How to Become a Superhost on Airbnb

Superhost on Airbnb

Obtaining Superhost status on Airbnb isn’t just so you can have a pretty sticker next to your name…it’s about having a stamp of approval that directly translates to higher earnings as a host.

All things equal, Superhosts will on average earn 60% more bookings revenue than a non Superhosts in the same city. Besides that, there are other perks that Airbnb provides its Superhosts…things like travel coupons, priority with customer support, and invitations to exclusive Airbnb sponsored events in your city.

Every host wants to become one but how do you actually do it? What does it take to earn AND keep your Superhost status?  Yes, it’s not a one and done type of deal.  You have to continuously earn the right for the status.  Many hosts gain it only to lose it.  But if you follow the advice below, you’ll up your odds of both becoming and staying a Superhost.

Meeting Airbnb’s Superhost Minimum Requirements

Becoming a Superhost on Airbnb is straightforward: meet Airbnb’s requirements for becoming and Superhost and you’ll earn the status.

However, straightforward doesn’t not mean easy. Here are the requirements:

• Responsive: You must have maintained a response rate of 90% of higher.  (Keep it at a 100% by responding to every single inquiry, even if you have to say “thank you but no thank you” for the 5000th time.  This is a super easy requirement to meet.  Just ALWAYS respond every inquiry.
• Doesn’t Cancel: Don’t cancel any reservations, even if you screwed up the pricing on your end.  Take the lump on that booking because keeping your Superhost status will be more than worth the one time loss. Again, another super easy requirement to meet.  Just NEVER cancel a booking.
• Experienced: You have to have at least 10 completed bookings in the prior year.  If you have a great Airbnb listing with the best Airbnb photos and a profitable Airbnb pricing strategy, then the rest is really up to your market.  You’re either located in a market that gets enough traffic for you to satisfy this requirement or you’re in a market that isn’t going to work.  Take a look at the top listings in your market and see how many days out of their calendar they’re booked 3 out.  If they’re booked on average 15 nights a month, assuming an average of 3 nights/stay, that means they are getting 5 bookings a month (or 60 bookings a year).  So, as you can see, 10 bookings in a calendar year is actually quite a LOW requirement.
• Highly Rated: You must have at least 80% of your reviews as 5-star ratings.  This is often the requirement that keeps most hosts from gaining or maintaining their superhost status.  One two many 4-stars in a month and you can quickly lose your status and have to wait months again to earn it back.  If you have crappy reviews, here’s what you can do to improve your Airbnb reviews.

Out of the four requirements, only the last one is difficult and primarily within your control.  So getting 5-star reviews are crucial to becoming a Superhost.

Superhosts Manage Expectations and Over Deliver

Superhosts on Airbnb need to stand out.

If you’re honest in your listings and you can deliver on your promise and meet guest expectations, you’ll get mostly 4’s and 5’s already, but may not get to the 80% five-star rate.

In order to do that, you must be exceptional at doing the following:

• Manage Expectations: Show your listing in the best light possible but do not exaggerate or promise anything that you cannot consistently deliver on.
• Take the Extra Effort: Getting 5-stars requires OVER delivering on some aspects of the guest experience.  It doesn’t mean you have to over spend on snacks and gifts or become a free chauffeur for guests.  But it does mean listening and adding the personal touches that show you care about your guest.  For example, if you know your guest is on a vacation to celebrate an anniversary, sending them recommendations romantic dinners and other couple friendly excursions in your part of town shows you’re thinking about them.  If it’s a family traveling, it may be recommendations for kid friendly dining or entertainment options.  They key is to listen for opportunities for you to add a little personal touch to their stay.
• They Never Miss the Basics: It’s natural to forget things once in a while and most guests are forgiving.  But Superhosts NEVER miss the basics.  They NEVER run out of toilet paper, extra towels, pillow covers, etc…
• Proactive: Most guests, even if something bugs them, aren’t going to tell it to your face.  Most will just gripe about it and a few will leave a scathing review after their stay.  So the best way for this is to ask questions during their stay, usually the evening of or morning after their checking and every 2-3 days to check in depending on their stay.

If you do these things consistently in a market that supports enough bookings, you’ll become a Superhost and stay one.

But what should do you if you suddenly lose your status?

Don’t Sweat Losing Superhost Status

Airbnb Superhost Status is something you can earn again, and again!

Instead, focus on continuing to delivery the best guest experience you can.  If you are unlucky in that you had a string of horrible guests that would not have been happy no matter what you did, it’s not worth stressing about.  Yes, it does suck, but it’s only temporary.

And even though Superhost listings do get more coverage, if you do everything else right, you will still be able to get the most out of your listing.  You’ll still be able to book up your listings and make money. And you’ll still be able to meet fun and interesting people.

Don’t let one or two bad experiences sour an otherwise great experience for you.

So just go out there, do your best, and have some fun with it!