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Yes, if Superhost was actually a reflection of responsible and attentive hosting, only things hosts have control over, like the response rate and not cancelling bookings, it would actually mean something.
But as long as there are criteria like the star ratings, and Airbnb refuses to remove unfair reviews (pretty easy to ascertain that if a host has pages of 5 star reviews, that a 1* is BS), Superhost isn’t an indication of superior hosting at all.
That’s your inference. I didn’t blame other hosts at all.
Why shouldn’t I use my superhost status to my advantage if I have earned it?
Im not stating you shouldn’t. But your statement is misleading. Thats all I wanfed to correct.
Ok. I am not misleading them. Super hosts rarely cancel on guests. So if they book with me chances of getting cancelled are very low.
Not sure why you feel so offended about this. Not canceling on guests is part of the super host qualifications.
It was more the way you stated it- that you’re a Superhost because you never cancel on guests. But there are other criteria as well, so it’s not just about cancelling. And there are Superhosts who do cancel occasionally. If they have tons of bookings, and can stay under 1% cancellation rate.
Have you had a look on the Airbnb Help website it was lots of useful FAQS including how SH works @Cyndyrr327
Uhh…what muddy said. 
I’m not “offended”. I am just attempting to correct some misinformation on your part. You said that you say to guests “I assure them that I don’t cancel on guests and that’s why I’m a SuperHost”. That’s not entirely a great truth.
Not to mention that is probably the least favourable thing to put in a guests mind. Why not concentrate on what you do provide that makes you a SH rather than alluding to the negative that you don’t?
In the context that I mentioned it to guests it is the most important thing for them. They had a reservation canceled by another host and need assurance that I won’t be canceling on them.
These guests can continue taking their chances with non super host and keep getting canceled on.
Or book with me and have peace of mind.
The super host card works well and gets me a booking.
Well, nothing wrong with reassuring a guest who has concern about getting cancelled that you won’t do that. But I hope you don’t give them the impression that booking with those hosts who don’t have Superhost status means they are being foolish and are likely to be cancelled on, which is kind of what it sounds like. Because that would be unfair to hosts who also don’t cancel bookings, but may not be Superhosts.
I say nothing of this sort… if they come to that conclusion, I can’t control it. Just like you and @Icklemiss are coming to that conclusion.
All I’m saying is if you cancel on guests on a regular basis, you can’t be a SuperHost (< 1% cancellation rate). I’m a SuperHost because I don’t cancel on guests on a regular basis.
The probability of getting cancelled is higher when you book with a regular host. There are no guarantees. A SuperHost could cancel too, but the chances are lower than a regular host.
The impression isn’t that non-superhosts are likely to cancel on you, but only that superhosts are unlikely to cancel on you. That is the impression given by Airbnb and other hosts and guests too. If you look at reddit, a common question asked by guests is how to avoid being canceled on when they book. The answer(s) given? “book with a superhost”.
It is one of the main reasons that guests use the superhost filter when they search.
I know that hosts lose superhost for reasons other than cancelations and even that some cancelations are unavoidable but it’s just easier to filter for superhost than read through all the listings trying to figure out whether or not you can count on the host to keep the reservation. It doesn’t have anything to do with fairness.
However, it is one of many reasons that I think it’s poor advice to tell hosts that they don’t need to worry about having superhost.
When I search for an Airbnb to stay at, if I see a review that says “host cancelled xx days before check in”, I move on even if the listing is very appealing.
In my case, I could cancel two bookings and still be SuperHost, but I don’t want a review that says “cancelled by host”. It would be very bad for business. So I don’t cancel.
You keep saying this, but when you state it like that, it sounds like that is the sole reason you are Superhost, when there are also other factors. Which might lead guests to think that is the only factor in retaining Superhost.
What would be accurate to say is “One of the reasons I’m able to retain Superhost is because I don’t cancel bookings”.
You are a Superhost because you met all the stats it is based on. If your response rate, for instance, fell below 88%, you would lose that status, regardless of whether you’d never cancelled a booking. So you aren’t a Superhost just because you don’t cancel guests.
Not true. The cancellation rate used for SH evolves as you get bookings, and guest cancellations actually help. For example, in our case we had just started hosting in January 2022, and tried to balance our 1 listing on VRBO and Airbnb. We got a double booking and cancelled the newer booking within about 30 minutes but that has prevented us from attaining the vaunted title until now. We will be getting SH in October because our cancellation rate (the only thing holding us back) is now below 1.0. I learned that it’s ALL the bookings you accept and don’t cancel. So if someone books a weekend and a week later cancels and then someone else books that weekend immediately, that’s 2 accepted bookings where only 1 could have existed before. Add up all your past and present bookings AND add in your guest-cancelled bookings. all those together will eventually balance the one host-cancellation down to 1.0% At that point, the very next accepted booking drops you below 1.0 and you have restored your SH eligibility. I thought it’d take us over a year to earn it. It’s only been 8 months.
Rare that I get a cancellation. I wasn’t open much for a time this summer, so not a lot of bookings. I’ve noticed that the cancellation rate creeps up even though I only cancelled one last winter.
Someone else here said the cancellation rate goes away after a year, so maybe I’ll be free at the end of the year.
When your total number of bookings to host-cancellation ratio is equal 100:1, your rate will be back to normal. Or if a year has passed. As long as your other metrics are “in the green” then you’ll get the SH.
Definitely not 100:1 but in total green for other requirements.
When I cancelled I wasn’t thinking straight as I was sick and didn’t know what I had. Never called Airbnb about it as I didn’t know what the consequences would be.
I’ve only been at this Air for 1 1/2 years and since the major change in Air in May, my bookings tanked, but have improved lately.
Don’t we think that super hosts show up better in the search results? Im in houston where the market has become saturated. Even though we have tons of reviews and Superhost status, often times we don’t show up on the first page any more. The algorithms are xo tangly changing for who pops up first, I think. What do you all think Sh status contributes to that?
From talking to my guests, it seems most of them have no idea what SuperHost even is or means or whether I am one or not.
I don’t think it’s a big factor. There are other things that weigh more heavily. For instance, properties that use instant book will rank higher than a Superhost, even if the IB property has a 4.2 rating and yours has 5. Getting lots of bookings is also a big factor. That’s, of course, a bit of a vicious circle- if your listing is less visible, you’ll get less bookings. Not declining requests is also a factor.
Search ranking doesn’t have anything to do with rewarding good hosts, it has to do with whatever Airbnb thinks will put service fees in their coffers fastest.