In 2016, Airbnb launched its Superhost program that gave their most dedicated and devoted hosts a VIP status. It originally came about due to inconsistencies in Airbnb’s rating system, and Superhosts have to do a few things to get to and maintain their VIP status. If you want to be an Airbnb Superhost, this one is for you. We’ll explain how you get to the Superhost level, how you maintain it and the benefits that come with it.
Getting to Superhost Level
Airbnb has five requirements that your listing has to meet to earn Superhost status. Although this is relatively straightforward, it’s not as easy as it looks. The five requirements for earning your Superhost status are as follows:
1. Get 10 or More Stays During the Previous Calendar Year
The first thing you have to do is get ten stays during the past calendar year. These ten stays can be ten different bookings. If you primarily use long-term stays, you have to have three stays that total out to 100 nights or more. So, you could have three stays at 35 days a stay to reach your goal. If you book an average of 15 nights per month at three nights per stay, you’re earning five bookings a month.
2. Have a 90% Response Rate to Questions
If your prospective clients have questions about your listing, stay requirements, and more, they’ll send you a message. You want to quickly reply (within 24 hours) to at least 90% of all of these inquiries to maintain this response rate. It’s a good idea to respond to every inquiry you get, even if you say “thank you, but no thank you” over and over again. This will bump your response rate to 100%.
3. Have a 0% Cancellation Rate
You don’t want to cancel any reservations your book, even if you accidentally price something wrong. Just take the hit on price and keep the reservation. It has to be at 0% for you to be able to hit Superhost status, but there are a few extenuating circumstances that Airbnb will accept. Just keep in mind that you will either require documented proof of these circumstances, or you’ll be subject to a special review in order for Airbnb’s team to confirm that your listing was directly impacted.
4. Maintain a 4.8 Star or Above Rating
You need reviews to get ratings. Superhost status requires that a listing has an average rating of 8 stars or above throughout the previous year. Airbnb will get this rating by looking at 50% of your reviews for the past year. This works out to roughly 80% of your reviews being five stars, and this is the maximum amount you can get from a review. Guests can rate your listing on the overall experience, accuracy, cleanliness, value, arrival, communication and location.
5. Maintain a 50% Review Rate or Higher
Airbnb puts a lot of emphasis on reviews, and this is extremely true for people with Superhost status. Over the past year, it requires you to have and maintain at least a 50% review rate or higher on your listing. If you have 20 stays, you need at least 10 reviews to achieve Superhost status.
It’s important to note that Airbnb doesn’t require you to go through an application process to get Superhost status. You just have to hit the five requirements and have your account in good standing on the quarterly assessment dates. If you do, Airbnb will notify you of your new Superhost status within 10 days of the assessment period. These assessment dates are:
January 1st
April 1st
July 1st
October 1st
Maintaining Superhost Status
Getting Superhost status on Airbnb is only half the battle. Now, you have to maintain your new status through assessments every three months, and you can track it through your dashboard. There are several things you can do to increase your chances, and they include but are not limited to:
Be Responsive to Your Guests– Consider yourself as a hotel front desk, and be extremely responsive to your guests. Since you can’t necessarily be available 24/7, consider using the AvivalQ app to automate some of your responses. It’ll send initial responses to any potential guests who message you, and you can continue the conversation when you wake up.
Provide Staples – Since your guests are choosing to stay at your listing rather than a hotel, you should be just as accommodating. Provide things like cooking equipment, towels, toothpaste, soap for cleaning and bathing, cable TV and toilet paper. Also, make sure everything is in good working order.
Cleanliness is a Top Priority– Cleanliness differs from person to person and culture to culture, but it should be a top priority. If you don’t clean your listing yourself, hire professional cleaners. Share any negative feedback so everyone can improve.
Set Prices to Equal Demand – Prices will fluctuate throughout the year, and it’s critical that you stay competitive. You can use Airbnb’s Smart Pricing Tool (this tends to set on the lower end), (this tends to set on the lower end), or BeyondPricing.com will do it for you if you don’t want to adjust it manually.
Superhost Status Benefits
Superhost status comes with several perks and benefits for people who achieve and maintain it. These benefits include:
Earn More – According to Airbnb’s data, Superhosts can earn up to 22% more than normal hosts. Featured Listing– Airbnb will give you a featured listing that helps you attract more guests to your listing year-round. Travel Coupon – Each year that you successfully maintain your Superhost status, Airbnb will send you a $100 travel coupon. Referral Bonus – You already get a bonus for referring new hosts to Airbnb, but Superhosts get an additional 20% in addition to their normal bonus.
How Professional Hosting Helps Achieve Superhost Status
Professional hosting can give you the complete listing package on Airbnb. Not only can they manage your listing for you, but they can be right at your rental property in the event of an issue or problem. Professional hosts also gain in-depth knowledge of the properties they list and maintain on Airbnb, and this takes a lot of the stress off you.
They’ll field complaints, answer questions and address concerns as they come in. In turn, you can see increase customer satisfaction scores and better reviews, and all of this can boost your chances of earning more and getting to or achieving Superhost status on Airbnb.
Call HomeHost on 1300 17 17 18 to discuss how we can manage your Airbnb property and help you achieve Superhost status.
