Airbnb has added an optional discount aimed at the guests it rates most highly. You give 15% off your nightly rate, and in return Airbnb shows your listing to that group more often. It is funded by you, and it is off by default.
Who counts as a top rated guest
A guest needs at least 3 reviews from hosts and an average rating of 4.8 or above.
What the 15% applies to
The nightly rate only. It does not touch your cleaning fee, taxes, extra guest fees or coupons.
It does stack with the discounts you already offer, and it stacks multiplicatively rather than additively. If you already run a weekly or monthly discount, work out where the combined number lands before you turn this on.
Blackout dates are the important part
You can exclude specific dates or date ranges. This is what makes the discount usable. Keep it off your high demand periods and let it work on the nights you actually struggle to sell.
What Airbnb reported from its pilot
Airbnb says listings in the pilot saw around 11% more gross booking value, around 14% more nights booked, and were 43% more likely to be booked by a top rated guest. Those are Airbnb's own numbers from its own test. Results will not be the same in every market or for every listing.
What to do now
Turn it on for listings that have unsold nights, not for listings that are already full. Set your blackout dates on peak periods before you activate it. Check how deep your discounts stack once this one is added. Then give it four to six weeks of real data before you decide anything for the rest of your portfolio.
On the blog we also make the case that this looks like the first piece of an Airbnb loyalty programme, and what that would mean for hosts: Airbnb's Top-rated guests discount: how it works, blackout dates, and why it looks like the start of a loyalty program
- Joana & Tony