It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Superhost!
Wait, that’s not quite right. Is it? Superman, right.
So what’s a Superhost? It’s not a superhero. At least not quite.
If you use Airbnb, either as a guest or as a property owner, you’ve likely seen this designation designed to distinguish the best of the best Airbnb hosts. But this isn’t just some fancy label. Instead, it’s a ticket to more bookings, better guests, and, ultimately, more money.
Ready to take the leap to become an Airbnb superhost? Here’s everything you need to know to make it happen.
Quite simply, an Airbnb Superhost is a host the company has identified as one who routinely provides exceptional services to guests.
When you become an Airbnb Superhost, the name will appear under yours when guests look at your profile, making it clear to them that you have been identified as a top Airbnb host.
That the Superhost designation is given to those who provide an exceptional experience should be enough to convince you to take this seriously. After all, isn’t pleasing people what this is all about?
Of course it is! But so is making money! A Superhost tag will help you do this by:
Given the benefits of Superhost status, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that it’s a bit of an exclusive club.
One good thing, though, is that you don’t have to apply to become a Superhost. Instead, Airbnb is constantly on the lookout for them, and when you meet the criteria they’ve identified, you will automatically be awarded Superhost status.
When this happens, you will receive an email notification and then the label will appear under your name within a few days.
To get to this point, you must satisfy the following requirements set forth by Airbnb:
Airbnb checks for Superhosts four times per year — Jan. 1, Apr. 1, July 1., and Oct. 1 — and when it does, it analyzes your stats from the previous year, which means you have lots of chances to improve your metrics and get noticed by Airbnb.
But you don’t have to wait until these dates come to find out if you’re going to make it. Airbnb lets you track your Superhost progress as you go.
The process of analyzing all these stats usually takes four or five days, so if you believe you qualify or don’t immediately get an email, be patient. It may take some time to verify your profile and then a little more time for the label to appear on your listing.
The standard for becoming an Airbnb Superhost is high, but it’s not impossible to reach. If you focus on providing your guests with an exceptional experience and treat this like a job, you’ll be able to get your numbers up in no time.
To help you get there a bit sooner, here are a few tips:
Airbnb does not want people canceling their trips. It’s bad for everyone involved. But it especially doesn’t want hosts to cancel.
When this happens, Airbnb has to give all the money back, which is a pain in its own right, but it also tarnishes people’s view of the platform and makes it less likely they’ll return.
Avoiding cancellations is fairly simple, especially if you only use Airbnb to list your property. Once it’s booked, it will appear as unavailable to other guests and you don’t ever have to worry about overbooking.
If you do list on multiple platforms, consider using vacation rental software. This will integrate all of the different platforms you use to make sure there are never any booking issues and you don’t have to cancel. Beyond that, it’s just a matter of making sure you follow through with what guests expect.
Airbnb really values hosts who communicate with guests. It helps establish trust and leads to an overall better experience. If you aren’t logging into the web platform, or even if you are, make sure you have the Airbnb app downloaded on your phone.
Then, go into settings and make sure you have push notifications turned on for messages. This way, when someone sends you a note, you can get it straight to your phone as if it were a text or instant message. Respond right away and not only will guests appreciate it but Airbnb will notice too.
Lastly, to become a Superhost you need to be, well, a super host. You need to do everything you can to ensure your guests have not only a positive experience but an exceptional one. Remember, for you to get onto Airbnb’s radar and achieve this status, you have to wow guests so much that they leave you an average rating of 4.8.
Fortunately, there are a few things you can focus on to give yourself a much better chance of reaching this target, such as:
If and when you receive a bad review, or at least one that’s below that 4.8/5 threshold, don’t panic. There’s time to recover. Make sure you read the review and give due diligence. There’s a chance the guests just have an ax to grind, but they may also point you to an issue you can address that will improve future guest’ experience and increase your chances of becoming a Superhost.
In a way, Superhosts are kind of like superheroes. They respond to messages faster than a speeding bullet, their schedules are more up-to-date than that of a locomotive, and they are able to leap to the top of search results with a single bound. Don’t have the time to do this, or you simply don’t think this is feasible? Consider using uplisting’s short term rental software! You can automate the small things like booking messages, reservations, and much more!
Start taking your Airbnb business even more seriously and put the effort into becoming a Superhost. Then, once you do, it’s time to get the bookings, and the money, start rolling in.
We’ve built an all-in-one property, channel management and automation tool to help property managers scale seamlessly.
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