To become an Airbnb Superhost, you need four things over the assessment period: at least 10 reservations (or 3 totalling 100 nights), replies to 90% of new messages within 24 hours, a cancellation rate under 1%, and an overall rating of 4.8 or higher. Airbnb sets these out on its Superhost requirements page, and it reassesses them every quarter.
This post takes the four criteria one at a time: how each is measured, what usually trips owners up, and what changes when a co-host runs the listing.
What does Airbnb Superhost status give you?
Superhost status is a badge on your listing and profile, plus some benefits from Airbnb. Airbnb calls Superhosts its top-performing hosts and lists benefits such as added visibility and access to exclusive rewards.
The ranking link is direct. In its page on search results, Airbnb says that for homes it considers the Superhost criteria when ordering results: the number of host cancellations, the host's responsiveness, and the listing's ratings and reviews. So the work that earns the badge is the same work that helps the listing in search, with or without the badge. Our guide to Airbnb listing optimization covers the other things search weighs.
To qualify at all, you must be the listing owner of a home listing, with an account in good standing.
Criterion 1: how many stays do you need?
You need at least 10 reservations, or 3 reservations that total at least 100 nights. Both routes are in Airbnb's criteria.
For a new listing, this is the criterion that takes longest, and nothing speeds it up except bookings. The second route matters for apartments that suit long stays: three guests staying a month or more each can qualify an apartment that would take much longer to reach ten short stays.
Criterion 2: how fast do you have to reply?
You have to respond to 90% of new messages, and accept or decline new reservation requests, within 24 hours. Airbnb adds that declining new reservation requests doesn't affect your Superhost status. Leaving them unanswered does.
Twenty-four hours sounds generous. The messages that slip are the ones that arrive at awkward times: a question at 01:00 while you sleep, an enquiry during a flight, a request on a day you're ill. Ninety per cent means one or two missed messages in a quiet quarter can be enough to fall below it.
What helps:
- Notifications on, on the phone you actually carry.
- Quick replies saved for the questions you get every week: check-in time, parking, Wi-Fi.
- A named backup for days you can't answer. A family member, a friend or a co-host with messaging access.
Criterion 3: why is the cancellation limit so strict?
The cancellation rate has to stay under 1%. Airbnb makes exceptions for cancellations due to Major Disruptive Events or other valid reasons. Any other host cancellation counts.
Under 1% means a single avoidable cancellation can matter, especially for a listing with few bookings. Most host cancellations start before the guest does anything: a calendar that wasn't blocked for a family visit, a double booking across two sites, a repair that wasn't planned for.
- Block dates the moment you know you need them.
- Sync calendars if the apartment is on Booking.com or Vrbo too, and check the sync works.
- Fix small repairs before they become a reason to cancel.
Airbnb also says it may suspend or withhold Superhost status for hosts with high host-initiated cancellation rates or high review removal rates.
Criterion 4: what rating do you need?
You need an overall rating of 4.8 or higher. A review counts toward Superhost status when both the guest and the host have submitted a review, or when the 14-day window for reviews is over, whichever comes first.
Overall rating is its own score, not an average of the category scores. Airbnb asks the guest how was it? separately from cleanliness, accuracy, check-in, communication, location and value. In practice, the categories still drive it: a guest who found dust or photos that didn't match the apartment rarely gives five stars overall. Our guide to 5-star reviews on Airbnb goes through each category and what guests check.
Accuracy is the category owners control most directly before a guest arrives, and the photos are where it's most often lost. The order of your Airbnb photos covers what to show and what to leave out.
What changes if a co-host runs your listing?
The status stays with you, the listing owner. Airbnb's criteria apply only to listings where the host is the listing owner, and listings where someone is a co-host don't count toward that co-host's own Superhost eligibility.
In practice, a co-host who answers your guests and runs your turnovers is working on your numbers, not their own, so ask how they cover messages at night and on holidays. And if you stop working with the co-host, the reviews stay with your listing and your profile, not theirs. How co-hosting works on Airbnb, from access levels to payouts, is in our guide to Airbnb co-hosting in Israel.
What if you lose the badge?
You can earn it back at the next quarterly assessment. Airbnb's advice is to meet the criteria at the next quarterly assessment, keep focusing on reliable, high-quality stays, and follow its reviews and host cancellation policies.
Look at which criterion you missed. A low number of stays fixes itself with time. A slipped response rate needs a backup for messages. A cancellation needs a calendar habit. A rating below 4.8 needs a look at the categories where guests marked you down.
Questions owners ask
How often is Superhost status checked? Every quarter. If you miss the criteria at one assessment, you can earn the status back by meeting them at the next quarterly assessment.
Does declining a booking request hurt my Superhost status? No. Airbnb asks you to accept or decline new reservation requests within 24 hours, but says declining them doesn't affect your Superhost status.
If a co-host runs my listing, whose Superhost status is it? Yours. Airbnb's criteria apply only to listings where the host is the listing owner, and listings where someone is a co-host don't count toward that co-host's own eligibility.
Does one bad review cost me the badge? Not on its own. The criterion is a 4.8 or higher overall rating across your reviews, so one low score lowers the average rather than removing the badge.
Mert, who leads our team, holds a 4.98 Airbnb rating. Answering every guest is part of both of our plans. You can see them on the pricing page.
