Discounts

[Malcolm16]

My first guest wants me to give a discount so that the total he pays is inclusive of the Airbnb fee. I am charging £500 for 2 nights and he says that with the Airbnb commission it would come to £570. How do I do I work out what I should charge him. (assuming I am prepared to discount).

Thank s for any help/advice you can give.

Malcolm

[David126]

$439

Give or Take

Lucky to be exact due to rounding issues. And the ABB fee may vary as it is not an exact amount.

[Malcolm16]

Many thanks. I have a lot to learn!

[Sabine42]

Hi Malcolm,

what a gorgeous spot you have there, adding it to my wishlist!

You can send him a special offer (minus 70 Pounds) I can't calculate exactly as i don't know what the Airbnb fees are for your listing. As a new host you might wish to be extra accomodating but my advice is to be very cautious with guests demanding discounts right off the bat. The discounters are often the most troublesome guests with neverending demands and unfulfillable requests. Just my opinion, also, your place looks worth the price you're asking. Good luck!

[Malcolm16]

Thank you, but how do I send him s special offer? Do I just alter the price on the calendar? But the trouble then is that everyone else will see I am open to discounts-probably not a good idea.

[Ange2]

@Malcolm16   Click here to see how to send a special offer

[Lawrene0]

If you are not really open to discounts, @Malcolm16, I would stand firm on this one, too. As @Sabine42 says, a guest asking for a discount is a red flag for other problems. And you set your price to what you need for hosting. Why should you pay from that both their fees and yours? Up to you. Just something to consider.

[CarlandDiane0]

@Malcolm16, I agree with @Lawrene0.  In fact, I don't know how you can send a special offer that won't have an Airbnb fee added to it. (Doesn't Airbnb always add its service fee on top of whatever the host charges?) I just don't think there's a way to prevent it.

If guests don't want to pay the Airbnb service fee, they should book through another service. Or stay somewhere else. This is a tough pill to swallow for a new host, but trust me -- you've got a great place and you'll get plenty of bookings!

If you do want to do a special offer, I'd come up with a price that I'd be happy to receive (including cleaning fee and extra guest fee) and just advise the guest that there's nothing you can do about the Airbnb service fee. It simply will be charged by Airbnb on top of your special offer amount. That's Airbnb's money and you don't receive it anyway. (But I wouldn't deal with those folks off the books, either.)

Finally, though we've only been at this a couple of months, we've had two guests ask for discounts and both were marvelous. Absolutely delightful people. But I can see situations where folks to come in asking for special treatment from the get-go might continue to expect it. So you have to ask what you're willing to put up with.

Good luck!

[David126]

The guest wants to pay less, has been quoted $570 and want to pay $500, obviously the Guest does not care how that is broken down, who gets what.

ABB takes most of the fee from the client side a bit from the host side but when it comes down to it does it matter? The total is what matters.

I am certainly aware of the total charged because that is what the Guest is concerned about, if ABB charged less I could charge more and maintain the same price point.

[Lawrene0]

A couple of points on the con side of discounting and pricepoint pricing. First, in discounting, there is the slight chance the guest will say in his glowing review for future guests to see, "@Malcolm16  was great! He gave us a sweet discount!" More likely no review at all though, so you're safe there.

In pricepoints, if you make $500 your pricepoint, and so show $439 on the listing, there are those who will see the $439, and want to pay that. "I didn't want to pay $500! It says $439!" It might be better if all listings showed the amount the guest will pay right up front, but I'm not so keen on it that I want to make it a Host Voice post. There is the problem of cleaning fees, etc., and I have no solution that won't surprise someone who thinks he will pay only what he sees beside the IB lightning bolt, sans taxes, cleaning fees, service fees.  

None of this was your question, though, was it, Malcolm. You just wanted a figure to work from, and you got it. But you asked such a good question that it sprouted tangents!

[David126]

A guy who runs a Best Western once told me that he is amazed how many people just ask about a discount, not how much.

He is happy to increase his base price so everybody can get a discount....

[Rhonda21]

When a guest makes an enquiry you will see the option of "making the guest a special offer". If you are new to hosting, getting reviews is important so maybe by making a special offer you will get some guests staying. As long as you think the money you receive in the end, is a fair earning for the amount of work you are doing.