How to Get the Airbnb Guest Favorite Badge and Why It Matters

What makes a guest choose your Airbnb over dozens of others? Sometimes, it comes down to one small but powerful signal — the Airbnb Guest Favorite badge.

You may have seen it on your listing without even knowing what it means. Or perhaps you’re aiming to earn it but are not sure how. This article unpacks everything you need to know: what the badge really represents, how it’s different from Superhost, and how it can boost your listing’s visibility.

And if you’re serious about reaching that Guest Favorite status, Hostex can help you get there faster. It automates guest messaging, calendar sync, reviews, cleaning tasks, and more, so you can focus on delivering 5-star stays without the daily stress.

What’s the Airbnb Guest Favorite Badge?

The Airbnb Guest Favorite Badge highlights a selection of the most-loved homes on the platform, according to the true experts: the guests themselves.

Airbnb uses automated assessments based on over 500 million travel ratings, reviews, and reliability data to evaluate all listings daily. Consequently, the badge is dynamically awarded to qualifying properties.

So far, millions of listings worldwide have earned this shiny new badge, greatly enhancing their visibility.

What Are the Benefits of the Airbnb Guest Favorite Badge?

When you search for accommodations on Airbnb, you’ll notice they are actively promoting the “Guest Favorites” feature. Listings with the Guest Favorite Badge are prioritized at the top of search results. Additionally, there’s a dedicated filter that allows guests to specifically search for “Guest Favorites.”

This new badge effectively shifts the prestigious Superhost status to a secondary role, making it seem less significant.

How to Get the Airbnb Guest Favorite Badge?

As mentioned earlier, the Airbnb Guest Favorite Badge is evaluated based on historical ratings and reviews. However, this assessment is updated daily. With millions of stays occurring every day, Airbnb’s system automatically evaluates listings based on guest feedback related to overall experience, service quality, and reliability. This ensures that only the properties currently loved by guests earn the badge.

The specific criteria for evaluation are as follows:

• At least 5 reviews from guests.
• Your property must have an average rating of 4.9 stars or higher.
• Based on guest feedback, your listing needs to meet the following criteria:
  • Easy check-in
  • Spotless cleanliness
  • Accurate description
  • Great communication
  • Excellent location
  • Value for money
• You must have a cancellation rate of less than 1%。
• There should be no recent quality-related complaints from guests.

What Is the Difference Between Guest Favorites and Superhost on Airbnb?

Interestingly, the evaluation criteria for the Airbnb Guest Favorite Badge and Superhost status are quite similar.

So, what exactly are the differences between them?

1. Award Recipients

Superhost status is awarded to the host, reflecting the overall performance of all properties they manage. In contrast, the Guest Favorite Badge is awarded to the individual listing, focusing on the quality and performance of that specific property.

For example:

• Superhost: If you have 3 listings and become a Superhost, all three will display that they are hosted by a Superhost. However, if one listing underperforms and you lose your Superhost status, all three will revert to standard host status.
• Guest Favorites: If all three of your listings earn the Guest Favorites Badge, and one loses it due to poor performance, the others remain unaffected.

2. Evaluation Criteria

Both require hosts to have a cancellation rate of less than 1%. However, the main difference lies in the review requirements.

• Superhost: Requires an overall rating of at least 4.8 across all listings. Hosts must complete at least 10 trips or nights within a year.
• Guest Favorites: Requires a rating of at least 4.9 for the specific listing, with a minimum of five positive reviews, focusing on review quantity rather than total bookings.

3. Assessment Frequency

• Superhost: This status is evaluated quarterly, meaning you retain it until the next assessment.
• Guest Favorites: Evaluated daily using AI and machine learning, meaning any new guest reviews can lead to gaining or losing the badge. This daily evaluation adds pressure for hosts to maintain high standards continuously.

4. Priority in Search Results

• Listings with the Guest Favorites Badge appear at the top of search results. In popular travel areas, you may not even see Superhost listings on the first few pages, let alone those without any badge.
• The Guest Favorites Badge is bold and prominently displayed in black on a white background, while the Superhost status is shown in a smaller, lighter font on a gray background, making it less noticeable.

5. Filtering Options

When using filters, Airbnb allows users to search for what it defines as “Standout Stays.” This category now only includes “Guest Favorites” or “Luxe” properties, effectively removing “Superhost” from this top-tier designation.

6. Display on the Listing Details Page

When you click on a listing, the badge is prominently displayed below the property name, clearly stating it is “one of the most loved homes on Airbnb.” In contrast, the Superhost status is shown in much smaller text, resulting in lower visibility and impact.

What Does Guest Favorite Mean on Airbnb?

By now, you may have noticed that Airbnb is actively promoting listings with the Guest Favorite Badge, while the once-prestigious Superhost status has taken a backseat.

So, why is Airbnb making this change?

Of course, Airbnb has always been committed to providing travelers with the highest quality stay experiences. However, as the leading player in the short-term rental market, it faces increasing competition and challenges. Public sentiment indicates that more and more people feel Airbnb is more expensive compared to other OTA platforms, which is certainly not favorable.

To encourage guests to stay with Airbnb, the company needs to find ways to motivate hosts to lower their prices. Yet, directly ordering hosts to reduce prices is clearly not feasible. Instead, the new Guest Favorite Badge serves to stimulate competition among hosts.

As an Airbnb host, to secure more bookings, you must ensure that more guests can see your listing. This means working hard to earn and maintain the Guest Favorite Badge. To achieve this badge, you need to garner more five-star reviews. To get those reviews, you must provide an exceptional value-for-money experience. In other words, your service needs to be top-notch, and your pricing must be competitive.

This creates a perfect feedback loop.

How to Improve Your Chances of Earning the Badge

Now that you understand the importance and significance of the Airbnb Guest Favorites Badge, it’s time to make the necessary changes and adjustments to your strategy.

1. Optimize Your Pricing Strategy: You must offer attractive pricing to increase your chances of bookings. This is especially crucial for newly launched short-term rentals. Competitive pricing is key to attracting enough initial reservations.
2. Encourage Guest Reviews: In addition to providing an outstanding stay experience, you need to prompt guests to leave reviews. After all, most people won’t take the initiative to review their stay. For more tips on this, check out our previous article on how to get more five-star reviews.
3. Smart Communication: Effective communication with guests plays a vital role in all aspects of Airbnb management. While using tools like Hostex to automate this process, ensure that your communication remains personalized and attentive.

With Hostex’s advanced automation features, you can automatically reply to guest messages, send automated reviews, and dynamically adjust your property prices!

As the saying goes, “The best marketing is a happy customer.”

By focusing on quality, pricing, and communication, you not only boost your visibility but also create memorable stays that guests will rave about. Remember, in the world of short-term rentals, the journey to becoming a Guest Favorite starts with a commitment to excellence, and that journey is well worth the effort!