The Airbnb Superhost program is well-known as a way for some of the best hosts on the platform to gain an edge when it comes to bookings. So it’s not that surprising that a few years later VRBO would follow suit with what would become known as their Premier Host status. Let’s look at what you need to achieve this status and why it’s always helpful to have an edge on any platform you are listing your vacation rentals on.
Criteria
VRBO have put minimums across multiple aspects of STR listings. They are:
- A 4.3 or higher average guest reviews rating. Since many guests still consider a 4 to be good and 5 to be outstanding, hosts have to do their best to deliver that “outstanding” feeling to guests so as to compete for this rating level.
- 90% or higher booking acceptance rate. VRBO wants to make sure you’re providing their guests with a reliable experience. If too many hosts turn down guests, they will simply go to another platform and attribute individual host refusals to the company as a whole.
- 3 or more VRBO reviews. Reviews are at the heart of Airbnb and VRBO rentals. This ensures that guests are happy enough to spend a couple minutes tapping out a review for you instead of perhaps ignoring the prompt because they would rather stay silent than leave a bad review.
- At least 5 bookings or 60 booked nights across all listings. This ensures that you’re offering good availability, making the site’s listings as a whole more robust.
While these metrics are measured over a 365-day period, they are audited every quarter, on the first of February, May, August, and November. Failure to hit any of the minimums means that you can be removed from the program.
What Do You Get
Well given how much you have to do to achieve Premier Host, what do you get when the dust settles?
Firstly, you get a shiny new badge on your profile that identifies your listing as associated with a Premier Host. But better than that, there’s also a search filter that allows guests to search specifically for Premier Hosts, allowing you to stand apart from the majority of your competition.
You’ll also get “boosts” through regular actions like accepting bookings that improve your visibility and search position.
Finally, if there are any problems, you will have access to a special support team that is available 24/7, giving you and your guests faster resolutions to challenges.
How to Get to Premier Host
We pretty regularly talk about the best practices you need to get to Premier Host. We would just mention three in particular that almost all Premier Hosts have nailed down:
- Automations whenever possible. Premier hosts have taken any friction out of the process where it makes sense.
- Cleaners. Whether they do it themselves or hire a service like ours, they know that cleanliness is the most important thing to guests when they check in so they make sure that hotel-level cleanliness is the standard.
- Good communication. Guests want to feel seen and heard and the best hosts make sure that guests know someone is there to help, even if they don’t need them during their stay.
This content originally appeared in our twice-monthly Guest Book newsletter.
