The Superhost criteria don’t contain anything about rates of acceptance, as far as I know.
Here’s Airbnb’s page about it:
This is what it shows me it’s a “Requirement” regarding the % of “Accepted Reservations” for reservation request and Airbnb’s ridiculous “Target Rate”:
Property: Me: Airbnb:
“Deer Tracks” 70% 88%
“Bear House” 72% 88%
“Moonlight Ridge” 70% 88%
What should I do, y’all? I’ve been asking folks to cancel their request when I had nts don’t work out. Many guests don’t reply to my answers to their questions until a day or two, which makes the reservation automatically “Expire” (which I’m assuming is just as bad as Declining?).
I make all guests who’ve already book and need to cancel do it themselves. None ever mind. Perhaps I should start asking guests I can’t accommodate to do the same (and explain why & what it does to my SuperHost rating, so there’s an incentive for them to do it & they feel happy for helping out.
I’ve also been making Alteration Requests to people to add Pet Fees. In the past, I stupidly declined the original reservation request, then sent a special offer that included the pet fee. Til I realized I was being penalized for that, too!!! Shame on you, Airbnb! Every day you demand more and more out of us SuperHosts!!!
Back to my question, thought: What else can I do to increase my % of Requests??? I’d greatly appreciate any and all tips and prayers. Thank y’all so much! xoxo
No, expire isn’t the same as decline. Just make sure you reply to all requests quickly. You don’t need them to cancel their request either.
You’re booking guests that you then can’t accommodate? Why?
It’s going to get harder to maintain superhost status and at the next assessment next month I expect a flood of posts here from people complaining. Best to not really worry about it.
I’m not clear on why your acceptance rate is so low. Why are you turning people down, in addition to what you posted?
I am getting more than a little overwhelmed by the steady stream of new metrics we are supposed to achieve.
I am well below the goal metrics for accepted bookings. Most of these people don’t have the basic requirements. Until Air gives me 88% of the requests with guests that do, in fact, meet the basic requirements, sod this goal.
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Also it’s grossly unfair for hosts who have to live with the guests in their part of the home to be compared with hosts, like me, who have a separate space. I don’t find it difficult to meet this metric at all. I also don’t have to meet the guest. LOL.
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Wow 80% is high. Mine is 38%… I try to keep 90% occupancy rate therefore unattractive arrival, departure dates are declined immediately.
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I can’t even imagine. You must have bookings from another platform?
I’m currently at 94%.
No just Airbnb. Minimum stay is set at one night but I rarely take them. 4-7 nights have priority. Preferred arrival days are Wed, Thus departure days are Tues, Wed. 1-2 night bookings are considered only when I need to fill in between mid-long stay bookings.
Also I ask guests if they have any friends, families in my city for emergency contact purpose. If they do they are most likely declined.
Most importantly, no locals.
It will be interesting to see how or if Airbnb enforces their “standards.”
I expect to lose SH status next evaluation period.
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Indeed, Karma. I am a single female and I live with my guests, and I have C-PTSD. If someone had told me at the beginning that I needed to accept 88% of the requests, irrespective of their lack of basic Airbnb requirements, I would never have done this.
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The irony - the creepy host not far from here takes anybody. the walls are thin, there are up to 20 people in the house with 1 bath, the top room is apparently unheated and a fire hazard, the place is dirty, and he regularly insults guests on reviews. I wonder what the priority will be - taking everybody, or 96% 5 star?
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Again, the metrics are tipped in favour of the new host. The more time spent as a Host, the greater the probability of a punitive review, regardless of the quality of the experience. My evil twin suggests delisting and reposting.
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I don’t know how to quote our conversation, but what I meant about how I’m going to start getting guests I can’t accommodate (i.e., I often get requests where the dates in question have already booked.) I’m going to start asking them to Cancel their requests, instead of my having to Decline them. That should help my ratio, right???
Thanks for all your helpful feedback and info, everybody! I’m not a newb, but we all have questions that we’re embarrassed to ask at times. I’ve had my cabins 4 years, and been doing Airbnb the last 2-2.5 years. I grossed $250k last year. Now just hoping to cut back in my expenses somehow too. Thanks again!!! Your help and advice is most sincerely appreciated!!!
Cheers,
Laura K.
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@MountainGirl -
If you are getting requests for dates that are already booked, then they can only be an inquiry - unless you are not keeping your AirBnB calendar up to date with booked dates. We get most of our business from HomeAway/VRBO, so I am religious about blocking the AirBnB calendar immediately when we get a booking from HA/VRBO.
I didn’t think that they could even inquire on blocked dates. Are they using unblocked dates to inquire and then requesting different ones in their message?
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Yes, it’s happens when they request or inquire using a date they’re not truly interested in as a way to make contact with me. Then they’ll say they couldn’t book the dates they wanted (I’m like “um yeah, there’s a reason why you can’t” lolol). I just don’t want my requests accepted % to take a ding because of dummies like that.
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I wonder if my Acceptance Rate is so low because up until recently, I’d decline the guests’ original reservation request, if they had a dog. Then, send a Special Offer that includes the pet fee(s). So I think that’s why. Now I just “Alter Reservation” to add the pet fees. Think that may be why??? I’m a wonderful host. I wish there was a thread where I could show y’all my properties to get feedback! 
Thank you for your response, K9!
If they only inquire - don’t let AirBnB push you into pre-approving or declining them. Just respond quickly. You don’t really have anything to decline.
If they submit a request to book they have to set up payment, so I’m hoping very few people actually do that just to ask for different dates.
I get a lot of the same “Would you accept a shorter stay than your minimum for a booking 9 months in advance?”. Ummm, no. I just say so and don’t pre-approve or decline. My metrics don’t seem to be negatively impacted by those.
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There’s this one:
Also you can make your own thread with links to your listings. Many members are happy to see other’s listings and critique and praise them.
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