I lost my superhost status because of a cancellation (one cancel in 5 years of hosting grr). I’m still a “guest favourite (whatever that means). Now I’m looking for a place to stay on an upcoming trip and it looks like you can filter by guest favourite, but not by superhost. So I’m curious if superhost even means anything anymore? Have I missed an announcement?
My own view is that Airbnb deliberately sidelined SuperHost – which provides guests with a better-than-nothing measure of verified quality control – because it gave established, well-run properties an advantage over newcomers, and replaced it with a new designation based on secret rules that allow newcomers to earn a “seal of approval” without waiting for months. In other words, they have made expansion a priority over brand integrity.
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Yeah, they removed the Superhost filter, without announcement, when they brought in the meaningless “Guest Favorite”.
So if guests who care are looking for a Superhost, they can no longer search for that, they only see that badge when they click on an individual listing.
Seems they haven’t taken away the $100 voucher “prize” yet, but I won’t be surprised if they do.
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Superhost is granted much sooner than a year many times. And it is about completed stays more than that ephemeral ‘quality’ that the guests think that they are getting with “Superhost”.
What guests who look to book with Superhosts are most concerned with, as per guest posts I have read, as well as posts here by hosts who also travel as guests, is that they know that one loses Superhost if they cancel on guests.
It’s that factor, in addition to having to maintain a 4.8 and above rating, as far as I’m aware, that drives the choice of experienced guests to book with a Superhost, rather than thinking that it indicates some ephemeral quality.
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@Vanmep Superhost is a thing but no longer a “filter” option for Guests to narrow listings down based on that. Guests assume that Guest Favorite" has been the replacement for Superhost, which is really deceiving to say the least. Hosts have brought this up in the feedback section since the new rollout–seems like its falling to deaf ears. I know many listings that are Guest Favorites that have lower than a 4.8 overall rating.
I recently had a friend choose a listing in my area that was a Guest Favorite, and the conditions were deplorable (stained towels, stained linens, etc.). I feel that Airbnb is promoting newer listings as Guest Favorites above seasoned hosts. I have also been told that if you have had more than one CS claim or involved CS in any way, that is a reason why you are not a Guest Favorite. So in essence, let’s penalize a host for disrespectful, inappropriate guest behavior. That’s great!
Who told this to you?
Here is the link from Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/a/what-superhosts-should-know-about-guest-favorites-646
When the Winter Release in November came out with the Guest Favorite category, I had a 4.95 rating and had 5-star reviews for over a year. Airbnb stated that listings could become a Guest Favorite from day-to-day. I meet all of the other requirements except for the CS one–I have had several claims for Guests smoking on my property and having to terminate their stay because of it over the last few years. I’ve asked CS about it and they agreed that those issues could affect my property from being a Guest Favorite.
I have also spoken to many hosts that are Guest Favorites, and they have not involved CS at all or maybe once (probably have that low percentage in their favor). Again, I have had to involve CS because of guest behavior–it should not be a reflection of my listing.
I always used the Superhost as a guest, and didn’t notice that it has been removed. In saying that I do not just rely on superhost status, I always go to the individual guest reviews.
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