How Do You Become an Airbnb Superhost in 2020?

What Is an Airbnb Superhost?

Airbnb launched the “Superhost Program” in 2016 as a way to distinguish hosts that put in extra effort, from those who don’t. Principally, the program aimed to create more consistent experiences for the platform users. Gaining the “Superhost” badge has given Airbnb hosts worldwide the motivation to provide the best service they can.

Investing in Airbnb in 2020 and looking to get this badge? Keep reading this blog to learn how to become a Superhost on Airbnb.

What Are the Benefits of Being an Airbnb Superhost?

The Airbnb Superhost badge gives a host more credibility and more validation from the home-sharing platform, as well as in the eyes of Airbnb guests. Additionally, the Airbnb Superhost badge can improve your search placement. This means that more Superhosts are on the first few pages of the city search on the website. Moreover, when browsing for vacation rental properties, guests can also add a Superhost filter, which gives any Superhost extra visibility and improved search placement. Airbnb search algorithms, which are largely based on Airbnb reviews, place better-reviewed hosts, as well as Superhosts, on the first pages of the search. All of the above translates into a higher Airbnb occupancy rate for your Airbnb investment property.

The Requirements for the Superhost Status

Airbnb doesn’t make it difficult to become a Superhost, nor do they hide the ‘secret’ to becoming one. With a simple search on Airbnb, you can find the list of requirements to become an Airbnb Superhost. We’ve laid them out below:

Complete at least 10 trips/reservations per year
90% response rate – meaning you respond within 24 hours at least 90% of the time
1% cancellation rate, or no cancellation altogether; exceptions are made for circumstances that fall under “Airbnb’s Extenuating Circumstances” policy
Minimum of 4.8 rating/review – calculated based on the last 365 days of review

It’s not impossible, nor difficult. Quite the contrary, Airbnb has made the Superhost status achievable to encourage more hosts to meet its requirements. The more Superhosts there are, the better the platform and the quality of ‘product’ it offers.

So, How Do You Become an Airbnb Superhost?

Now that we’ve seen the requirements, how do you meet them to become a Superhost on Airbnb?

Enhance your listing profile

When guests browse through listings, they choose based on photos, descriptions, and reviews. So to enhance your Airbnb listing, you need to work on optimizing the three. This will help you capture more Airbnb guests.

To do the above, take and post ‘aesthetic’ professional photos, and write a thorough description to help guests visualize their experience. Some hosts even like to include a little something about themselves, which can be a nice, personal touch. A real estate investor friend of mine writes that he likes to take people on city tours and to show them around his favorite bars and hot local spots. He’s had multiple people book the rental property for this perk in the description alone. So, find the best way to optimize your listing, keeping the above in mind.

Get good Airbnb reviews

Encourage good Airbnb reviews. I’ve once had an Airbnb host directly message me to tell me that she gave me a 5/5 review and asked for a review in return. While I did feel like this was slightly “pushy”, it worked – and I ended up reviewing her Airbnb property. You don’t have to go with the exact above method, there are other ways to encourage Airbnb reviews. The first obvious one is to give guests something good to review. And the best way to achieve excellent Airbnb reviews is by looking at the reviewing criteria and incorporating its aspects into your property.

Accuracy – how close was the representation, description, and location of the property to reality?
Cleanliness – this is pretty self-explanatory. Make sure your Airbnb is absolutely spotless.
Communication – how good your communication was prior and during the stay, and how good of a response rate you maintained.
Value for money – make sure to price your Airbnb rental property fairly, and according to its value. If you’re unsure about how much to charge for rent, there’s a couple of things you can do. For one, you can use Airbnb’s smart pricing tool, which will estimate the right price based on similar properties in the area, as well as market demand. Another way to learn about Airbnb comps in your area is to use Mashvisor. A simple search using our Airbnb calculator gives you extensive information on similar Airbnb properties in your location of choice. And you can even fill in your property’s information and get comps specific to your rental. This can help you determine what price to charge and what Airbnb rental income and Airbnb profit margin to expect per month.

Scoring high on Airbnb reviews can bring you one step closer to achieving the Superhost status.

Meet Airbnb guests’ 2020 expectations

Airbnb Superhost 2020 meet guest expectations

Airbnb’s 2020 trends have already begun to surface. Guests are expecting nothing short of great experiences this year. Airbnb rental properties have become more about the experience and less about mere lodging. Guests not only want to feel like they’re at home, they’re looking for something extra. Look into trendy Airbnb properties and see how you can mimic aspects of them at your own property. Other 2020 Airbnb trends include rental properties becoming more family-friendly and more pet-friendly. So if you can accommodate that at your Airbnb income property, go for it! Finally, don’t forget the basic essentials. Coffee, toiletries, and snacks have become almost essential items in every Airbnb property.

A Few More Things to Consider

There are a couple of more things to keep in mind when working towards becoming an Airbnb Superhost:

Should I hire professional Airbnb property management?

As you may probably know, there are professional services that help real estate investors and hosts manage their Airbnb income properties. There are several advantages of hiring Airbnb property management companies including saving time, providing better service, boosting marketing, and gaining access to better tech tools. So take some time to figure out whether you want to hire an Airbnb property management company to run your Airbnb rental property, and don’t forget to account for the associated costs when doing so.

After meeting the requirements, what do I do?

Not much, other than maintaining high quality for your services.

There’s no application or request that you need to fill out. Once you’ve met all requirements, you’ll qualify for an Airbnb Superhost status. Airbnb does quarterly assessments that begin on January 1st, April 1st, July 1st, and October 1st, of every year. At the end of the assessment period, you’ll be notified if you’ve earned the Superhost status.

Can I lose my Airbnb Superhost status?

Of course. Just because you’ve achieved your Airbnb Superhost status, doesn’t mean you’re immune to losing it. To keep your badge, you should maintain the quality of your Airbnb service, and continue to meet the requirements for being an Airbnb Superhost. At the end of the day, this is why the badge was introduced; to encourage hosts to continue providing excellent service on the platform.

Always continue to grow

If being an Airbnb host for one property isn’t enough, consider investing in multiple Airbnb rental properties. If you have the time and capacity, this will definitely allow you to grow your Airbnb business. When looking for an Airbnb investment property, use Mashvisor’s Airbnb profit calculator to gain access to Airbnb analytics, Airbnb data (such as Airbnb occupancy rate data, Airbnb CoC return, and expected rental income).

Start Your Investment Property Search!