times with various listings. For many guests, all that matters is price. I had a guest recently who clearly chooses price over other factors then complains in reviews about those very factors that make it a lower priced listing. I’m thinking she only booked with me because the price for that night was 10% lower than normal as I’m experimenting with Airbnb’s promotions for getting booked more often. She was very pleased and wants to stay with me again but when she sees the price she probably won’t. And if she asks for reduction, she won’t get it.

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This probably should be a different thread, but I am playing with this as well for three open nights next week which have stubbornly been ignored by the traveling public. But, I was already at about my lowest price point, so I increased the price per night and then added the promotion. I suspect that this defeats the purpose, however, it means that my listing is getting the offers sent to people who are searching for those dates and I get the Discount banner on my listing.

Should we start another topic to discuss how effective these promotions are?

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I don’t think being a SH hurts and in fact helps increase bookings. It’s a fact Airbnb ranks you higher in the searches if you’re a SH. We’ve had numerous people mention our status as a SH so clearly it was a factor for them booking.We have been hosting almost 2 years now and have had SH status after the first quarter and have held it ever since. Our business has almost doubled this year over last. We continue to be busy now in Nov. when last Nov. was dead. Is that because of being a SH and having good reviews? IDK but it sure hasn’t hurt!

I’ve never had SH status… and I’ve been hosting from the beginning of Air. Have a really low listing number… I was among the first 30k to sign up for Air! I have met almost all the SH criteria many times except for number of reviews. People say they love it, check out and just do not review. It’s because they are grabbing their flight back or checking into their next place and couldn’t be fussed to review!

I know some folks here swear by their SH status (Ellen and K9 come to mind) but I tend to agree with Barns… how could it not add even more layers of guest expectations to a stay?

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You can,but I’m not gonna split this one because it went off topic a bit. :rofl:

guests may assume that SH means 5star luxury, then whinge a bit in reviews, even if one’s listing is super accurate