How to Earn Airbnb Guest Favorite Status
You earn Airbnb Guest Favorite status by having at least 5 reviews in the past 4 years (with at least 1 in the past 2 years), consistently high ratings across all six review categories, and a strong reliability record with very few host cancellations or quality related customer service issues. You cannot apply for it; Airbnb evaluates eligible homes every day and awards the badge automatically.
I like Guest Favorites because it rewards the unglamorous work of hosting. There is no trick to it. Guests have to love the stay, again and again, and nothing can go wrong in a way that reaches Airbnb support. Here is what Airbnb says it measures and how I would approach each piece.
What Airbnb uses to pick Guest Favorites
Airbnb explains the criteria in its help article on Guest favorites and highlights and in the Resource Center guide Understanding Guest Favorites. Put together, the inputs are:
| Factor | What Airbnb says it looks at |
|---|---|
| Review volume | At least 5 reviews in the past 4 years, with at least 1 in the past 2 years |
| Ratings | Overall star ratings plus category ratings for check in, cleanliness, accuracy, communication, location and value |
| Review content | Feedback written in guest reviews |
| Communication | Messages between guests and hosts |
| Reliability | Host cancellations and quality related customer service issues, which the Resource Center describes as below 1% on average |
| Review removals | A low review removal rate |
A few points follow from this:
- It is evaluated per listing. If you run several homes, each one qualifies or not on its own record.
- It is updated daily. A listing can gain the badge at any time, and it can lose it too.
- There are top tiers. Airbnb says homes in the top 1%, 5% and 10% of eligible listings get extra recognition, including a gold trophy icon and a highlight on the listing page.
Why cleaning matters so much here
Look at the table again and count how many rows cleaning touches. Cleanliness is its own rating category. Accuracy suffers when the home does not match the photos because something was left out of place. Written reviews mention dirt far more readily than they praise a clean home. And if a guest contacts Airbnb about a dirty arrival, that is the kind of quality related customer service issue the reliability factor looks at.
Airbnb's Rebooking and Refund Policy lists a home that is "not reasonably clean and sanitary" at check in as a reservation issue, and it can lead to a refund that comes out of your payout. The goal is to stop the problem before the guest walks in.
A routine for the parts you control
Location you cannot change. Almost everything else comes down to preparation and consistency.
1. Build a written cleaning standard
Write down what "clean" means for your home, room by room, including the spots guests actually touch and inspect. Our Airbnb cleaning checklist is a good starting point, and how to get five star cleanliness covers the details guests notice most.
2. Verify every turnover before check in
The single biggest change I made as a host was to stop trusting that a turnover happened and start checking it. My cleaner takes photos of each room from set angles, and they get reviewed before the next arrival.
With Clyn, that review happens automatically. The cleaner shoots photos in the Clyn app, the AI checks each one against your home's standard, and anything missed gets flagged with a fix list while the cleaner is still on site. Blurry or dark photos get sent back for a retake, so you are never approving a picture you cannot actually see.
3. Keep the listing accurate
Accuracy ratings drop when guests find something different from the photos or description. After a turnover, compare the room to your listing photos: same furniture layout, same bedding, all listed amenities present and working. If you replaced something, update the listing.
4. Make check in boring
The check in category rewards a smooth, predictable arrival. Send clear instructions ahead of time, test your lock codes, and make sure the entry is lit and easy to find. Our check in message templates can save you time.
5. Answer quickly and on the platform
Communication is both a rating category and a factor Airbnb reviews directly. Keep all guest communication in Airbnb messages, reply fast, and solve small problems before they turn into support tickets.
6. Protect your calendar
Every host cancellation hurts reliability. Most of mine that came close were turnover related, like a cleaner who could not make a same day changeover. Keep a backup cleaner and confirm every changeover a day ahead.
When a problem slips through anyway
Even with good systems, something will occasionally be missed. How you handle it decides whether it becomes a support case.
- Respond within minutes if you can. Apologize once and focus on the fix.
- Send someone to fix it. A cleaner returning within the hour usually turns a complaint into a note about great service.
- Offer a fair gesture if the stay was affected. You can send money through the Resolution Center so it stays on the record.
- Find the root cause. Was it a missing checklist item, a rushed schedule, or a new cleaner? Fix the process, then tell your cleaner what changed.
Our guide on what to do when a guest says your Airbnb was dirty walks through the conversation in more detail.
How to track your progress
Airbnb does not publish a single Guest Favorite score for hosts to watch, so track the inputs yourself:
- Category ratings for each listing, especially cleanliness and accuracy
- The number of reviews in the past 2 and 4 years
- Any host cancellations in the last year
- Any stays where the guest contacted Airbnb about the home's condition
If any of these slip, it tells you where to focus before the badge disappears.
FAQ
Can you apply for Guest Favorite status on Airbnb?
No. Airbnb evaluates eligible homes every day using ratings, reviews and reliability data, and awards the badge automatically. The details are in the Guest favorites help article.
How many reviews do you need to be a Guest Favorite?
At least 5 reviews in the past 4 years, with at least 1 review in the past 2 years. Meeting the minimum does not guarantee the badge; ratings and reliability also have to be strong.
Is Guest Favorite the same as Superhost?
They are separate. Superhost is a status for the host based on quarterly assessments, while Guest Favorite is awarded to individual listings and updated daily. See our guide to Airbnb Superhost requirements for how that program works.
If you want every turnover checked before check in, you can try Clyn free on one property at clyn.com.