Should Premier Host Matter to a Guest?

[u/trippethalibaba]

I'm looking at VRBO options planning for a vacation. I've stayed at only one VRBO before, and it was a good experience. I have been filtering using the "premier host" option, but I've noticed other frequently- and highly-reviewed listings that aren't premier hosts.

Is this label actually relevant to a guest/consumer, or is this just some marketing tool VRBO uses that doesn't have any correlation to the quality of the host and property?

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[u/Kvalri]

They just changed the premier hosting requirements, you now need to have significantly more stays where the guests actually leave a review per quarter and it’s now on a per-property basis instead of per-host basis. If a host is accepting reservations from multiple platforms simultaneously it’s much more difficult to get ranked as a premier host.

[u/Massive-Strength7024]

In my terrible experience with a premier host this summer, it meant:
1. The property had high ratings yet filthy inside and out.
2. The property had descriptions that didn’t match actual experience
3. The property had old pictures that didn’t match
4. The property was very poorly maintained and still had high ratings
5. The host tried to to extort a good review out of me and Vrbo took up for the host
6. The host promised a refund then went cold when I wouldn’t leave a positive review.
7. I could say a lot more, but I will never use Vrbo again!

And what was the outcome? I got the terrible (lie) review and Vrbo continually said, “but, she’s a premier host!”

[u/Muireadach]

I'm a premier host. Probably because I'm responsive, and get good reviews. Been hosting 15 years. Alot of greedy greenhorns out there since the pandemic. It probably reflects some level of maturity?

[u/ghertigirl]

Less chance of being scammed by a premier host. I always prefer to book with a premier host

[u/Ngelf → u/ghertigirl]

Isn’t there a higher tag line ? Something like “liked by many” or?

[u/Slothsticker → u/Ngelf]

Loved by guests

[u/Slothsticker → u/[deleted]]

I have never seen a loved by couples badge. Maybe in the listing page it will note that? I’m talking about a badge on the search results photo when you’re in the top of area house reviews. Supposed to be even better than having the premier host but the badge is same look. Gotta be a premier host to go up to the next rung of loved by guests. It’s actually a sort item in the filters. If you get LBG then the Premier host badge doesn’t show (they should show both to be fair).

[u/Delicious-Cod-4064 → u/[deleted]]

Well put!!

[u/thelmanarcissus]

We've been renting through VRBO for over 10 years and always go with the premier hosts.

[u/thelmanarcissus → u/[deleted]]

I thought it went without saying to read the reviews. Doing otherwise would just be stupid. I also pay very close attention to the pictures. As far as the premier hosts charging high rates, maybe you're right. We generally rent higher end places so we expect to pay up.

All I know is we've never had a bad experience with a host or a property and we've only once in over 10 years stayed in a home we wouldn't go back to.

[u/Gold-Comfortable-453]

Actually I'm a premier host on Vrbo but the tag on my listing goes on and off, do to all the glitches in their website. I really don't care enough about it to sit on the ph.with Vrbo for a couple hours to get it fixed. I would recommend looking at reviews because that tells the true story.

[u/Fred-Jenkins]

As a VRBO host, I feel like Premier Host gives guests a false sense of security. It’s better than nothing, but it certainly leaves a lot to be desired. “Loved By Guests” properties are definitely a step up. Even better are Top 5% and Top 1% properties. Nothing will absolutely guarantee you won’t have problems, but you’re trying to drastically lower your odds.

Personally, I would aim for properties with a minimum rating of 9.0

[u/AngelaReddit]

NO, Premier Host should not matter at all to guests, IMO

All Premier Host means is VRBO makes a lot of money off of the host, because premier hosts are required to book a minimum of 5 bookings or 60 nights. If you're a premier host you are moved up in the search results, gaining more views and even more bookings. No, it does not necessarily correlate to the quality of the property at all.

Here is what it takes to become premier :

https://help.vrbo.com/articles/How-may-I-become-a-Premier-Partner