That gold trophy on an Airbnb listing is the Airbnb Guest Favorite badge, and the top 5% and top 10% labels come with it. Seven of our rentals now carry one: two in the top 5% and five in the top 10%. Here’s what the badge really tells you, how it’s different from Superhost, and how to use it when you’re picking a place to stay.
What does the Airbnb Guest Favorite badge actually mean?
Airbnb compares eligible homes against each other using ratings, reviews, and reliability. That includes the category scores guests leave for check-in, cleanliness, accuracy, host communication, location, and value. It also looks at the host’s cancellation rate and any quality-related incidents reported to Airbnb customer service.
To be in the running, a home needs at least five reviews in the past four years, with at least one in the past two. Homes that land in the top 1%, 5%, or 10% get a gold trophy, a gold Guest Favorite badge, a highlight at the top of the listing, and a label above the reviews.
In plain English: top 5% means about 1 in 20 eligible homes earns that spot, and top 10% means about 1 in 10. It’s a ranking, not a participation ribbon.
Airbnb Guest Favorite badge vs. Top 5% / Top 10% vs. Superhost
These get mixed up constantly. Here’s the quick version:
| Superhost | Guest Favorite | Top 5% / Top 10% | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Applies to | The host | The home | The home |
| Based on | 4.8+ rating, 10+ stays (or 100 nights over 3+ stays), under 1% cancellations, 90% response rate, all over the past year | Ratings, reviews, and reliability compared with other homes | The same signals, shown as a percentile rank |
| Think of it as | A checklist the host passes | A “most-loved” stamp | A ranking within the most-loved |
Superhost tells you the person running the place meets a set bar. The percentile badges tell you how that specific home stacks up against everyone else.
A real-life way to use it
Say you’re booking a week on the coast and two homes look identical: same bedroom count, same price, same distance to the beach. One has a gold trophy and a top 5% label above its reviews. That’s your tiebreaker. Guests who stayed there rated it, reviewed it, and the host showed up reliably, and Airbnb ranked it for it.
Before you book any listing: a 60-second check
- Look for the gold trophy or the highlight at the top of the listing page.
- Open the category ratings. Cleanliness and check-in tell you the most.
- Read the last few months of reviews, not just the overall score.
- Check for Superhost as a second signal on the host.
- Compare total price with and without platform fees before you hit reserve.
Our seven top-ranked homes
Badges update as new reviews come in, so always check the listing for the current label. Here are all seven on Airbnb:
- The Hill, York, ME
- Main Squeeze, York, ME
- The Timeless Retreat
- The Beached Whale, Wells, ME
- Drift Haus on Estes, Alfred, ME
- Rye by the Beach, Rye, NH
- Paulee Suites, Unit B
If you prefer to book direct, you can do so at kmapropertygroup.com.
