In the share economy, it all comes down to ratings. The Airbnb host with the best reviews will earn more income in this competitive market, but it will take more than just great reviews to become an Airbnb Superhost.
So why would anyone want to be a Superhost?
Airbnb claims that Superhosts earn up to 22% more income than other hosts. Additional benefits include a $100 travel coupon and a 20% bonus for host referrals.
Superhost status is performance based and doesn’t guarantee the quality of the property or the safety of the guest. Airbnb doesn’t certify or endorse a listing either, however it does provide improved search placement, better customer support and a special Superhost filter option for guests.
Five requirements to becoming a Superhost
Airbnb has several requirements before awarding Superhost status. A host doesn’t have to apply to get this special status because Airbnb scans all activities quarterly to find those hosts who perform according to their Superhost criteria. Once approved, Airbnb awards the host with a badge of honour that will automatically appear on each listing.
Continue to meet these requirements quarterly and you won’t lose your Superhost status.
- 10 short term stays in 12 months (or 100 days for long term stays)
- 50% of guests leave a review
- Maintain a 90% response rate
- Zero cancellations
- Maintain an average rating of 4.8 or above
The challenge to becoming a Superhost
At the time of writing there are 1037 Superhosts on the Gold Coast, which is 27% of all Airbnb hosts. It appears that achieving Superhost status is not easy and the reason for this, is that only one third of all active listings on the Gold Coast are available full time. This means that the majority of hosts simply don’t get enough bookings to meet the 10 short term stay requirement, regardless of their high response rate or high review ratings.
How to increase number of views
Appearing early in search results will increase your number of bookings and not all Superhosts appear on the first few pages. Much like google, Airbnb algorithms rely on the amount of activity in your listing. This includes the number of views, guests leaving a review and updates such as price changes.
Adopting a pricing strategy
A pricing strategy will ensure your rates are accurate and competitive. This can be done with regular analysis of the market and manually updating your rates, however the best way to ensure your price changes regularly and automatically is to adopt the Airbnb Dynamic Pricing option.
Superhosts tend to advertise lower rental rates because the higher occupancy rate they achieve from a larger number of bookings makes up for the lower prices. Keeping your rates competitive and accurate for your accommodation will ensure you are not overlooked by potential guests.
Getting your guest to leave a review
The largest contributing factor to high reviews is value for money, followed by cleanliness. Your rental rate must match your accommodation in terms of size, number of bedrooms and other features such as WIFI, parking and amenities.
The best way to ensure you provide value for money is to take a look at what other hosts are charging and what extras they include with the rate. Consider charging a cleaning fee to cover the costs of professional cleaning.
Make sure you capture all guest reviews so that you gain a better average. A follow up text or email is the best method to remind each guest to leave a review.
Running a successful Airbnb business requires a team of professionals. Co-Hosts at fivestarhost can help you automate your administration processes and take care of the physical tasks, so that you have more time and more freedom to do the things you enjoy. Please get in touch today for a free consultation.