While trying to book an Airbnb a couple weeks ago I had a revelation.  Booking a good Airbnb is hard! There are so many choices these days.  You can spend hours browsing photos and reading reviews trying to find  the perfect place. Making things even more difficult is that Airbnb  hosts adjust their nightly rate dramatically from day to day so knowing  whether you are getting a good deal is next to impossible.

After years of using data to empower Airbnb hosts, I decided to flip  the script and create a tool to help out Airbnb travelers. I looked at  the data from a new perspective to identify Airbnb host and property  characteristics that predict where guests will have the best experience.

You might be thinking, “Airbnb already has a rating system – why complicate things?”

The problem is that 82% of all Airbnb properties have at least a 4.5  star rating, how valuable can that really be in helping you make a  booking decision? It’s one data point for sure, but sifting, sorting,  and comparing all the other details to find the perfect place is an  often overwhelming task, not to mention, time-consuming.

That’s exactly where our years of data collection and analysis of more than 4 million Airbnb properties come to the rescue.

Our new Airbnb Quality Score ranks every Airbnb property based on  previous guest experiences and other characteristics including Super  host status, review counts, review content, ratings, host response  times, instant bookings, cancellation policies, and much more to predict  where you will likely have the most enjoyable Airbnb stay.

We then publish the score for all active Airbnb properties in each  city. You can navigate via links at bottom of our over 4,000 city  specific market report pages. You can filter for rental type, or price,  and view the best listing results on a map.

The crème de la crème of our lists earn bragging rights with a “Gold  Medal Property” designation going to those scoring 90 points or more.  Who wouldn’t want to book an Airbnb with gold medal status?

For example, below is a great property in Berkeley, CA, earning a  perfect AirDNA score of 100. In fact, only 51 other properties in the  entire US, 0.0001%, achieved this perfect score making this rental a gem  to seriously consider when get ready to book an Airbnb:

Entire home/apt, 1 bed, 1 bath, 2 guests max

Do you need more than a one bedroom in Berkeley? If so, it’s easy to  scroll down the list until you find what you’re looking for. You’ll  quickly see the highest ranking two bedroom rental just happens to come  in 2nd place overall and is the only other Gold Medal property in the  market with an AirDNA Score of 92. Most people would overlook this unit  due to the poor photos, but the reviews show this place to be a true  hidden gem. As one guest puts it, “we just walked into a fairytale.”

Private Berkeley Hills/Kensington guesthouse

Entire home/apt, 2 bed, 1 bath, 3 guests max

But, what if you just want something fun and different for your stay  in Berkeley? That’s easy to find, too. How about this Silver Medal  property that enters the Top 100 list in 12th place with a very good  AirDNA Score of 83?

Berkeley Backyard Berkeley Backyard Tiny Home

The “Average Price” quoted in the above examples reflects the average  booked price for the property over the past year. This gives you a  great benchmark to tell you if you are overpaying or getting a great  deal.

The most popular Airbnb properties are booked many months in advance  so, if your dates are flexible, be sure to check the top rated  properties in your desired destination as early as possible.

When searching for the perfect Airbnb rental the AirDNA Score gives  travelers the ability to book an Airbnb property with complete  confidence and ensure you are renting a cool authentic Airbnb instead of  a bare-bones corporate rental.

What's the best way to book an Airbnb? Introducing AirDNA's new Airbnb Quality Score. Check Airbnb score & find the perfect vacation rental home worldwide!

The Better Way to Book an Airbnb