Are extra discounts the 'new normal'?

[Huma0]

Now that UK calendars have been unblocked and the Government is easing lockdown restrictions, I have started receiving enquiries again from potential guests, but no instant bookings or requests to book so far, probably because every single one is asking me to give them an additional discount/special offer, often with phrasing such as, "given the current circumstances"...

Normally, I never agree to these kinds of requests because I host long-term guests and have always had weekly and monthly discounts built in. Besides that, the rooms are priced very low for what they are even before the discounts. However, given that they have been empty for months and I've lost I don't know how many £thousands in income from cancellations, I have been offering to reduce the already discounted price by a further 10%, which means the guest is getting more than 25% off. I can't go any lower than that because the rooms are already at the minimum nightly price for the foreseeable future (they would be a lot higher in July/August/September under normal circumstances).

Still, this doesn't seem to be good enough for the guests. They appear to want Airbnb rooms for the price of a long-term rental, but a long-term rental normally requires a year's contract, sizeable deposit, paying your own bills/Council Tax and doing your own cleaning! I imagine they would still expect the same standards, service and facilities from the Airbnb as a guest paying full price. Besides, these days there is a lot of extra cleaning involved.

The way I am starting to think about this is, while it is natural that people will bargain hunt knowing the market is at a low point, shouldn't they be supporting small businesses right now instead of taking advantage of those who are struggling? If, unlike me, you are lucky enough to still have your job (most of the enquiries are from guests coming to London for work) or can afford to holiday for weeks at a time, is it fair to expect hosts who have lost huge amounts of income to subsidise your vacation/lifestyle? It's not very ethical nor morally sound. I know the guests are not seeing it from this perspective, but that's what it boils down to!

What's your opinion? Would you offer higher discounts because it's better to have some income than none, or would you stand your ground?

[Helen3]

Exactly @Huma0 

I think it may well be that your pricing model is attracting them. Have you looked at what others with comparable properties in your part of London are charging?

Also consider increasing your cleaning fee.

I appreciate London is an over-saturated market, but so is Bristol and I live in an inner city area. What I have noticed is that the bookings are a lot more last minute.

For me as it's not my main source of income I will only take a booking if it's worth it for me.

I am taking a minimum two night booking and have changed my policy to flexible, as I know under Covid if they need to cancel, they will be able to do so penalty free anyway.

Hope things pick up for you soon.

[Huma0]

Thanks @Helen3 .

I don't actually have a cleaning fee and never had. I believe the guest should get as transparent an idea about the price straight up - well as far as possible, as Airbnb doesn't make that easy. I know that's what I would want as a guest when searching listings.

RE the pricing, what I did was to let Smart Pricing do it's thing for the next few months. Normally, I would never do that. I had previously set my prices higher for the peak Summer months. Guessing that that could now be totally unrealistic, I turned Smart Pricing back on and it put all nights for all rooms at the minimum price. 

I will definitely check out what others are charging, which is something I usually do from time to time, but haven't recently as there didn't seem any point when everyone's calendars were blocked.

[Huma0]

I just checked a coulple of listings at a nearby house that has a very similar offering to mine. It has always been priced much higher than mine, but it's been useful in the past to get a general idea as most of the listings in my area are much more 'basic'. 

The calendar is completely blocked until October. Maybe that is from bookings, but as it's every single night and completely open from October, I am assuming the hosts have decided not to accommodate any guests until then. 

Guess what? The price has gone up! It was previously £80 a night and is now £90. Perhaps they have just incorporated a cleaning fee into the nightly price though... In any case, they have certainly not put the price down!

[Russell49]

I have raised my booking fees and am also being selective with who comes here. Travel is a luxury and I have no problems getting in the right guests since the pendulum is swung in my favor in my area, which is abundant with Sydneysiders who want to escape to the Blue Mountains. I will in no way, shape or form be giving out discounts when extra precautions due to covid need to be met. I will not take less as this means I would feel like my place is not worth it. If they complain, then they can spend  a fortune on a property and start their own accommodation while accepting needy guests who want to put less in their pockets.

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Helen3 , I have raised mine nearly 20% to cover cleaning and 24 hour in between and have been booking pretty well as of late.  Longer term though (2 weeks to a month) I would be willing to take a bit of a cut, thats not happening during summer though cause there isnt really those kind of openings (Luckily)

[Mark116]

@Huma0  We've been standing our ground, but not even getting inquiries, maybe that will pick up a little in Aug when NYC gets to the next step in re opening.

As far as your guest, it would depend on what kind of lifestyle you thought she'd be having, e.g. is she going to be at home with the BF every night cooking for 2 and hanging in the common space, in which case, she's paying for 1 getting service for 2; or would it have really been as she said, more of a she and BF go out and he comes home with her at night a couple nights week, no cooking, no hanging, in that case, given the circumstances it might have been okay...but hard to know that from a few conversations w/someone. 

[Huma0]

@Mark116 

Yes, the enquiries only started coming in after the Government announced it was letting B&Bs etc. reopen. Perhaps the same will happen in NYC?

The guest and I did discuss this in some detail and the situation you describe of boyfriend sleeping over a couple of nights a week was fine by me and I said I would waive the extra person fee.

However, that is not at all what she had in mind and would not agree to limit his visits. She said he would not be 'living' here, but she should not have to tell me how often he would stay. I told her I would need to know  so I could inform the other guests (at the moment I do have another girl booked to stay at that time) and this is something previous guests have always been happy with. This guest, on the other hand, said it made her feel 'extremely uncomfortable' and that the other guests would just get used to him being around.

It just sounded like trouble to me. I was willing to let him stay over a couple of nights a week for free, but for him to have free reign of the house? No, sorry.

In addition, the guest wanted to speak to me on the phone rather than communicate via Airbnb. Then she wanted to come and see the property during full lockdown. She also wanted to book for six weeks with the possibility of staying permanently. She was definitely trying to get a 'deal' off site.

[Mike-And-Helen0]

She sounds like a bullet deftly dodged.

[Mark116]

@Huma0  I'd say you dodged a bullet, if the guest is already using words like 'extremely uncomfortable' before she even books!!...it would seem that a complaint/bad review/major drama is only a matter of time.

[Huma0]

@Mark116 

Yes, to be honest, I was kind of relieved that she didn't book. Normally, I would totally avoid this kind of guest, but I guess desperate times and all...

So, when she said she wasn't going to book because it made her "extremely uncomfortable" that I wanted to know how often her boyfriend would be staying, I thought, "thank goodness for that!"

[Russell49]

She sounds like a load of trouble. I only allow guests whom I personally check in allowed on my property. If a guest has a problem with my rules, they will likely not be respectful people and I wouldn't trust them in my home. The boyfriend excuse could be an excuse for prostitution. Either way it is too unorthodox and I would refuse the booking.

[Huma0]

@Russell49 

I'm a live in host so I can keep more of an eye on things than hosts who live elsewhere and I also always check in guests personally and reiterate some of the house rules at the same time.

However, you kind of have to try to weed out the problematic guests before it gets to that stage as, once they have checked in, it's really too late.

I don't think that prostitution was a potential factor here. It was more that the guest seemed to think the set up would be like renting a normal houseshare rather than being a guest in someone else's home. Because I host long-term guests, I did get enquiries occasionally from guests under that misapprehension occasionally in the past, but they seem to be coming in thick and fast these days.

They want viewings before booking. They want boyfriends to stay over whenever they feel like it. Or, they just disappear as soon as I ask them any questions.

I have now had quite a lot of enquiries (no instant books or booking requests) since the calendar reopened. None of these turned into anything except for my current guest who leaves on Sunday. 

The latest enquiry was asking to stay for two weeks (my minimum is for three) with a discount, plus for me to include the Airbnb fees within the accommodation costs!

[Russell49]

I also live at our location and have completely blocked off our wall between us and the guests. They have their own entry and I ALWAYS meet any guest staying with us. I feel if a guest meets me face to face, they are more likely to be respectful as they have attached a face to the property. Of course some guests will do as they please regardless, but it gives me some peace of mind.

I probably used prostitution as an example. I always try to be cautious and look at the potential situation I am in with some guests. I have refused guests that wouldn't respond to my house rules when I asked them to take a look. I asked one guest to please take a look at our house rules before checking in and he threw a fit so I told him to cancel his booking as he will not be staying at my home if he feels it's a big ask to look at our rules.

[Huma0]

@Russell49 

Sorry for the late response, which I only just saw now.

I also always meet my guests face to face. They are sharing the home with me, so that's normal, but I would never offer self check in and then just meet them later. The 'welcome tour' is really important to me for many reasons, but like you said, it helps encourage guests to be more respectful.

I have for quite a while insisted that guests agree to house rules BEFORE they book (or as soon as they do when I was still using IB). I include an Easter egg question in there because I learnt that a lot of people lie about having read them. I will not accept any guest who does not send me the answer to the question. Full stop. Even when I used IB, if a guest wouldn't ask the question after being asked a few times, I would call Airbnb and get them to cancel penalty free.

I agree with you. Anyone who wants to stay in our homes but cannot bother to read the rules has an attitude problem. I wouldn't want them even if they offered to pay three times the nightly rate!

[Linda108]

Pretty sure ethical and reasonable are situation specific, @Huma0 .  If your situation requires you to take less profit or even no profit for a time to "prime the pump" and get the good reviews, then it is reasonable for you.  Can't define what is ethical or reasonable for another person.  I would limit your booking window because the situation is changing all the time.  I am not able to book guests in my listing because of my City's limit of short term rentals to only self-contained, no shared listing allowed.

Remember when you first started in this business?  More than likely your rates were low in order to get reviews.  I know I did that.  My rates have doubled in the last 5 years.  Maybe you can see this as a start over.  I wonder if you only had a monthly discount since you prefer the longer stay, and used a weekly discount as a negotiation tactic.  Just a thought.