Should I Offer Extra Nights?

[Colber0]

We are new hosts. We started taking bookings in May and other than a run of four days, we are fully booked until mid August.

It's a great start. When we begun we were blocking off days between stays. Now we are 5 stays in, I was wondering about offering guests who have booked an extra night.

For midseason bookings over 3 nights I was thinking of offering them the extra night with a 50% discount and for longer stays in high season possibly a 50% free or even an extra complimentary night.

I would be interested to know your thoughts.

[Colleen253]

@Colber0 Presumably you have a reason for leaving a day between bookings, so I wonder why you would sacrifice this break for little to no monetary gain. Same day turnovers are stressful. So, how does what you're considering benefit you?

[Colber0]

Hi @Colleen253,

There are two reasons, we are looking to optimise our income and as we live around a two or three round trip away, it makes sense to cover check out, turnaround and check in on one visit.

[Helen744]

@Colber0 I understand why you would do this . In Australia it is a common expectation of travellers over long distances to expect some type of extra day offer ,either the day before or the day after at a discount , but this is generally in hotel complexes or caravan family fun parks. My brother in law always looks for the 'freebies ' , like a little kid , in the fridge or on his app. Its up to you , but will only be attractive to these types of guests , who do not cook or really stay in the house, but there are lots of them , but not an up front discount but something special to those that you consider 'good guests. Makes them feel special and keeps them coming back H

[Margi226]

I'm considering offering an extra night at a discount only when there is zero chance of booking that night otherwise. Any thoughts? Does this cheapen my brand?  Will it be appreciated or viewed negatively?