It might not, but my thought is that people might prefer to book with a place that has higher reviews.
All the places Iāve stayed are fine, superhost or not. But all things being equal Iāll pick a superhost over a non-superhost as well.
It still depends on context. I get one and two night bookings and Iām currently averaging a booking about every 8-10 views. As Iāve mentioned before, I get travelers, not tourists, and Iām a roadside pit stop so to speak.
609
Views, past 30 days
2.3%
Booking rate
11
Booked days
20
Unbooked days
0
Blocked days
Big difference. I bet Iāve never had more than 200 views in a month. What kind of rental do you have?
I was awarded Superhost status pretty early on, and I was proud. Starting up being a host cost me a LOT of money and HUGE amount of time. I rent out the bottom floor of my house, which is set into a hill and all rooms face a huge view out across a forested canyon to the Yosemite high country.
But then not losing my Superhost status became an obsession, and I wasnāt enjoying it anymore. I did love getting to know most of my guests, and I have a whole bulletin board full of thank-you notes and some still write and call me. Thatās the best part of it.
After two years, mostly in the Summer, I was absolutely exhausted with the cleaning and cleaning and cleaning, restocking the kitchenette and having to check in constantly to answer bookings requests in time. The money was great and helped a lot, but Iām in my 60s and I was a basket case by Labor Day.
I got notices from AB&B that I had gotten āless than perfectā (e.g., bad) reviews, but when I asked what the complaints were, I was told they couldnāt disclose that. Huh?
How is that helpful? to anyone? So now I had more things to fret about. One rep said it was something about ācleanliness,ā and I was dumbfounded. I cleaned every single surface every time the guests left ā it took me at least four hours of hard work before AND after every guest was here. Of course I always washed all the linens and towels and dishes ā what on earth could I have left out? I still donāt know.
I try to always be respectful to AB&B staff no matter what, but itās hard. And I started looking at each guest, thinking: what are YOU going to write about me? There was literally nothing more I could possibly think of to make guests happy.
Iām so glad I found this forum to know Iām not the only one going through this. This winter we have had snow and rain almost constantly, and I got no bookings andā¦I was glad. Iāve decided to chill and stop worrying about everything, especially the Superhost thing. I donāt think the Superhost thing matters either, except to make us feel good, not that thereās anything wrong with that.
But telling a host he/she got a ābadā review and not letting us know what the complaints were seems simply sadistic. Anyone else have thoughts on this?
Thank you for making the point that it is stress inducing and futile to tell hosts that they received less than perfect reviews, yet not tell them what the perceived problem is.
1st time superhost here, almost immediate 100% increase in views and roughly 30% more bookings, first page placement in my city (kinda like they do for new listings) even after raising my rate considerably. However, i do believe it varies depending on location/market, season, property type, amenities offered and other factors. Some of the best advice and stories here come from non-supers (whom i hold in high regard) so I donāt put too much of a high of a value on it, but i will absolutely take full advantage since it wonāt likely last forever.
Yes, I lost my Superhost status which I had had for almost three years just for canceling one last-minute one-night reservation. I had turned on Instant Book to try and support Airbnbās non-discrimination initiative. When my son announced he was surprising us with a visit over Christmas late one night, I didnāt block out his arrival day until the next morningāand when I went online I found someone had instant booked. I explained to them and asked if theyād do the cancellation, and they understood my dilemma and did so. Still, I got my Superhost status taken away in spite of calling Airbnb and pleading my case. Iām really upset and am avidly looking for an alternative to Airbnb as a result.
This is the point I have been trying to make for years. The bar to be a superhost is SO LOW its a joke. 10 guests? Are you kidding me? They want to trick hosts into thinking it is meaningful so they wonāt cancel. It is ALL about trying to force hosts into never cancelling.
That said, I thought you got at least ONE cancellation without penalty. I did.
Wrong reasonā¦ not blocking your calendar isnāt one of the valid reasons for a penalty-free cancelation.
Another reason it is pointless is because it does not take into consideration 10 one night stays versus 10 week long stays. You could host 9 separate week long stays through Air and not qualify. But someone who only hosted for 10 nights can qualify.
Thatās another carrot. For those listing on multiple sites, and if they want to keep superhost status, it may force some of them to lower their rates due to the service fee. I was quite shocked I wasnāt demoted this last time around. My last 4 out of 5 Airbnb guests did not leave a review at all. They also didnāt receive one from me. I was hoping to be demoted as I do think it may have an effect on search results.
Silly me. What was I thinking? I forgot I only show up in searches that Air has determined for meā¦lol.
I see it has changed a bit since last time I checked. Now when someone selects my city with no dates and 1 guest, and no filter on type of property - 22 rentals show up. And I am not one of them.
Then if the guest filters for entire home, then all of a sudden 140 properties show up. Sighā¦
I personally do not think superhost status matters. I have been hosting for three years, Iāve been a superhost for a year. When I started, I was the only Airbnb in town but now I have competition, particularly in the last year. Almost all of the other hosts in town are also superhosts so I donāt think it gets me better ratings or any of the other perks because our local market is saturated with superhosts.
Then respectfully, I suggest that hosting is not for you.
Iām in my sixties too and weāre fully booked, mostly with back-to-backs. I look at the cleaning as being a wonderful workout! We rent a separate apartment so it can be hard work but get the music going - or your favourite radio station - and itās a great way to keep fit and active.
According to airdna.co, there are 624 properties, 387 hosts, and 107 SuperHosts. That is just my city, which is a tiny bit of our urban center. The next city over, Cambridge, MA has 1,374 properties, 807 hosts, and 204 Superhosts. Though AirBNB claims that only about 7% of hosts receive SuperHost status, at least around here, we are all overachievers.
I wonāt bother to search Boston or Brookline or Arlington or Medford or Malden which are all inner areas of the area.
Well I would say so based on all those perfect SAT scores! Yikes!
I lost any chance of super host in my first two bookings, marked down to 3 for cleanliness, when place spotless. Problem was the local nature, spiders and bugs. I was very stressed at first, but life is too short to fuss about idiots who canāt figures out that there will be bugs in the forest. Iād rather people not book my place hoping for operating room cleanliness, itās a cottage in the woods.
There was nothing ārespectfulā about what you just wrote to me. It was insulting, hurtful, uncalled-for and completely missed the point of my post.
The reason I was tired after six months of back-to-back hosting is NOT because Iām not fit (like you, evidently), and thatās because Iām too lazy to do my own housework.
I get tired NOT because I donāt exercise (I take a 2-mile walk on my 5.5 acres in the forest every morning unless itās raining or showing hard); itās because I have cancer, and the medications and procedures I must go through one week a month are exhausting, and I donāt always have the luxury of choosing when that is. Hence hiring help to clean and prepare for guests.
LOL! I completely understand and agree. Before I moved to Yosemite I had no idea how many zillions of types of bugs there were in the forest. I have to tell to guests who want to sleep outside in the screened sleeping porch (very popular in the Summer) which are and which arenāt venomous or blood-sucking bugs, and warn them that the pine-borer beetle can be four inches long with what appear to be huge pincers (but arenāt), and that if they donāt like bugs they shouldnāt turn on the light and leave the door open. The screening keeps out 90% of the bugs, but it just takes one to freak out some city folks.
Hereās a hint that helps me a lot during Summer hosting: spiders hate the smell of lavender, so I get a lavender linen-spray and use it on sheets and towels after I wash them. The guests seem to like it and it does seem to work. I always warn guests never to put their hand anyplace they canāt see into, as there are black widow and recluse spiders here that are even worse than black widows. My sister left and went back to Seattle after just one day of walking when she encountered a large trap-door spider (benign, but huge).
J
First, Good luck in your fight against cancer. Although there arenāt lots of bugs here I am always interested in non-toxic methods because I board dogs. I hesitate to use any scents at all (except in my part of the house) because people vary so much in their tolerance for them. But other posters have mentioned their admiration for lavender. Someone else mentioned peppermint. I assume youāve never had any complaint about the scent?