How To Leverage Airbnb's Mobile-Only And Top-Rated Guest Discounts For Your Property
As a host, navigating the evolving landscape of property management requires continuous adaptation to new channel features and shifting guest behaviors. Maintaining high occupancy rates, optimizing your calendar, and ensuring a seamless hosting experience are ongoing priorities for any successful property. Recently, Airbnb introduced two powerful promotional features specifically designed to help hosts attract the most reliable guests and capture the massive, growing audience of mobile users: the Top-Rated Guest Discount and the Mobile-Only Discount.
At Smoobu, we understand how much care, time, and dedication you put into managing your properties. Our goal is to empower you with the insights and tools necessary to streamline your operations and leverage these new features strategically. Rather than focusing solely on short-term gains in Gross Booking Value (GBV), this comprehensive guide will explore how you can use these discounts to improve your search visibility, secure higher-quality bookings, and build a more stable, predictable hosting business.
We will explore exactly how these new features work, the data-backed benefits of adopting them, how they interact with your existing pricing strategies, and how to seamlessly activate them directly in your Smoobu dashboard.
The Strategic Shift In Property Management
To understand why these new features are so critical to your property management strategy, we first need to look at how guests find and book properties today.
Your ranking on Airbnb is dynamic and primarily influenced by four core factors: popularity, competitive pricing, availability, and quality. Clicks and bookings measure popularity. Pricing requires competitive rates compared to similar properties in your area. Availability means maintaining an open calendar with as few restrictions as possible. Finally, quality is determined by strong reviews, Superhost status, and fast response times.
However, the medium through which guests interact with these ranking factors has fundamentally shifted. Guests are no longer tied to their desktop computers when planning their trips. They are booking on the go, relying heavily on smartphones. To stay competitive and maintain strong visibility, your promotional strategies must align with this mobile-first reality while simultaneously prioritizing guest quality to protect your property.
Capturing Unprecedented Demand With The Mobile-Only Discount
The transition toward mobile booking is not just a passing trend; it is the new standard in the hospitality industry. According to internal Airbnb data, in 2025, over 60% of browsing sessions globally occurred directly on the Airbnb mobile app. Furthermore, 65% of all bookings globally were finalized through the app.
This momentum has only continued to build over the past year. In the first quarter of 2026, nights booked globally via the Airbnb app grew by 22% year-over-year. Mobile app bookings accounted for a staggering 63% of total nights booked globally, up from 58% the previous year.
What The Mobile-Only Discount Is
To help hosts capitalize on this massive shift in consumer behavior, Airbnb introduced the Mobile-Only Discount (MOD). This feature allows you to offer an optional 10% discount that applies strictly to guests who book your property through the Airbnb mobile app.
When you activate this feature, guests browsing on the Airbnb app will see a specially discounted price just for them. At checkout, the channel displays strikethrough pricing alongside a dedicated discount line item, making the savings incredibly clear and compelling to the guest. Meanwhile, guests who book via a desktop computer or mobile web browser will continue to see your standard base price without the discount applied.
Leveraging The Mobile-Only Discount For Visibility
Activating the Mobile-Only Discount is a highly strategic move to optimize your listing for the modern guest. By implementing this targeted promotion, you can leverage the channel's algorithm and user interface to your advantage.
- Stand Out Prominently: Your listing instantly becomes more attractive to the vast, growing audience of app users thanks to the visual appeal of strikethrough pricing.
- Boost Mobile Search Visibility: Because the Airbnb algorithm factors in competitive pricing, offering a lower rate specifically for mobile users can boost visibility in mobile search.
- Capitalize On High-Intent Demand: With the majority of global bookings now happening in-app, this discount positions your property to intercept high-intent guests right where they prefer to search.
Attracting High-Quality Guests With The Top-Rated Guest Discount
While attracting more bookings is always a priority, the quality of your guests is equally vital. Welcoming reliable, respectful guests minimizes wear and tear on your property, reduces the likelihood of disruptive incidents, and almost guarantees a smoother hosting experience overall.
To help hosts attract this ideal demographic and reward exceptional guest behavior, Airbnb has rolled out the Top-Rated Guest Discount (TRGD).
What Defines A Top-Rated Guest
The Top-Rated Guest Discount is an official Airbnb promotion designed to reward the channel's most reliable users. By activating this feature, you can offer an exclusive discount—typically set at 15%—targeted strictly to guests with a proven track record of exceptional behavior and positive reviews from other hosts.
To qualify for this elite status and unlock your discount, a guest must have earned at least 3 reviews from other hosts and maintain an impressive average rating of 4.8 stars or higher. It is worth noting that a guest's cancellation rate is not currently factored into their "Top Guest" status.
One of the most host-friendly aspects of this feature is its built-in protection for your long-term pricing strategy. The promotion is designed to give you a quick visibility boost without permanently lowering your rates; it automatically expires after your listing receives three discounted bookings.
Leveraging The Top-Rated Guest Discount For Peace Of Mind
Adopting the Top-Rated Guest Discount is not just about filling your calendar; it is a proven driver of stability and operational peace of mind. The data shows that this targeted approach yields immediate, measurable results for hosts who choose to leverage it.
Based on global active listings offering a 15% Top-Rated Guest Discount, hosts typically experience:
- Approximately 5% more Gross Booking Value (GBV).
- Roughly 6% more nights booked.
- A 15% higher chance of attracting top-rated guests to the property.
The strategic value of this feature is evident across the industry. Following its implementation, one European API partner saw a remarkable 9.7% adoption rate for TRGD listings across their portfolio within just the first two weeks of launch.
Navigating Discount Stacking Logic Strategically
One of the most critical aspects of property management is understanding how different promotions interact. A common concern among hosts is the fear of unintentionally stacking multiple discounts, resulting in a booking that heavily undercuts their base price.
It is essential to know that discounts on Airbnb can be combined—specifically, the Top-Rated Guest Discount and the Mobile-Only Discount stack.
Furthermore, these two new features will also stack seamlessly with all other standard discounts you may have active on your calendar. This includes:
- Non-refundable cancellation policies.
- Early-bird discounts.
- Last-minute discounts.
- Weekly and monthly discounts.
- New listing promotions.
- Seasonal adjustments, such as weekend premiums or nightly price updates configured through rule sets.
Because these promotions compound, we highly recommend reviewing your rate settings regularly. Ensure that your base price is structured to accommodate these overlapping discounts without severely impacting your overall strategy.
The Advantage Of Flexible Cancellation Policies
As you review your pricing and discount strategies, it is also the perfect time to evaluate your cancellation policies. While it might be tempting to rely solely on strict, non-refundable rates to secure guaranteed bookings, channel data suggests that flexibility pays off in the long run.
According to Airbnb, listings that offer more flexible cancellation policies generate, on average, about 10% higher Gross Booking Value (GBV) than listings with strict policies. Even a moderate increase in your flexibility can make a substantial difference in your conversion rates.
If you do choose to offer a non-refundable rate in addition to your flexible options, note that Airbnb limits the non-refundable rate to check-outs occurring within the next 60 days. This limitation is specifically designed to provide greater flexibility for both hosts and guests regarding long-term bookings.
Configuring Discounts In Your Smoobu Dashboard
As your dedicated channel manager, Smoobu makes it incredibly easy to implement these strategic features. Almost all of your Airbnb discounts can be configured directly from your Smoobu dashboard, eliminating the need to jump back and forth between different channels.
Please note that while you can handle these new discounts in Smoobu, Custom Promotions must still be created and managed directly on the Airbnb platform.
Step-By-Step Setup
Here is how you can set up the Mobile-Only and Top-Rated Guest Discounts today:
- Log in to your Smoobu account.
- Navigate to your Booking Portals, select Airbnb, and click on Settings.
- Navigate to the Promotions tab.
- Here, you will see options for both the Mobile-Only Discount and the Highly-Rated Guest Discount.
- Click Create next to the desired promotion to activate it for your listing.
By taking advantage of these built-in tools, you can effortlessly adjust your availability, secure exceptional guests, and optimize your properties for the rapidly growing mobile market.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I enable the Instant Book feature only for top-rated guests?
Instant Book allows eligible guests to book your property immediately without waiting for manual approval. The eligibility criteria for Instant Book are defined entirely by Airbnb and cannot be controlled through your Smoobu account. At this time, it is not possible to enable Instant Book exclusively for top-rated guests.
Why doesn't my listing appear in location search results even with discounts active?
Because Airbnb's search results are highly personalized to the user, listings may appear differently for different guests. If you cannot find your listing, first verify that your calendar is available for the selected dates, your minimum stay requirements match the search, and no check-in or check-out restrictions are blocking the booking. If all settings are correct, contact Airbnb Support to request a manual visibility check.
How can I improve my overall Airbnb ranking alongside these discounts?
While discounts boost visibility, your foundational ranking relies on keeping your calendar up to date, adjusting prices competitively, and refreshing your listing photos regularly. Your cover photo is especially crucial; use a bright, high-quality image that showcases your property's best interior or exterior space.
When does Airbnb remove unfair guest reviews?
Airbnb only removes reviews that violate its content policy—for example, reviews containing discriminatory content, extortion, or comments unrelated to the stay. Reviews that are simply perceived as "unfair" do not qualify for removal. If you believe a review violates Airbnb's policy, you can submit a request to Airbnb Support along with the relevant evidence.
