Airbnb FAQs and Tips from a Superhost

If you’re new to Airbnb, the concept can be intimidating to people. But never fear: It has been a great way for my husband and I to travel to amazing destinations cheaply, save money by renting out spaces, and now to travel comfortably with our two kids.

I’m running through some of the most frequently asked questions I hear in this post.

How does a cancellation policy work?

Hosts and their listings are allowed to have different cancellation policy types. Be sure to review the cancelation policy prior to actually booking. There are many different types of cancellation policy types including:

• Flexible – Guests can cancel any time up to 24 hours before check in for a full refund. After check-in, guests can leave and be refunded nights they do not stay.
• Moderate – Guests can cancel up to five days before check in for a full refund. After that they can get partial refunds.
• Firm- Guests can cancel 30 days before check in for a full refund. Up until seven days before check in they’ll get 50% back if they cancel. No refunds if check in is less than seven days away.
• Strict- Guests must cancel within 48 hours of booking for a full refund.

There’s more details in Airbnb’s policies here. Keep in mind that cleaning fees are always refunded if the guest doesn’t check in!

Some hosts have different settings where if you get a discount if you do a nonrefundable option. Regardless, it’s always a good idea to have trip insurance just in case. Airbnb offers travel insurance, or you can buy it from another market place.

Are Airbnbs safe?

I’ve always felt safe at the Airbnbs I’ve traveled to—but I’ve also heard horror stories from other travelers. Be sure to read reviews on your listing prior to booking and do some research on what area of different towns you might feel safest in. Airbnb takes all of this super seriously, and will remove listings that receive bad feedback.

There have been times I’ve stayed at Airbnbs where it’s a shared space. That felt like no problem before I had kids—now my preference is to get our own space, mainly so I have a separate space to put the kids to sleep so my husband and I can still hang out.

What do you do if you don’t feel safe at your Airbnb?

Reach out to your host right away through Airbnb’s messaging if there’s something that’s making you feel unsafe. This gives them the chance to rectify the issue. After that you’ll want to reach out to Airbnb directly and let them know. Airbnb’s priority is for guests to feel safe and comfortable, so they’ll make the issue right or rebook you at another Airbnb.

Do Airbnb hosts stay with you?

Short answer- sometimes, but it’s always clearly listed as such. Airbnb started out as more of a couch-surfing-type of website where you might stay in a spare bedroom of someone’s home. As time has gone on, it has evolved into more luxury stays and renting entire homes is now preferred. You can stay rent stays that are just rooms in a shared house, but it’s also easy to filter those out of your search if you’re not interested in that. See the image below.

What does superhost mean on Airbnb?

When Airbnb hosts meet certain criteria as well as only receive high ratings over a quarter, then they can reach “superhost” status. This is the way that Airbnb likes to recognize hosts that receive good reviews. Another perk of this status is that their listings show up higher in search results, so they get more bookings from guests. It’s also an easy way to narrow search results.

According to this post, to become an Airbnb Superhost, hosts  must meet the following criteria every three months:

• Respond to 90% of new guest messages within 24 hours
• Maintain a 1% or lower cancellation rate (1 cancellation per 100 reservations)
• Maintain a 4.8 or higher overall rating based on guest reviews from the past year
• Host at least 10 stays in the past year, or 100 nights over at least three stays

You’ll notice it says “superhost” in several spots on the listing, plus on the host’s profile.

Take this with a grain of salt though; as Airbnb has become more popular, so have the scams. Oftentimes discount-seeking or scammy guests will ask for large concessions or refunds for little or no reason, and then leave bad reviews if a host doesn’t comply. This happened last fall to us when a guest made outrageous claims and then asked for their whole stay to be refunded. Their claims weren’t true, we offered to remedy any complaints they had (which they declined), and then they left negative reviews. Thankfully our overall rating was high enough that this wasn’t a big hit.

But again, it’s important to read the reviews and any responses the host has left.

What does “guest favorite” mean on Airbnb?

Sometimes you’ll see a badge on listings that tout them as “guest favorite,” and this badge uses overall star ratings and feedback, category ratings, cancellation rates, and incidents reported to Airbnb to rank listings. Listings are also searchable by this and show up at the top of search results with a little badge on the cover photo and on the listing:

 But what’s the difference between guest favorite and superhost on Airbnb? In short, one host put as: “it’s primarily based on feedback that guests provide in response to questions asked when they leave a review. It does also factor in the actual rating given on the standard elements, but unlike super host, it isn’t entirely dependent on it.”

Here’s an example of a listing with this badge:

If you scroll down on these listings, you’ll see it noted if they hold both designations, like this one:

Many Airbnb hosts have multiple listings. The host themselves might be a superhost, but their listings might vary on whether they are guest favorites.

Can Airbnb cancel my reservation?

Yes, they can cancel your reservation at the request of the host if you break the house rules (like bringing more people than allowed) or if they feel uncomfortable about the reservation for some reason (like if you threaten to leave a bad review if they don’t do ____).

Airbnb can also cancel a reservation if they think your account is spam or if you’re going to use the platform to throw a party.

If this has happened to you, reach out to Airbnb right away!

Can you stay in an Airbnb for just one night?

Yes! There are many homes that are available for just one night. Some places require a 2 or 3 night minimum, especially on weekends and around holidays. Personally, we require a two-night minimum due to cleaning fees and it’s what works best for our cleaner. We find that VRBO is the best platform for long stays for entire houses, while Airbnb is usually short stays or weekend getaways. This just underscores the importance of putting in your exact dates when you’re looking for getaways.

What does Airbnb stand for?

When Brian Chesky, Nathan Blecharczyk, and Joe Gebbia founded Airbnb, they were renting out air mattresses in their apartment—that’s where the definition of Airbnb came from = “Air Bed + Breakfast.”

Nowadays Airbnb means something different—you’re not renting out air mattresses anymore, but rather many luxury stays, entire homes, or shared rooms.

Have more questions? Comment them below and we’ll do another post!