Guest favourite vs Superhost on Airbnb: the criteria, the differences and what co-hosts can earn
The exact criteria for each Airbnb badge, when each one is assessed, what they do in search, and how a manager protects both across a portfolio of listings they do not own.
Sources listed, last checked
Airbnb Guest favourite vs Superhost comes down to what is being judged. Guest favourite is a badge for a single listing, evaluated every day by comparing it with other homes.2 Superhost is a status for a host account, assessed four times a year against fixed thresholds, and only listing owners are evaluated for it.1 That last rule means a co-host can help a listing become a Guest favourite and help an owner become a Superhost, but cannot become a Superhost through the listings they co-host.1
Key takeaways
- Guest favourite belongs to one listing and is checked daily; each of an owner’s listings is judged on its own.3
- Superhost belongs to the owner’s account and is assessed in 7-day periods starting on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October, over the past 12 months.1
- Superhost has published thresholds (4.8 rating, 90% response, under 1% cancellations); Guest favourite has no published rating threshold.12
- Co-hosts are still not evaluated for Superhost, even as primary host, as Airbnb’s page stated on 2 November 2026.1
- Host cancellations hurt both badges, so a manager’s calendar discipline is the first line of defence.12
In this guide
This guide goes deeper than the short comparison in how to get 5-star reviews, which covers the reviews themselves. For the co-hosting business model, see how to start an Airbnb co-hosting business.
Guest favourite vs Superhost: the criteria side by side
Superhost and Guest favourite criteria compared (Airbnb Help Centre, checked 2 November 2026)
| Criterion | Superhost | Guest favourite |
|---|---|---|
| What earns it | A host account, and only the listing owner of a home listing1 | One home listing; each listing is treated individually3 |
| When it is assessed | Every 3 months, in a 7-day period from 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October1 | Every day2 |
| Period looked at | The past 12 months, for all listings on the account1 | Not stated; reviews must include 5 in the past 4 years2 |
| Minimum activity | 10 reservations, or 3 reservations totalling at least 100 nights1 | 5 reviews in the past 4 years, at least 1 in the past 2 years2 |
| Rating | 4.8 or higher overall1 | No published threshold; compared with other homes globally and/or in the same country2 |
| Category ratings | Not a criterion | Check-in, cleanliness, accuracy, host communication, location and value2 |
| Responsiveness | 90% of new messages answered, and reservation requests accepted or declined, within 24 hours1 | Communications between guests and hosts on the platform are a factor2 |
| Cancellations | Below 1%, excluding Major Disruptive Events and other valid reasons1 | Host cancellation rate is a factor; Airbnb’s host page describes cancellations and quality issues of 1% on average23 |
| Review removals | High removal rates can lead Airbnb to suspend or withhold status1 | Review removal rate is a factor2 |
| Quality incidents | Not listed | Quality-related incidents reported to Airbnb customer service2 |
| Account | Must be in good standing1 | Not stated |
| Co-hosts | Not evaluated, even as primary host1 | The badge is the listing’s, whoever runs it3 |
Airbnb adds that further Guest favourite factors “may apply, and are subject to change”.2 Superhost thresholds can also change at Airbnb’s discretion under the Superhost Terms and Conditions.10
Superhost: the details that trip hosts up
Declining a new reservation request does not hurt Superhost status; letting it expire does, because a reply within 24 hours is what counts.16 The response rate used for Superhost is calculated differently from the 30-day rate on your listing: it is based on your first reply to each new message thread over the past 12 months.6
A review counts towards the rating once both sides have submitted, or once the 14-day window closes. If a stay falls inside the assessment week but the review is published after it ends, that rating counts towards the next period.1 Status is granted only four times a year, with no application, and the badge can take up to a week to appear.1 Airbnb emails you if you gain, keep or lose the status, and progress on each requirement is shown under Performance, then Superhost.12
Guest favourite: the percentile labels
On top of the badge, Airbnb ranks eligible homes by percentile. The top 1%, 5% and 10% get a gold trophy icon, a gold Guest favourite badge, a highlight at the top of the listing page and a label above their reviews. The top 10% label only shows when the place has at least 1 review in the past 2 years.2
There is a label for the other end too. The bottom 10% of eligible places get a label above their reviews, but only once the host has received a prior quality-related communication from Airbnb.2 So any quality message from Airbnb about a listing you manage is an early warning, and worth acting on the same day.
Two badges at two different levels
The practical difference is where the score lives. Guest favourite is per listing, so one weak flat does not cost the owner’s other flats their badges.3 Superhost is per account: Airbnb evaluates “all listings on your account” over 12 months.1 For an owner with three listings, one listing with a run of cancellations or 4-star reviews can pull the whole account below the threshold.
On a listing page the two can sit side by side. Airbnb says that when a Superhost’s listing is also a Guest favourite, both are highlighted on the listing page and the listing shows the Guest favourite badge in search results. A Superhost listing that is not a Guest favourite still shows the Superhost badge on the listing page and in search results.3
What each badge does for search and visibility
Airbnb is careful in what it claims. For Superhost, it says Superhosts get “more visibility, earning potential, and get access to exclusive rewards”, without figures.4 For Guest favourite, it says the badge appears in search results and on the listing, and that guests can use a filter to search for Guest favourites only.311 Airbnb’s host page puts the number of Guest favourites at 2 million.3
Airbnb’s search page does not say the badges themselves move a listing up. What it does say is that, for homes, the algorithm considers the Superhost criteria, meaning host cancellations, responsiveness, and ratings and reviews, when ordering results.7 Its response rate page says the same rate affects both Superhost status and search placement.6 So the behaviour that earns the badges also feeds ranking, whether or not a badge is shown. For the wider ranking picture, see how Airbnb decides who sees your listing.
Superhost perks Airbnb names
Airbnb’s pages name few concrete perks. Current Superhosts can claim rewards from their account, and a Superhost coupon code arrives in a “Superhost bonus email” to be entered at checkout.4 The terms say the benefits are listed on the Superhost programme page and can be changed or withdrawn at any time.10 The terms also say you may not display the Superhost badge outside your Airbnb listing, for example on your own website.10
What co-hosts can and cannot earn
Airbnb’s Superhost page, checked on 2 November 2026, still says co-hosts are not evaluated. Even if a co-host manages a home listing as the primary host, they cannot be considered for Superhost in that role. A co-host who is also the listing owner of another home listing can be evaluated on that listing alone, and the listings they co-host do not contribute.1 Experience and service hosts are excluded in the same way.1
What a co-host can build:
- Guest favourite on the listings they run. The badge belongs to the owner’s listing, but it is the clearest public sign of how a manager runs it.3
- A rating inside the Co-Host Network. Ratings from co-hosted stays do not appear on a co-host’s public profile or host rating. In the Co-Host Network, though, the rating shown includes stays managed with full access, messaging and calendar access, or as team owner on the check-in date.5
- The owner’s Superhost status. Not yours, but your work is most of what decides it, and it is a fair line in an owner report.1
- Superhost on a listing you own. If you list your own home, that account can qualify on its own record.1
How a manager protects both badges across a portfolio
Three things damage both badges at once: host cancellations, slow replies and quality incidents. All three are operational, which makes them the manager’s job.
Cancellation rate
Superhost allows less than 1%, and on a small account that can be a single cancellation.1 Beyond the badge, a host cancellation costs a fee of 10%, 25% or 50% of the reservation amount depending on timing, with a minimum of $50 USD, and Airbnb names loss of Superhost status as a possible consequence of cancelling without a valid reason.8
A host can be held responsible for a cancellation even when the guest initiates it, for example after a double booking or a gross listing inaccuracy.8 That makes calendar sync a badge issue: see how to sync Airbnb and Booking.com calendars. Valid reasons, such as major damage, emergency repairs or serious illness, can be waived, but Airbnb may ask for proof, and within 24 hours of check-in you have to contact Airbnb rather than cancel online.9 Keep photos and invoices for every forced cancellation.
Response rate
Answer every new enquiry and request within 24 hours, including at weekends. Accepting, pre-approving, declining, messaging or sending a special offer all count as a response; an expired request counts against you.6 Across a portfolio this needs a rota, not one phone. Shared templates help: see the guest message templates.
Quality incidents and review removals
Guest favourite counts quality-related incidents reported to Airbnb customer service, and both badges look at review removal rates.21 So fix problems while the guest is still in the flat, before they contact Airbnb, and only request a review removal when a review clearly breaks the policy. Agree in the management agreement who replies to guests, who cancels and who handles review disputes, because each action lands on the owner’s account.
Worked example
Worked example: One managed flat checked for both badges (illustration)
A co-host manages one flat for an owner who has no other listings. Figures are made up for the illustration. The next Superhost assessment starts on 1 January 2027 and looks back over the previous 12 months.1
Superhost (the owner’s account):
- Reservations: 18 in 12 months, above the minimum of 10. Pass.1
- Responses: 38 of 41 new message threads answered within 24 hours. 38 ÷ 41 = 92.7%, above 90%. Pass.16
- Rating: 16 reviews, 14 of 5 stars and 2 of 4 stars. (14 × 5 + 2 × 4) ÷ 16 = 78 ÷ 16 = 4.88, above 4.8. Pass.1
- Cancellations: 1 host cancellation after a double booking, which the host is responsible for.8 Airbnb does not publish the exact formula on its Superhost page, but 1 of 18 reservations would be about 5.6%, far above 1%. Fail.1
Result: the owner does not become a Superhost this quarter, and the co-host could not have in any case.1 The cancellation also cost a fee: on a €400 reservation cancelled 10 days before check-in, 25% is €100.8
Guest favourite (the listing):
- Reviews: 16 in the past 4 years, the latest in the past month. Eligible to be evaluated.2
- The rating and category ratings are strong, but Airbnb compares the listing with other homes and publishes no threshold, so nobody can say in advance whether it qualifies.2
- The cancellation counts against it as well, as a factor rather than a fixed limit.2
What to do next: fix the calendar sync, keep the 24-hour rota, and avoid any further host cancellation, because the double booking stays in the 12-month Superhost window until it rolls out of the period.1
Tip
Report both badges to the owner every month: Guest favourite and any percentile label per listing, and the owner’s Superhost progress from Performance, then Superhost.212
Questions people ask
What is the difference between Guest favourite and Superhost?
Guest favourite is a badge for one listing, checked every day and compared with other homes. Superhost is a status for a host account, checked four times a year against fixed thresholds over the past 12 months.21 A Superhost’s listings can each be a Guest favourite or not, because every listing is judged on its own.3
What are the Superhost requirements on Airbnb?
You must be the listing owner of a home listing with an account in good standing, and over the past 12 months have hosted at least 10 reservations or 3 reservations totalling 100 nights, answered 90% of new messages within 24 hours, kept a cancellation rate below 1% and held an overall rating of 4.8 or higher.1
Can a co-host become a Superhost?
Not from co-hosting. Airbnb says co-hosts are not evaluated for Superhost, even when they manage a listing as the primary host. A co-host who also owns a home listing can be evaluated on that listing alone.1
What rating do you need for Guest favourite?
Airbnb does not publish one. It compares eligible homes with other homes globally, within their country, or both, using ratings, reviews, cancellations, review removals and quality incidents. The only fixed rule is a minimum of 5 reviews in the past 4 years, with at least 1 in the past 2 years.2
Sources
All sources checked .
- Airbnb Help Centre, “What's required to be a Superhost”
- Airbnb Help Centre, “Guest favourites and highlights”
- Airbnb Help Centre, “Guest Favourites: Most-loved homes according to guests”
- Airbnb Help Centre, “Understand the Superhost programme”
- Airbnb Help Centre, “Reviews for homes”
- Airbnb Help Centre, “Improve your response rate and response time”
- Airbnb Help Centre, “How search results work”
- Airbnb Help Centre, “Host Cancellation Policy for homes”
- Airbnb Help Centre, “Cancelling a reservation as a host without adverse consequences”
- Airbnb Help Centre, “Superhost Terms and Conditions”
- Airbnb Resource Centre, “Understanding Guest Favourites”, Published 12 November 2025
- Airbnb Help Centre, “Track your Superhost status”
We check every figure against the sources above. Spotted something out of date? Email systemen@hostproacademy.com with the guide title.
About HostPro Academy
The team behind this guide
These guides are written by the team behind HostPro Academy, a training programme for building a short-term rental management business. The guests and reviews part of that programme is covered in levels 10 and 12.