[Ep 2] How to Become a SuperHost

Superhost Unveiled

If you are just starting your journey into the vacation rental industry you've probably heard the importance of getting the Superhost accreditation on Airbnb. It's a term dropped by many leaders but how can you, as a newbie, reach that coveted status?

First off, let's go over why being a Superhost is important. If you do a random search for Airbnbs for your area you'll likely get tons of results, we get over 300 listings in our small town in New Hampshire. On Airbnb, you can filter the search to reduce the listings. Many people who search will often automatically refine the search by Superhost status because it provides a sense of comfort to people knowing that you've been on Airbnb for a while and that the platform recommends you.

There are 4 criteria that you need to meet to get a Superhost Status and your status is evaluated quarterly which means once you get the status it isn't guaranteed for life. The 4 criteria are a response rate of 90% or higher, 4.8-star reviews or higher, at least 10 visits, and a cancellation rate of less than 1%.

So let's break those down.

Response Rate

The response rate refers to responding to an inquiry within 24 hours. This does not apply to the response time you have for all of your messages, although it is still important that you respond in a timely manner for hospitality reasons. It should be super simple to achieve a response rate of 90%. Automatic messaging programs can help you achieve a rate of 100% with ease. Opting in to instant booking is also a great way to increase your response rate.

Reviews

We all strive for 5-star reviews but what are your guests really rating? Airbnb breaks down the review into 6 parts: Overall Quality, Accuracy, Checkin, Cleanliness, Location, and Value. It is important to keep these 6 points in mind when setting up your listing for success. Be sure to take accurate, good quality photos. Disclose the amenities in your listing, and don't just add amenities that you don't have to make your listing stand out. Ensure that check-in is as easy and smooth as possible. Guests can feel a lot of anxiety when first checking into a home so it is important to alleviate this. You should be communicating with your guests throughout their experience to help them settle in.

Visits

In order to achieve Superhost status, you need to have 10 completed stays or 100 nights booked over 3+ stays. You cannot control this one as much but what you can do is strive for an eye-catching listing. Having factors that set your listing apart from the competition will increase your booking rate and help you check this one off your list quickly. Pro-tip, opt-in for any Airbnb promotional deals because they promote listings who opt-in for their sitewide discounts.

Cancellation

This point for the Superhost status only applies to when you, the host, cancel a guest stay not if the guest cancels. So why would you cancel? If the guest is clearly going to break a rule this is a reason for canceling. For example, if they ask about their pup coming to stay but you don't allow pets you might suspect that they'll bring the dog anyway. Your goal is to always get the guest to cancel first. Be transparent about your house rules and regulations. Be forthcoming about any complications that might arise if they were to stay. Nine out of ten times the guest will have no issue canceling. This will help you stay under that 1% requirement with ease.

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