Airbnb Hosting Glossary: 21 Terms Every Host Should Know
Who this guide is for: Hosts who keep running into hosting jargon that isn't explained clearly anywhere else.
TL;DR
This glossary defines 20 terms Airbnb hosts run into constantly — Superhost, Instant Book, response rate, occupancy rate, and more — in plain language, without the marketing spin some of these terms get elsewhere.
Airbnb hosting comes with its own vocabulary, and a lot of it isn't explained clearly in one place. Here are 20 terms that come up constantly, defined plainly and without jargon.
- Superhost
- A status badge Airbnb awards to hosts who meet minimum thresholds for reviews, response rate, cancellations, and overall rating, reviewed quarterly. It gives extra visibility in search and a badge on the listing, but doesn't guarantee bookings on its own.
- Guest Favorite
- A separate badge introduced by Airbnb for individual listings (not hosts) in roughly the top 9% by rating, reviews, and reliability, recalculated on a rolling basis rather than a fixed quarterly schedule. It's awarded automatically and isn't something a host applies for or configures.
- Instant Book
- A listing setting that lets guests book immediately without waiting for host approval. Airbnb's search tends to favor Instant Book listings, since it reduces friction for guests comparing several options.
- Response rate
- The percentage of new messages a host replies to within 24 hours. It's one of the factors Airbnb uses in both Superhost eligibility and, reportedly, search ranking.
- Response time
- The average time it takes a host to reply to guest messages. Faster response time is generally associated with better guest experience and can affect Superhost status.
- Occupancy rate
- The percentage of available nights that are actually booked over a given period. A common way to measure how well a listing is performing relative to its calendar.
- ADR (Average Daily Rate)
- The average nightly price actually paid across booked nights, as opposed to the listed price. Used alongside occupancy rate to evaluate revenue performance.
- RevPAR (Revenue Per Available Night)
- Total revenue divided by the total number of available nights (booked or not). It combines occupancy and rate into a single number for comparing performance over time.
- Dynamic pricing
- Adjusting the nightly rate based on demand signals like season, day of week, local events, and booking lead time, rather than charging one flat rate year-round.
- Minimum stay
- The fewest number of nights a guest must book for a given date range. Hosts often raise minimum stays during high-demand periods to reduce turnover costs.
- Cancellation policy
- The rules that determine how much a guest is refunded if they cancel, ranging from Flexible to Strict, and how much of a payout the host keeps in each case.
- Host guarantee / AirCover
- Airbnb's protection program for hosts, which can cover certain types of guest-caused property damage and liability claims, subject to its terms and exclusions.
- Co-host
- A person granted partial or full access to manage a listing — messaging guests, updating the calendar, or handling check-ins — without necessarily being the listing owner.
- Listing quality score
- An internal Airbnb metric that reportedly factors into search ranking, based on signals like photos, completeness of listing details, pricing competitiveness, and guest satisfaction. Airbnb doesn't publish the exact formula.
- Search ranking
- The order listings appear in for a given search query, influenced by factors including price, reviews, response rate, Instant Book, and how well the listing matches the guest's filters.
- House rules
- The specific policies a host sets for guest behavior — quiet hours, guest caps, smoking, pets, parties — displayed on the listing before booking.
- Self check-in
- A check-in method that doesn't require the host or a representative to be present, typically using a lockbox, smart lock, or keypad.
- Guest star rating
- The 1-5 star review a guest leaves after checkout, factoring into a listing's overall rating and, over time, Superhost eligibility.
- Payout
- The amount a host actually receives after Airbnb deducts its host service fee, released according to the host's chosen payout schedule (typically a set time after check-in).
- Service fee
- The percentage Airbnb charges to hosts (and separately to guests) for using the platform. The exact host-side fee depends on the host's cancellation policy and account type.
- Long-term stay discount
- An optional discount a host can set for bookings above a certain number of nights (commonly 28+), used to attract guests booking extended stays.
Frequently confused terms
Superhost vs. Guest Favorite — Superhost is a status awarded to a host based on their track record across all their listings, reviewed quarterly. Guest Favorite is awarded to an individual listing based on its own rating and reliability, recalculated on a rolling basis. A host can have one badge without the other, or both.
Response rate vs. Response time — response rate is the percentage of messages you reply to within 24 hours; response time is how fast those replies actually are. A host can have a perfect response rate while still being slow, or vice versa — they measure different things.
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