Airbnb Superhost Status: Bbenefits of Becoming One | Hospitable.com (2024)

By Rowan Clifford

Author of Airbn’b’Smart and Hospitable user

Oh, the badge.

It just looks so perfect, doesn’t it?

So bright, so crisp, so alluring.

We all want one (granted), but is it really worth the hassle?

Is achieving Superhost Status on Airbnb just a badge? Or is it more than that?

Can that little badge really make a difference to your end of year returns as a host?

I’ll be discussing all of that and more in this article to try and answer the question:

“Is achieving Airbnb Superhost status really worth it?”

What is Airbnb Superhost Status?

Superhost status is a badge of honor given to Airbnb hosts that meet certain strict criteria.

Once you’ve reached the criteria outlined by Airbnb, you’ll be awarded a badge that will appear on your profile.

The Superhost badge is a visual symbol that’s attached to your profile, adding an extra layer of trust and credibility to you and your listing.

The logic behind the Superhost symbol is sound, with Airbnb attempting to differentiate and reward top-performing hosts, from the underachievers.

But what are those rewards?

Airbnb superhost benefits

The potential benefits of becoming a Superhost are:

• Earn extra money—Superhosts may earn more money by preferential positioning in Airbnb’s search results pages.
• Attract more guests—Airbnb may feature you in their newsletter, plus the Superhost badge may attract more clicks.
• Superhost filter—Guests can filter by Superhost status. Being a Superhost may get more eyeballs on your listing.
• Get bonus referral income—As a Superhost, you get 20% extra for any new users you onboard to Airbnb.
• Bonus travel coupon—At the end of each year, you’ll receive a $100 travel coupon for use on Airbnb.

How to become a superhost on Airbnb

You become a Superhost when you meet the criteria set out by Airbnb. If you and the place that you are renting out qualify, you’d be notified by Airbnb of your new superhost status. A Superhost badge will appear on your profile and listing.

And, every three months, you’ll be re-appraised to see if your hosting/listings’ performance still meets these criteria. If you do not meet any of the specific requirements at the next assessment, you could lose that status.

Keep in mind that although you’ll be re-appraised every three months, your performance metrics will be the accumulated average of the past 12 months. So it’s important to constantly monitor your response and cancellation rates and your overall rating to ensure that you keep your new VIP status.

Getting a superhost status implies doing a lot of things right. It also means you need to avoid the stupid mistakes that impact your guests’ experience and make you say goodbye to the superhost badge. Download our free guide on avoiding the horrible, still popular hosting mistakes.

Airbnb superhost requirements

With all that being said, let us have a look at the criteria you needed to become a Superhost:

• Overall rating—You must have an average rating of 4.8 stars or above.
• Number of stays—You must have hosted 10+ stays in the past 12 months.
• Cancelation rate—You must have a cancelation rate lower than 1%.
• Response rate —You must respond to over 90% of guest messages within 24hours.

So, is it really worth it?

I mean, Airbnb certainly promises a lot, but how does it really affect the only metric you really care about…

…your revenue.

Let’s have a look at a few stats shall we:

• Only 19.4% of hosts achieve Superhost status.
• 80% of Airbnb hosts receive a 4.5+ star rating.
• 57% of Airbnb hosts failed to achieve Superhost status because they didn’t meet the 10+ minimum stays.
• 9.8% of Airbnb hosts failed to achieve Superhost status because they didn’t meet the 4.8+ star review average.
• Superhosts receive an average value star rating of 4.9, standard hosts average 4.6 stars.
• Superhosts charge 11% less per night than standard hosts.
• The average occupancy rate for a Superhost is 47%
• The average occupancy rate for a standard host is 27%
• Superhosts earn, on average, 60% more revenue per day than standard hosts.

*All data and statistics provided by Airdna, who specializes in providing insights and performance metrics for Airbnb.

The stats speak for themselves.

Airbnb Superhosts have higher occupancy rates, receive better reviews, and make more money.

Pretty conclusive, right?

Well, kind of yeah, but it’s not the whole story…

The lagging indicator

Although the data is conclusive, and it’s clear to see that Superhosts make more money on Airbnb, the Superhost status within itself is a lagging indicator.

What do I mean by that?

A lagging indicator is a measurable factor that changes only after an event has occurred. By this, I mean that Superhost status is an indicator of prior performance.

Therefore it’s not necessarily the case that Superhost status is the catalyst for such drastically improved performance metrics.

Instead, I’d argue that the increased performance metrics have little to do with the Superhost badge, yet more to do with how well you compete in the marketplace.

12 Quick Tips To Start Hustling On Airbnb

Superhost aside, here are a few things you can do start competing effectively against your competition:

1. Complete your listing thoroughly—Fill in every detail possible.
2. Optimize your listing title to increase the click-through rate.
3. Make your listing-copy fun, not boring!
4. Adjust your listing to reflect the season.
5. Get professional photos of your property—Professional photos will help to sell your listing.
6. Reduce your prices—If you’re not getting bookings, it’s because your price is too high. Drop your nightly rate and get more bookings.
7. Optimize your prices—Change your prices to reflect the seasonal changes, holidays, etc. You can automate this by using a dynamic pricing tool.
8. Provide an awesome guest experience.
9. Make sure your place is super clean.
10. Send your guests through an epic ‘guest-nurturing’ messaging sequence.
11. Reduce your minimum nightly duration.
12. Answer guest inquiries immediately.

These are just a few of the things you can do to get your hustle on and start competing on Airbnb.

Do these things well, and Superhost status will take care of itself.

Conclusion

So, after all of that, is it really worth jumping through the hoops to become a Superhost on Airbnb?

After careful scrutiny, it seems evident that the Superhost badge in and of itself does little to increase the RevPAR (Revenue Per Available Rental).

Instead, it boils down to a host’s quality standards, and ability to compete on all fronts (especially price).

So, although the Superhost badge won’t necessarily generate any more revenue for your properties, it does hold you accountable (as a host) to maintaining high standards and remaining competitive.

What you will benefit from a big-time is to save yourself from the bad mistakes some hosts do. Download our list and ensure that you won’t recognize yourself in any of those situations.

In conclusion, don’t waste your time chasing the status symbol of the Superhost badge, instead focus on the key performance indicators for successful, profitable hosting and your Superhost status will look after itself.

Peace out.

Rowan.

Rowan Clifford is a serial solopreneur and founder of Airbn’b’ Smart where he writes tips, tricks and hacks for savvy Airbnb hosts looking to maximize their earning potential with minimum effort.