What Is Airbnb’s Guest Favorite Badge? How to Earn It

What Is Airbnb’s “Guest Favorite” Badge?

More and more Airbnb hosts are aiming to earn the Guest Favorite badge. This is an official recognition mark that Airbnb automatically awards to listings meeting certain criteria, and it plays a major role in how guests choose where to stay. Earning the badge boosts your listing’s visibility in search results and directly increases booking rates, making it a critical factor for any vacation rental operator to pay attention to.

That said, few hosts truly understand exactly what conditions must be met to earn it. While Airbnb has published some of the criteria officially, not everything has been made public, which means hosts need a strategic approach to their operations.

This article provides a comprehensive breakdown of how the Guest Favorite system works, the criteria for earning it, and concrete steps you can take to improve your standing. We’ll outline clear numerical targets and organize practical strategies for actually earning the badge.

Understanding the Criteria for Earning Airbnb’s Guest Favorite Badge

The Guest Favorite badge is a listing-level quality certification that Airbnb introduced in 2023, separate from the existing Superhost designation. While Superhost status evaluates an individual host’s overall track record, Guest Favorite is awarded based on the ratings and reviews of each specific property. This means that even if a host manages multiple properties, some listings may earn the badge while others don’t.

According to information published by Airbnb, listings recognized as Guest Favorites represent roughly the top 2% on the platform, and they are selected based on three pillars: guest ratings, number of reviews, and reliability. Specifically, the requirements include an overall rating of 4.9 or higher, an accumulation of a minimum number of reviews (generally at least 5 as a baseline), and an extremely low cancellation rate.

Maintaining an Overall Rating of 4.9 or Higher

The single most important factor in earning Guest Favorite status is maintaining an overall review rating of 4.9 or higher. On Airbnb’s 5-point scale, keeping your rating at 4.9 or above essentially requires earning 5 stars from almost every single guest. For example, if you have 20 reviews, just 3 reviews with a 4-star rating would drop your overall score to 4.85—falling below the threshold.

Ratings are made up of six categories: Cleanliness, Accuracy, Communication, Location, Check-in, and Value. To keep your overall rating above 4.9, you need to aim for at least 4.8 in every single category. Cleanliness and Accuracy in particular tend to directly trigger guest dissatisfaction—even a single 3-star rating in these areas can drag your average down significantly.

Building Up Your Review Count

Even with high ratings, a low review count means your listing won’t be eligible for Guest Favorite status. Airbnb hasn’t disclosed an official minimum number, but an analysis of currently certified listings shows that at least 5 reviews are needed, while listings that consistently maintain the badge typically have 20 or more.

The most basic way to increase your review count is for the host to submit a review within 24 hours of checkout. On Airbnb, when a host posts a review first, the guest receives a notification encouraging them to leave one as well. One host reported that after making it a habit to write a review on the very day of checkout, their guest review submission rate rose from around 40% to approximately 65%.

Low Cancellation Rate and High Response Rate

Airbnb includes “reliability” as one of the criteria for Guest Favorite selection. Even a single host-initiated cancellation in a year significantly raises the risk of losing eligibility. Airbnb’s policy recommends a host cancellation rate of 0%, and even in unavoidable circumstances, this should be kept under 1% annually.

As a general benchmark, you should aim to respond to at least 90% of messages within 24 hours. In practice, most listings certified as Guest Favorites have a response rate of 98% or higher, with an average response time under one hour. Practical measures such as using automated messaging features and configuring notification settings on the Airbnb app are essential for building a system that can respond promptly, even to late-night inquiries.

What Are the Benefits of Earning Guest Favorite Status?

Properties with the Guest Favorite badge tend to be favored by Airbnb’s search algorithm. Not only are they more likely to appear higher in search results, but the dedicated “Guest Favorite” badge displayed on the listing page also improves click-through rate (CTR). One host reported that page views increased by about 30% and booking conversion rate improved by 15% after earning the badge.

Furthermore, Airbnb offers “Guest Favorite” as a filter option in search, and an increasing number of quality-conscious guests use this filter to find properties. Traffic coming through this filter tends to convert into bookings even at higher nightly rates, which also helps raise your ADR (average daily rate). It’s not uncommon for hosts to report maintaining strong occupancy rates even after raising their nightly rate by 5–10% following badge certification.

Concrete Operational Strategies to Raise Your Ratings

To earn Guest Favorite status, you need specific countermeasures for each of the six rating categories. A vague commitment to “providing good service” alone is not enough to consistently maintain a rating above 4.9. Below, we introduce practical approaches for each category.

Cleaning Standards to Earn 5 Stars for Cleanliness

Cleanliness is the category guests judge most harshly. Beyond hiring professional cleaners, it’s effective to create a cleaning checklist and perform at least 30 checkpoints every single time. Specifically, document commonly overlooked details such as dust on air conditioner filters, grime on the back of remote controls, hair in drains, and fingerprints around light switches.

Hosts who have a system in place for the host or staff to do a final photo-documented check after cleaning tend to maintain cleanliness scores of 4.95 or higher. Even at a cost of ¥5,000–15,000 per cleaning (depending on property size), hiring professionals is typically more cost-effective in the long run.

Information Design to Ensure Listing Accuracy

The main cause of low scores in the “Accuracy” category is a gap between the listing photos and the actual property. Photos taken with a wide-angle lens make rooms appear larger, but if guests feel the space is “smaller than expected” upon check-in, there’s a high risk of receiving a 3- or 4-star rating. Take photos at angles that closely match the real appearance of the space, and clearly state the room’s square footage in the listing description.

It’s also effective to clearly state not just what amenities are included, but also what’s missing. For example, stating upfront that “there is no washing machine” or “no parking is available” helps prevent gaps in expectations. This kind of “expectation management” directly affects accuracy scores—data shows that listings which honestly disclose even negative information tend to score higher on accuracy.

Message Design to Improve Communication Quality

The key to improving communication scores is striking a balance between template messages and personalized responses. Set up a system to automatically send standardized messages at five key moments: booking confirmation, the day before check-in, check-in day, during the stay, and after checkout. In particular, the message sent the day before check-in should provide specific guidance on transportation and how to receive the key, helping to ease any guest anxiety.

Additionally, sending a single check-in message during the stay asking “Is everything going well? Do you need anything?” allows you to address problems before they escalate. One host reported that after introducing this mid-stay check-in message, their communication score improved from 4.7 to 4.95. If there’s an issue, it can be resolved on the spot; if not, guests come away with the positive impression that they’re being looked after.

Added Value to Improve Your Value-for-Money Score

To earn a high score in the Value category, the key isn’t simply lowering your price—it’s about delivering an experience that exceeds what guests paid for. Concrete examples include setting up a drip coffee kit using beans from a local coffee shop (about ¥300 per stay), providing high-quality shampoo and conditioner (about ¥500 per stay), and creating a map of recommended nearby restaurants (a one-time setup cost only).

These measures can be implemented for just a few hundred yen per night but significantly boost guest satisfaction. As a result, reviews increasingly include comments like “Amazing quality for this price,” and the Value score stabilizes in the 4.8–5.0 range. Adding just ¥500 worth of value to a property priced at ¥10,000 per night can improve review scores, creating a virtuous cycle where you can eventually raise your nightly rate by ¥1,000 and still receive bookings.

Common Mistakes That Prevent Hosts from Earning Guest Favorite Status

Even hosts who are working hard toward high ratings often share common patterns when they fail to earn Guest Favorite status. The most frequent issue is failing to properly address a small number of low-rated reviews. Just a single 3-star review can significantly drag down your overall rating, yet many hosts leave the underlying cause unanalyzed and unaddressed. It’s essential to analyze the content of negative reviews and put systems in place to improve the property or your operations so the same complaint doesn’t recur.

Another common problem is setting cleaning fees excessively high. When cleaning fees exceed 30% of the total stay cost, guests tend to perceive it as “overpriced,” which lowers the Value score. It’s recommended to either partially fold the cleaning fee into the nightly rate or keep it at a reasonable level—generally within 15–20% of the total stay cost. In addition, failing to update photos regularly, resulting in a mismatch between the listing and the property’s actual furnishings and amenities, is another factor that lowers accuracy scores. Make it a habit to review your photos seasonally, at least once every six months.

The Difference Between Guest Favorite and Superhost

Guest Favorite and Superhost are often confused, but they evaluate different things. Superhost is a certification for the individual host, requiring an overall rating of 4.8 or higher over the past year, a response rate of 90% or higher, a cancellation rate under 1%, and at least 10 completed stays annually. Guest Favorite, on the other hand, is a listing-level (property-level) certification, evaluated individually for each property.

In practice, even hosts who meet the Superhost criteria may find that a specific property doesn’t earn Guest Favorite status. Conversely, a highly-rated property can earn the Guest Favorite badge even if its host isn’t a Superhost. Ideally, you’d hold both certifications, but since the Guest Favorite badge is what guests see directly on the listing page, it tends to have a greater impact on booking rates than Superhost status. Keeping both in mind simultaneously and thoroughly managing quality on a per-property basis is key to maximizing revenue from your Airbnb operations.

For Vacation Rental Management Concerns, Consult Stay Buddy Inc.

Earning Guest Favorite status requires a wide range of operational expertise, including establishing a solid cleaning system, optimizing your listing, and systematizing guest communication. Many property owners may find it difficult to build all of this from scratch on their own while balancing it with their primary job.

At Stay Buddy Inc., a full-service vacation rental management company, we provide comprehensive support for building an operational system that directly improves your Airbnb ratings. From managing cleaning quality and designing guest communication that boosts reviews, to listing photography and copywriting, we can handle every measure needed to maximize your revenue.

If you’re thinking, “I want to earn Guest Favorite status and increase my bookings” or “I want to take my current ratings to the next level,” please feel free to reach out to Stay Buddy Inc. We’ll analyze your property’s current situation and propose a concrete improvement plan.