Airbnb’s Superhost status could be beneficial to your vacation rental business; however, obtaining this status is a lengthy process that requires several hours of work. Find out what you need to do to qualify for this program, and what positive impact it will have on your bookings.
Every host in the Airbnb community is familiar with the Superhost program offered by the platform. It’s a highly sought-after title for hosts hoping to reap the benefits and rewards.
With over 4 million registered hosts on Airbnb worldwide, the Superhost badge can add credibility to your profile. But how can Superhost status help your business, and do you think it’s worth it? Find out everything you need to know about Airbnb Superhost status and how to get it.
What is an Airbnb Superhost?
The Airbnb Superhost award indicates that hosts regularly receive positive feedback following their guests’ experiences in their accommodation.
Superhosts earn an orange badge which appears on their rental ads to indicate that they have earned the badge.
It is similar to a quality label awarded by Airbnb. It gives travelers confidence and guarantees a superior level of service and accommodation.
Obtaining this badge will reassure your future travelers and gain them greater visibility.
How do I get Superhost status on Airbnb?
The platform selects its Superhotes based on an evaluation of certain factors.
Guests can join the program when they meet the following criteria:
- Have hosted at least 10 times or 3 bookings per 100 nights booked per calendar year.
- Maintain an average response rate of 90% or more.
- The overall rating per booking must be at least 4.8/5. The majority of Airbnb reviews must be 5-star ratings.
- A cancellation rate on your part of less than 1%. Please note that Airbnb may make exceptions as part of its policy on extenuating circumstances.
- Your profile must be complete and in order.
In the first instance, you must be able to meet Airbnb’s requirements for the last 12 months. At the end of this period, you’ll automatically qualify as a Superhost. No special steps are required.
Airbnb will then evaluate your listing’s performance every 3 months to determine whether or not to maintain your status.
You can track your progress through the “Superhost” section of your property dashboard. This section displays your activities over the past year, and will also indicate when the next review is due.
How do I get (and keep) the Superhost badge?
As Airbnb’s definition of Superhost suggests, this status isn’t given to just anyone. There are many goals you need to achieve to become a Superhost. Here are a few ideas for successfully meeting the criteria.
1. Keep your home clean and comfortable
People who book your vacation rental on Airbnb are choosing your place of residence over a hotel. Therefore, you need to provide them with a service comparable to what they get at a hotel. This means offering them the amenities they need most, and making sure your accommodation and everything in it is in good working order.
You should also make sure that the housework done by you or your cleaning staff is spotless. No area of your rental property should be neglected. Keep your property clean. To become a Superhost, you need to obtain a majority of 5 stars and therefore offer your guests a perfect stay. So keep in mind that your property should always be sparkling clean.
Linen should also be provided in your Airbnb, bath towel, bath sheets. Choose white cotton for easy washing.
2. Describe your ad accurately.
To obtain a 5-star review, we recommend that you describe your apartment as accurately as possible.
List your equipment in detail. This will help your travelers get a feel for your property. Don’t hide any defects in your apartment. For example, an apartment on the 4th floor without an elevator.
Disappointment will result in a poor rating. A traveler warned before booking will not take this into account when scoring a possible fault.
3. Write a review for each visit.
It’s important to write Airbnb reviews about your guests to encourage them to leave a review for you. Airbnb will require that at least 80% of your guests have left a review to be considered a Superhost. Your rating must be at least 4.8/5.
We suggest you send an automatic message via your channel manager after their stay, telling them that you’ve left them a 5-star review. This will encourage them to do the same for your accommodation.
4. Maintain fast, efficient communication
Superhosts must respond to at least 90% of emails within 24 hours of being sent. If your response rate is below this figure, you will not be able to participate in the Superhost program. It can be difficult to keep up with communication, especially when you own several properties that receive several emails a day.
If you’re having trouble responding to your travelers, the best solution is to automate your work by generating predefined messages.
Using the Superhote channel manager, for example, will enable you to trigger your automatic messages and help you save a lot of time. Your responses are guaranteed.
5. Make sure you have an extremely high occupancy rate
To be a Superhost, you must have an extremely high occupancy rate, and you must welcome at least ten guests per year. Focus on increasing your bookings to increase your occupancy. To increase your occupancy, you need to :
- Be realistic when it comes to pricing.
Depending on the market for your property, prices can fluctuate throughout the year. If you’re looking to maximize your stays and increase your profits, you’ll need to check out the prices on Airbnb.
To stay in line with the market price, you need to check your competitors’ rates regularly and see if you’re still on trend. Make any necessary adjustments or modifications if your price is significantly higher than theirs.
To maximize your profits, we recommend :
- In high season, when your booking rate is at its highest, you can increase rates to boost your profits.
- In low season, you can offer special discounts and promotions to get more occupancy. You can also use the same method to attract longer or additional stays.
- Advertise your home to fill your calendar:
You won’t get very far if you don’t have a target group in mind. You need to establish a persona when you design your Airbnb ads.
Then create an ad that attracts international and domestic travelers. This could be business travelers or families. Use social media to increase your target audience as much as possible.
Marketing via visual platforms, such as Facebook, Youtube and Pinterest, is a great way to attract new travelers.
You can also work with local businesses in your area to offer matching discounts or promotions. In this way, you’ll get extra publicity from businesses while giving them more exposure in their business.
6. Avoid cancellations
To participate in the Superhost program, your cancellation rate must be less than 1% (i.e. one cancellation for every 100 bookings). This can be difficult to achieve, but you should try not to cancel stays, if they are not part of Airbnb’s extenuating circumstances.
7. Control your properties :
Once you’ve come up with creative ideas for attracting your travelers, it’s important to have an effective strategy for managing your accommodations:
– What are the best ways to manage incoming and outgoing messages?
– How will check-ins be managed?
– How do you manage your cleaning staff?
To ensure efficient management of your homes, we recommend the use of a channel manager. Read our review of the various software packages on the market. You’ll also find our review of Superhote, ideal for seasonal rentals.
Is it worth getting Superhost status?
While you should strive to provide the highest quality service possible, you may be wondering whether becoming a Superhost is worth the time and effort. Let’s take a look at the data provided by AirDNA:
- Superhost status does not translate into an instant increase in visits. On average, hosts who have achieved Superhost status have only seen a 5% increase in the number of visits to their ads per week.
- They have an 81% higher occupancy rate than normal guests.
- Superhosts also earn 60% more per day than normal hosts.
After examining the above data, it’s clear that achieving Superhote status leads to a rapid increase in revenue. Superhotes are also well-informed about pricing and market positioning.
By using flexible pricing and increasing their occupancy rates rather than their prices, they can maintain their competitive edge. Being a Superhost doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll earn more, but it is the initial step to generating more sales.
What are the benefits of becoming an Airbnb Superhost?
While becoming an Airbnb Superhost usually means an increase in Airbnb SERP rankings, there are also other benefits you may not be aware of.
More reservations
As a Superhost, you’ll be able to get more visibility. This is because travelers see the Superhost badge on your profile and on each of your ads.
Since guests generally look for the most reliable owners on Airbnb to rent, they’ll probably take a look at your listings. In addition, you’ll be listed in the Superhost search filter, which only displays Superhosts properties in search results.
Airbnb sales on the rise
Another advantage of becoming a Superhost is the increase in revenue on Airbnb. Indeed, increasing your bookings can lead to increased sales. Superhost status allows you to charge a higher amount because of your reputation for providing excellent service.
A dedicated Airbnb support team
As a Superhost, you receive priority support from Airbnb when you contact them or tweet to @AirbnbHelp. This could be a huge benefit to your business, as it allows you to offer better service to your Airbnb travelers.
You’ll be part of Airbnb’s exclusive club, which includes access to the latest product launches and invitations to corporate events.
While you may not think that achieving Superhost status is essential, it certainly has some incredible benefits. But the most important aspect is that it will give you the confidence that you’re doing a good job as an Airbnb host. This will help allay any concerns about meeting Airbnb’s hosting standards.
Conclusion:
As you can see, becoming an Airbnb Superhost requires a lot of commitment and dedication to meet the criteria. But the results and long-term benefits can be well worth the ongoing effort, and may enable you to sustain your business over time.
Another smart investment for your business is an automation tool. A channel manager such as Superhote or Lodgify, for example. This will be the essential tool to help you deliver a travel experience worthy of a hospitality professional!
Their functionalities will allow you to automate your seasonal rental:
- Manage all major vacation rental platforms from a single interface.
- Synchronize bookings across multiple platforms to eliminate overbooking.
- Use a unified inbox to organize your communication in one place and guarantee rapid responses.
- Use automated templates and triggered messages to improve communication with customers.
- Automate the process of sending customer reviews.
- Create and assign cleaning tasks, notifying your cleaning staff in real time.
- Integrate a booking engine to obtain direct bookings without Airbnb or Booking commissions.
- Integrate your Stripe account to process deposits and create invoices securely.
- A dashboard to monitor your sales, number of nights rented etc…
To find out more, have a look at the reviews of the various tools, most of which you’re probably familiar with!
