Guest Favorite requirements and the Top 10% label
HostBoost Updated 7 min read
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A listing becomes a Guest Favorite when it has at least 5 reviews and high overall and category ratings. Host cancellations plus quality-related support issues must average about 1 percent. Airbnb's Guest Favorites page lists those requirements and gives no numeric rating cutoff. Airbnb evaluates every eligible listing every day. The Top 1%, 5%, and 10% labels rank eligible listings against each other. They need at least 5 reviews in the past 2 years.
What does Airbnb require for Guest Favorites?
Airbnb states three requirements.
- At least five reviews from guests. Airbnb's Guest Favorites and highlights page adds the window. You need 5 reviews in the past 4 years and 1 in the past 2 years.
- Excellent reviews. High marks in the six categories: check-in, cleanliness, accuracy, host communication, location, and value.
- A superb record of reliability. Host cancellations and quality-related customer service issues of 1 percent on average.
Airbnb evaluates listings automatically every day, using ratings, reviews, and reliability data from over half a billion trips. About 2 million listings hold the badge. Each listing is treated on its own. One Guest Favorite in your account does nothing for your second listing.
Airbnb adds that additional factors and exclusions may apply and can change. There is no application. There is no email when you qualify. Open your listing as a guest to check.
Is there a 4.9 rating cutoff?
There is no published 4.9 eligibility cutoff. Treat the badge as a combined assessment of reviews and reliability, rather than a target you unlock at one decimal point.
The Airbnb Newsroom launch announcement on 8 November 2023 said Guest Favorites average above 4.9 stars. That is a description of the badge holders, not a rule. Airbnb's 2024 spring update put the average at 4.92.
Protect both the guest experience and booking reliability. A strong star average does not cancel out repeated problems with reservations.
A listing at 4.88 with excellent category scores and no incidents may qualify. A listing at 4.95 with two host cancellations in a hundred stays may not. Airbnb weighs the inputs together and does not say how.
Which inputs does Airbnb use?
The badge and the percentile labels read the same inputs.
| Input | Where it comes from | What you control |
|---|---|---|
| Overall star ratings | Every review, plain average | The stay itself |
| Feedback in review text | What guests write | Fix what repeats |
| Guest and host communication | Messages on the platform | Reply speed and tone |
| Six category ratings | Check-in, cleanliness, accuracy, communication, location, value | Everything except location |
| Host cancellation rate | Cancellations you make | Cancel only for the waiver reasons |
| Review removal rate | Reviews Airbnb removed | Do not file removal requests you cannot document |
| Quality incidents | Cases guests open with support | Accuracy of photos, amenities, and cleanliness |
Category ratings are private. Guests see the overall star. You see all six under Insights in your host dashboard. The overall rating is the average of the overall score from every review and is shown after three reviews. Category stars do not feed the overall number, but Guest Favorites reads them on their own.
How do the Top 1%, 5%, and 10% labels work?
Since 12 November 2025, Airbnb marks the top 10 percent of eligible listings. They get a gold trophy, a gold Guest Favorites badge, and a top 1%, 5%, or 10% label. Eligibility for the highlight is at least 5 reviews in the past 2 years. Airbnb says the highlight is updated regularly and gives no interval.
The same system marks the bottom 10 percent. Those listings carry a label above their reviews. Airbnb applies the bottom 10 percent label only after it has contacted the host about quality. If you received a quality warning, the label is the next step.
Airbnb does not say whether the percentiles compare listings globally or within a country. Airbnb publishes no rating threshold for the top 10 percent.
Guest Favorite or Superhost, which matters?
They measure different things. Superhost is an account badge with four published numbers. Guest Favorites is a listing badge with published inputs and no published thresholds.
| Criterion | Superhost | Guest Favorites |
|---|---|---|
| Level | Account | Listing |
| Rating | 4.8 or higher | No published cutoff, holders average above 4.9 |
| Volume | 10 stays or 3 stays totaling 100 nights in 12 months | 5 reviews in 4 years, 1 in 2 years |
| Reliability | Under 1% cancellations, 90% response within 24 hours | About 1% cancellations plus quality issues |
| Evaluation | 1 January, 1 April, 1 July, 1 October | Every day |
Guests can filter search results for Guest Favorites. There is no Superhost filter.
Work on your weakest category, not the overall star. In our audits, a listing that meets Superhost usually earns Guest Favorites within a few reviews, unless one category drags. Start with cleanliness and accuracy. A dirty or misdescribed stay costs a category star and opens a support case. One fix moves two inputs.
How do you get the badge?
There is no form. Change the inputs.
-
Reach five reviews. Ask every guest for a review in your checkout message under
Inbox > Scheduled messages. Reviews close 14 days after checkout. -
Find the weak category. Open the category ratings for the last twenty reviews. One category below the others is the target.
-
Fix cleanliness and accuracy first. Airbnb names both as reservation issues that cost payouts. Both also open support cases that count as quality incidents.
-
Stop cancellations. Cancel only for the reasons Airbnb waives.
1 cancellation ÷ 50 stays = 2 percent Double the average Airbnb quotes.
-
Answer every message within 24 hours. Communication is one of the six categories and one of the listed inputs.
-
Check daily, not quarterly. Evaluation runs every day. A badge can appear or disappear on any morning.
What do Guest Favorites get?
Airbnb states a badge on the listing and a guest filter in search. Airbnb does not state a ranking multiplier. Third-party data gives a scale. AirDNA reports listings rated 4.9 or higher show 9.7 percent higher occupancy. Rental Scale-Up reports 242 daily impressions for Guest Favorites against 159 for others. The booking rate in that data is 0.8 percent against 0.7 percent. Neither figure is Airbnb's.
Questions hosts ask
How many reviews do I need for Guest Favorites?
At least 5. Airbnb counts reviews from the past 4 years and needs at least 1 from the past 2 years.
Do I lose the badge after one bad review?
Airbnb publishes no rule. Evaluation is daily and reads the overall average, category scores, and text together.
(80 reviews × 4.90 + 1 × 4.0) ÷ 81 = 4.889 Rounds to 4.89. One 4-star review moves the average by about 0.01.
Is Guest Favorites the same as Top 10%?
No. Guest Favorites is the badge. Top 1%, 5%, and 10% are labels ranked within eligible listings. The top 10 percent also get a gold trophy.
Does a co-host's account affect my Guest Favorite status?
Guest Favorites is listing-level. Superhost is account-level and applies to listing owners only.
Does the badge change my search rank?
Airbnb does not state a multiplier. The badge adds a filter and a label. The ratings and reliability behind it feed the quality pillar of ranking.
Sources
- Guest Favorites, Help Center article 3496, Airbnb, 2026.
- Guest Favorites and highlights, Help Center article 3495, Airbnb, 2026.
- Star ratings, Help Center article 13, Airbnb, 2026.
- How search results work, Help Center article 39, Airbnb, 2026.
- Superhost criteria, Help Center article 829, Airbnb, 2026.
- Host cancellation fees, Help Center article 990, Airbnb, 2026.
- Rebooking and Refund Policy, Help Center article 2868, Airbnb, 2026.
- What to know about the highlight for top homes, Resource Center 666, Airbnb, 12 November 2025.
- Airbnb introduces Guest Favorites, Airbnb Newsroom, 8 November 2023.
- Airbnb 2024 spring update, Airbnb Newsroom, 2024.
- New Airbnb Guest Favorites badge, AirDNA, 2023.
- Airbnb highlight system, top 1% and Guest Favorite, Rental Scale-Up, 2025.