How to become an Airbnb Superhost

A comprehensive guide to becoming an Airbnb Superhost and taking your listing to the next level

By Juliet Horner

There are so many online travel agents to choose from these days. There's Expedia, Booking.com, Pitch Up, Unique Stays, Cool Stays… to name a few. But one of the major ‘top dogs’ is Airbnb.

As of June 2021, Airbnb had more than 5.6 million listings across more than 220 countries and regions worldwide, proving Airbnb is a popular platform for business owners (or as Airbnb calls them, Hosts). If you don’t currently host with Airbnb and want to look into this, head to airbnb.co.uk/host/ homes to find out how to get your business online and ready for bookings.

But for those of you who already use Airbnb, how do you get that pesky little Superhost badge and why should you try to gain this accolade?

Here at Luxury BnB, we want your business to be the best it can be, so we’ve put together this handy guide on how to become an Airbnb Superhost along with the help of Daisy Park Shepherds Huts, who gained their Superhost status only 4 months after they first started hosting.

What is a Superhost?

Airbnb describe their Superhosts as people who ‘go above and beyond in their hosting duties’ and say they are a ‘shining example of how a Host should be’. Superhosts can be identified by a little pink and orange badge that appears on the listing and the Host’s profile.

How it works...

Each year, Airbnb carries out four assessment periods, at the end of which you could gain your ‘Superhost’ badge. According to Airbnb, each quarterly assessment begins on the following dates:

• January 1

• April 1

• July 1

• October 1

Janice Kitto, owner of Daisy Park Shepherds Huts, first welcomed guests at the end of June 2021 and the nearest Superhost assessment was July 1.

Janice said: “Obviously we wouldn’t have qualified [in July] because we had only just started trading. We had to wait for the October assessment so we had time to fulfill all the requirements.”

To become a Superhost, you do not do anything. Janice Kitto, owner of Daisy Park Shepherds Huts said: “It’s all done automatically so you don’t need to apply or fill in any forms.”

After each assessment, Airbnb will notify you of your status, but don't worry if your Superhost badge doesn't appear straight away. It can take up to one week for it to appear on your listing. Remember, Airbnb has a lot of businesses to assess!

Daisy Park Huts

Requirements

To gain your status as a Superhost, you must be a primary Host with an account ‘in good standing’ who has met the criteria set out by Airbnb.

The criteria set out below is what you will be judged on. You must fulfill all of these requirements to become a Superhost.

Completed at least 10 stays or 100 nights across 3 reservations

• This is one of the reasons Janice Kitto from Daisy Park Shepherds Huts could not qualify as a Superhost in July, straight after opening in June.

• She said: “We had to wait until the October assessment period so that we could get the correct number of nights or number of completed stays to qualify.”

Maintained a 90% response rate of higher

• “Your response rate is calculated on how quickly you respond to enquiries from potential guests and things like that,” explained Janice, “and I think it’s got to be within 24 hours. The quicker the better.”

Maintain a 4.8 overall rating

• Janice said: “You need an average of 4.8 stars for your overall feedback, which is based on the reviews left by people who have stayed with you over the last year."

• Airbnb states this is based on the date the guest left a review, not the date they checked out.

Maintained a 1% cancellation or lower

• This means no more than 1 cancellation per 100 reservations.

• Janice said: “As an Airbnb Host, I must not cancel someone's holiday from my end more than once for every 100 stays.”

• However, Airbnb is lenient with this requirement. For the Hosts who fall under their Extenuating Circumstances Policy, so make sure to check the policy if you are struggling to fulfill this section of the superhost criteria

Daisy Park Huts

Why aim for the superhost status?

So, now you know what you need to do to become an Airbnb Superhost, but WHY should you strive to fulfill all the criteria outlined above?

This might be a good time to point out that prospective guests, scrolling through Airbnb for their next getaway, can filter their searches for Superhosts.

The Superhost badge shows them that you are the best of the best in hospitality.

According to AirDNA, a provider of data and analytics for the short term rental industry, Airbnb Superhosts earn 60% more revenue per available day. They also experience an 81% higher occupancy rate as well as a 5% improvement in traffic on their listing.

Janice Kitto, owner of Daisy Park Shepherds Huts, said: “It’s one more thing that makes people more likely to book you.

“It gives them a bit more confidence when they can see you’re a Superhost, because they know you can be trusted.”

Top Tips from Janice Kitto

1. Strive to reply to all enquiries within 24 hours

2. First impressions matter for good reviews (e.g. clean, tidy, easy check-in etc.)

3. Provide a welcome pack for your guests (e.g. Bottle of prosecco, chocolates, local information, etc.)

4. Greet your guests in person and welcome them to your property. Try to avoid remote check ins if you can.

5. Once you gain your Superhost badge, share it on all of your social media accounts

SOURCES & HELPFUL LINKS:

news.airbnb.com/about-us airbnb.co.uk/host/homes airbnb.co.uk/help/article/828/about-superhosts airbnb.co.uk/help/article/829/how-to-become-a-superhost airbnb.co.uk/help/article/1320/extenuating-circumstances-policy airdna.co/blog/airbnb_superhost_status

URLs

daisyparkhuts.co.uk

SOCIAL MEDIA

Insta: @daisyparkhuts

FB: Daisy Park Huts