Everything You Wanted to Know About Becoming an AirBnB Superhost

Everyone is familiar with AirBNB. If you haven't tried the service, it's a great alternative than staying in a hotel, apartments for rent or motel. It can be particularly helpful when you visiting a city or town that doesn't have an adequate supply of lodging.  Many of you may own rental property and probably have considered using AirBNB , or already are using the platform. But we are here to discuss what a Superhost is on AirBNB. What it is, and how one can obtain the status.

What is a Superhost

According to AirBNB's website, the former term is simply a regular host who has gone beyond the call of duty. They have experienced hosts and should be an example of how one might run their particular lodging service. Assuming you can reach this status, then you get a badge to display on your webpage.

They, meaning AirBNB, then check the activity on the webpage at least 4 times a year to monitor you and your bookings. The company even has a terms and conditions page that you can view here.

So know that you know what a Superhost is, what can you do to achieve this premier status.

You Have to Have Positive Feedback
Every time you go on a hosts webpage, you are going to be able to see reviews. Having exceptional reviews is mandatory. This equates to trust. The goal here is to acquire 5 star reviews in large amounts. Sometimes it's simply trial and error. Customers always have a way of finding out what is wrong with the place. Everyone will receive feedback that is less than perfect. In a way, it assists you to make any corrections to help you.

Your Response Rate is Key

You probably have a full time job doing something else, but you don't want to neglect your customers. It's really important to have a superior response rate if you want to reach Superhost status. In fact, you will be required to meet a minimum threshold to achieve this elite status.

Airbnb wants you to hit a certain activity level regarding the response rate. It's kind of complicated. They will measure how quickly and how consistently you respond to customers requests and comments. AirBNB actually shows you a dashboard of your response rate that you can view.

It's a calculation that your better off reading than trying to explain it here.

What are the Superhost Requirements AirBNB Imposes

This is direct form their website:

Complete at Least 10 Trips
Maintained a 50% review rate or higher
Maintained a 90% response rate or higher
0 cancellations, with exceptions made for those that fall under our Extenuating Circumstances policy
Maintain a 4.8 overall rating

So you might be asking how you can apply? Well the easy answer is that you cannot. They will check your assessments on a quarterly basis then you will become a Superhost if you qualify. It's that easy.  

What To Do After

Now let's say that you finally achieve the status? Well according to some Superhosts on the forums, their bookings dramatically increase.  It's possible that after all of your hard work that you can lose it. The difficulties may actually increase for you.

Some Superhosts report that some guests book knowing full well that they are going to leave you a bad review. It's almost a catch 22 situation. You are expected to bend over backwards for your guests, and if you do get a guest who is rude, destructive, or unreasonable, there is still not much you can do if you want a good review. Some might even say that being a Superhost is not all it's cracked up to be

So is Being a Superhost Worth It

Ok so now that you have achieved this goal, what do you get. Well chances are your bookings are going to increase and line your pocketbook with extra cash. But here are a few other notable details:

You have the opportunity to attend exclusive AirBnB events
You get elite support from their customer service department
If you maintain Superhost status for a full year you get a $100 travel coupon. Although in today's time, that isn't that much of a perk.

Remember that as you also want to price your unit accordingly to achieve the maximum bookings possible. There are many tools online that can assist you with this.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/829/how-do-i-become-a-superhost