Superhost questions

1

Hello guys, I would be grateful if someone could answer these:

*Is there any way for a Superhost to cancel a booking without loosing status? (Removing instant booking is not an option)
What happens if someone with bad reviews books instantly?Anyway to avoid the booking?(contacting Airbnb support could remove a booking without loosing status?)
*Do you think being a Superhost and in first pages is after all so great?Yes first pages have more views but…do they actually help having more bookings/gain more?
I personally think that a vast number of travelers book from page 5to10, those flats have 2 advantages:
1)most of times first pages flat are booked so “second wave” flats can raise prices and actually gain more.
2)they have more flexibility since they know what’s the right price for the season,they get more last minute bookings.

I see many Superhosts killing the prices for low season, I’m not so sure this actually works fine , at the end second wave flats gain more and maybe have better quality guests (do we all agree that raising prices reduces the risk of Having bad guests?)

*Why as superhost I don’t have access to professional photo service?I have requested it many times but Airbnb keep telling I’m not eligible to it and that I need to have 5 listings or something…

*Can someone provide me Airbnb support email? Contacting them every time seems like searching the holly grail, I’m not so sure they are exited with the idea of people contacting them :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

Thx very much

2

*Is there any way for a Superhost to cancel a booking without loosing status?’

NO

(Removing instant booking is not an option)

Why not, all you have to do is turn it off?

What happens if someone with bad reviews books instantly?

They get a place to stay. You can set certain conditions about Instant Book guests, but not rejecting for bad reviews.

*Do you think being a Superhost and in first pages is after all so great?

YES

I personally think that a vast number of travelers book from page 5 to10,

“Vast numbers”? I doubt that very much. Do you have any proof?

I see many Superhosts killing the prices for low season, I’m not so sure this actually works fine

I don’t know where you are, but that certainly is not the case in southwest Florida. Everyone (not just Superhosts) drops rates in our off-season, because some bookings are better than none. I didn’t have to be a Superhost to figure that out!

(do we all agree that raising prices reduces the risk of Having bad guests?)

No, we certainly do not all agree to that statement. In my life I’ve seen many more “bad” rich people than average folks; money makes people think they are entitled because of it.

*Why as superhost I don’t have access to professional photo service?I have requested it many times but Airbnb keep telling I’m not eligible to it and that I need to have 5 listings or something…

Can’t help you there. Unless you live in a place where AirBnb does not have any professional photographers to send.

*Can someone provide me Airbnb support email? Contacting them every time seems like searching the holly grail, I’m not so sure they are exited with the idea of people contacting them

Support Email is not particularly useful. Directions can be found by googling the question. Much better support is from AirBnb on Twitter, and by phone. If you are having trouble with your local/regional CS people, call the American CS team after 9AM Pacific time, when they are on duty. I live on the east coast of America and if I call CS in the morning I get very nice Irish CSR, which is almost as good.

2 Likes
3

Hey @Gheorghos,

I met an instructor at Airbnb conference, who was able to cancel a reservation without losing her Superhost status. This was done through phone and happened in US. If you have a good and fair reason to cancel a reservation, you may try your chance.

In her case, the reason was simply availability issue and she already had a plenty of good reviews.

Good luck!

4

*Is there any way for a Superhost to cancel a booking without loosing status? (Removing instant booking is not an option)

  • Yes. If you cancel because of extenuating circumstances
  • Yes. If you have IB and they don’t meet your house rules/listing description
  • Remove IB is an option, just going into listing and remove it.

What happens if someone with bad reviews books instantly?Anyway to avoid the booking?(contacting Airbnb support could remove a booking without loosing status?)

If

  • you don’t want people with bad reviews, just set your listing so only those with positive reviews can book

*Do you think being a Superhost and in first pages is after all so great?Yes first pages have more views but…do they actually help having more bookings/gain more?

  • Being on the first pages, having great reviews, great ratings, competitive price and fab location - are what is important.

I personally think that a vast number of travelers book from page 5to10, those flats have 2 advantages:

1)most of times first pages flat are booked so “second wave” flats can raise prices and actually gain more.

2)they have more flexibility since they know what’s the right price for the season,they get more last minute bookings.

  • Not true - what evidence/research do you have

  • Don’t understand your point here. If places are booked they won’t appear when a guests put in dates. Why do those lower down the listing rankings have more flexibility.

  • Yes first pages do ensure more bookings. I work in marketing and normally for a product like this, research shows the vast majority will look page 1-2 which choosing accommodation/flights etc

I see many Superhosts killing the prices for low season, I’m not so sure this actually works fine , at the end second wave flats gain more and maybe have better quality guests (do we all agree that raising prices reduces the risk of Having bad guests?)

  • what evidence do you have that it is only superhosts reducing prices in low season.

*Why as superhost I don’t have access to professional photo service?I have requested it many times but Airbnb keep telling I’m not eligible to it and that I need to have 5 listings or something…

  • Having a BNB photographer is nothing to do with superhost status. Nor do you need 5 listings. They either have one free in your area or not. If you need professional photos just book a local freelance and deduct as a business expense.

*Can someone provide me Airbnb support email? Contacting them every time seems like searching the holly grail, I’m not so sure they are exited with the idea of people contacting them :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

  • Contact numbers at the top of this forum. Or contact them via their social media. Or though your profile.
5

When they do, the chances are that they’re not making money. It starts a spiral. Other local listings see the low price so reduce theirs and so it goes on until prices are ridiculously low. The problem with this, apart from the fact that the hosts aren’t making money, is that it doesn’t always bring bookings. If guests do book, it’s because they are simply looking for somewhere cheap and not necessarily to stay at your place with the advantages you offer. Plus many guests believe that ‘you get what you pay for’.

It’s not a case of dropping your prices during the off season, but raising them during peak seasons. Subtle difference :slight_smile:

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6

This is silly logic… chances are that Superhosts and other high volume hosts have the most information as to true market rates at any given time, and are pricing accordingly to maximize bookings at the highest possible rates they can get. Those rates can fluctuate significantly based on supply and demand at any given time. Even “high quality” guests have no reason to pay more than they have to if other options are available for less money.

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7

I recently cancelled an Instant Booked guest shortly after they booked my place, because the one review they had was quite negative. I did it through the site and there were no penalties to my superhost status and no financial penalties either.

8

It is not silly logic at all. It is a response to the remark:

I have been a Superhost for a long time. We alter rates regularly depending on demand and special events. We do not (as I also said above) lower our prices during the off-season but raise them during the high season and for periods of high demand. If you think that this is ‘silly logic’ then all I can say is that it has worked well for me for many years so if you’d like to defend your comment, feel free.

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9

Why would you do that when you could just have your IB set not to accept guests with negative reviews?

10

One host has a “base price” of $200, but they cut it to $100 in the off season.

Another host has a “base price” of $100, but they raise it to $200 in high season.

Practically speaking, these two hosts are pursuing the exact same pricing strategy.

If other hosts are “killing prices” it most likely means that there are fewer potential guests, and they’re pursuing a rational strategy to beat out other hosts.

11

Because I don’t mind taking IB bookings from guests with no reviews. Most of my guests are new to Airbnb and if I restricted them from doing IB they might not see my place in the search results.

12

Yes, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s actually a lot more complex than that. The base price is the minimum price that hosts set. That’s why it’s called a base price. Then hosts raise their prices for the dates when there’s a higher demand.

As I’m sure you know, this is how the hospitality and travel industries work. Hotels. cruise operators, airlines etc.

So I still don’t quite see what your point is. You seem to disagree with me that hosts shouldn’t cut their prices to rock bottom but I’m afraid that I don’t see why. It only leads to more and more undercutting which is bad for everyone.

13

I’m also a superhost, have a degree in Economics and work in the investment business so I do understand pricing quite well. In Airbnb-speak, a base price isn’t necessarily the minimum price, it’s a default price or mental reference point for the host which can be adjusted up or down. I used a simple illustration to show that the concept of a base price is fairly meaningless from the customer’s viewpoint; they don’t care what you usually charge, they care what you’re asking right now, and what their other options are asking.

If your system works for you then that’s great, but to make a blanket statement like “hosts shouldn’t cut their prices to rock bottom” is bad advice because it all depends on the circumstances. Maybe if you’re hosting somewhere without much competition you can keep prices relatively high and still get enough bookings, or maybe it’s not worthwhile to host below a certain point, but in a competitive location an individual host has no pricing power and guests will just book other places if you’re too expensive.

14

Not the case, I have checked our listing daily for a long time and the base price shown has always been the minimum price I set. If this isn’t the case with you, then I suggest you contact Airbnb about it.

You’re still not getting it. When I see listings that are priced at something ridiculous like $25 a night then there’s no way that the host is making money and might indeed be losing money. That is, if they are legitimate hosts who are paying the TOT, have licences (where applicable) and have adequate insurance.

I am in an extremely competitive location and I do not lower my prices ever. As an economist you know that not everyone books purely on price alone.

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15

Fair enough :slight_smile:

16

If you’re using Smart Pricing then you can set the base price and minimum price separately. For example my base price is $130 right now but my minimum Smart Price is $110. The actual minimum price (I set each night manually) is as low as $80 depending on the night.

They might be losing money, but if you get $0 and no bookings then you’re losing even more money.

People do book for reasons other than price, but everyone shops around and so your place has to be worth it to get bookings. If you’re not getting bookings it means that your place isn’t worth what you’re asking.

17

For a shared space, that is actually a false statement. As it happens, I am one of those lucky hosts that has a 97% occupancy rate. I also have a number that I will not go below since I know what my costs are. I have no interest in paying more for utilities and food than the amount of the nightly fee. Pretty simple actually.

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18

Yes dear, I am using Smart Pricing. It seems that I’m using it a tad better than you though if you set every night manually and use SP as well. Read the forum here, read through Airbnb’s help files and you’ll soon get the hang of it.

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19

Same for a separate apartment - in my case anyway. My regular rate is cost + x and doesn’t go below that. I also don’t give any discounts except for repeat guests who have proved themselves to be reliable. Even then, it’s just a token discount, nothing substantial. We know our costs and the profit margin we have to make.

20

I take the point some money is better than no money. Most of us still have to pay bills whether someone is staying in the property or not. I have to pay the rent and the heating / water bills regardless. Clean bedding and breakfast items are the only thing that are an additional cost… and the true price of those (for me) is below £10. So in that case, some money towards my fixed costs is better than no money towards them.

I can see how that might not work for everyone as there are always exceptions. I would expect this to be the case for most hosts though … some income is better than none.