Top Tips For Becoming An Airbnb Superhost
Being an Airbnb superhost is about more than having a badge on your profile. It shows you are experienced, dedicated and consistently able to deliver a high-quality service to your guests. It promotes trust, gives you better visibility in search results and fast-tracked access to the Airbnb support team should you need it. Your income will also likely increase, and Airbnb will reward you with other benefits such as travel coupons.
How Do You Get Superhost Status?
But, how do you go about achieving superhost status? It’s not something you can apply for; you get it automatically if you meet Airbnb’s superhost criteria when they undertake their quarterly reviews. That means if you consistently have top reviews and happy guests, you have a good chance, but there are certain things you can do to improve your odds – read on to find out what they are!
Airbnb Superhost Criteria
To become an Airbnb superhost you must have:
At least ten completed bookings in the previous year
A response rate of >90%
No cancelled bookings
A >50% review rate
An overall rating of 4.8 (new from July 2018; replaces the stipulation that you must have >80% 5* reviews)
How to Achieve Superhost Status
Now you know the criteria, you know what you need to do to meet it, and most of it isn’t difficult to do. If you respond to all enquiries no matter what they are, never cancel a booking and encourage your guests to leave reviews, you’re over halfway there.
Ensure 10+ Bookings
Ensuring you have ten completed bookings should be easy too; it’s less than one a month. That being said, it will be easier for some than others. For example, if your property is in a popular location, you should meet the criteria with little effort. If you’re located a bit further out in a less in-demand area, you’ll need to put a bit more effort into your marketing. That means spending some time optimising your profile and spreading the word - you can find plenty of ideas in our ‘How to get exposure for your Airbnb property’ blog post.
Improve Your Reviews
The criteria most hosts fall on is the reviews. Until now, you had to have >80% five-star reviews, but it’s just been simplified; you now need an overall rating of 4.8. It makes little difference to what you need to do though; most of your reviews still need to be five star, which is a challenge. It’s impossible to satisfy everyone, and some people just like complaining, but there are things you can do; have a read of our ‘Tips for ensuring a five-star review from every Airbnb guest’ blog post for some ideas.
Manage Expectations
One of the most important things you can do though is to manage expectations; undersell and over deliver. If guests arrive expecting more than you can give, they’ll automatically be dissatisfied and mark you down. Be honest in your listing, and your guests should have nothing to complain about.
Rapport With Guests
And secondly, be friendly and welcoming as guests remember and look kindly on hosts they had a rapport with. If you smile, communicate and respond quickly to questions you have a good chance of getting a five-star review, even if something else isn’t quite perfect. It can help to read your guests as well. Some like to be left alone while others prefer a more hands-on approach to hosting. If you can identify what your guests are looking for and host accordingly, they should thank you with a great review.
Speak to the Airbnb Management Experts
Hopefully, this helps you to reach superhost status, but if you’re still struggling, hiring an Airbnb property management company, like us, could help. We look after all the small details, so ensure you’re responsive, that your property is clean and that the basics are in place. Your guests receive high-quality service from start to finish and will have no reason to withhold those precious stars from you! Contact us today if you would like to know more.