Discounts for Senior Citizens

[Dianne270]

Hello, I am a host in the Philippines  and want to seek the advice of other hosts here. Do you offer senior citizen discounts and if so, how do you deduct it from the total?

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

@Dianne270  Airbnb doesn't offer a way to build discounts like this into the booking process, and it would technically violate the anti-discrimination policy to charge different rates for different age groups. 

If for any reason you want to offer a price reduction to a guest after they have a confirmed booking, you can use the Resolutions tool. But most hosts do not find discount-seekers to be their ideal guests, so I can't recommend using that dirty D word anywhere in your listing. 

[Charles1322]

The host was asking about Philippines in particular where discounts and VAT exemptions to Senior Citizens and Persons With Disability are mandatory for certain transactions including hospitality businesses when the Senior or PWD IDs are presented. Your business can be fined or licenses can be revoked. That being said, this isn't something you should worried about if your property isn't in The Philippines. Airbnb recognizes this and includes that notice in their help center but not the procedure of applying discounts.

In digital formats such as Airbnb and the food delivery counterparts, implementation is quite tricky though. Food Delivery apps (think UberEats) arent compliant yet because the year 1992 law obviously hasn't considered digital platforms. On the contrary, restaurants, airlines, and hotels with online orders/ bookings already provide discounts. I imagine Airbnb has yet to comply.

Legislation is moving towards covering digital platforms so Airbnb might be compelled to add such discounts conveniently upon ID uploading (this is currently pro-rated. i.e. if a group of 3 book a hotel room for 3 people and only one is qualified for a discount, only a third is considered in the discount and VAT exemption) 

[Sarah977]

@Dianne270  While it's nice of you to consider offering senior's discount, I wouldn't advise it. Many posts from hosts here on the forum indicate that senior guests can be quite frustrating to deal with. While you likely won't have issues with them re partying or being disrespectful of the place and damaging things, many older folks, unless they have used Airbnb before, don't understand how it differs from booking a hotel room or a traditional Bed and Breakfast, and expect daily room cleaning, garbage removal, fresh towels, and breakfast. They may also need a lot of handholding as far as figuring out how things work in your listing, even if it's explained in the house manual.

Of course, not all seniors are like this (I'm a senior myself)- some are world travelers, have stayed in all sorts of places and cultures, and are adaptable and reasonable in their expectations. 

[Charles1322]

Hello. The original poster asked this because Philippines has long-existing laws that grant Senior Citizens and Persons with Disability 20% discount and VAT exemption on portions of the bill consumed by ID holders (rarely the entire bill i imagine). Non-compliance is punishable by law (fines, business license suspension, jail time). These discounts are mandatory if you're in the hospitality, food and beverage, medical, and transportation (air/land/sea) business. However this shouldn't worry you if you're not hosting a property in The Philippines. 

Airbnb mentioned this on their help center for PH hosts but granting discounts isn't exactly native on the platform. For tax and Senior/PWD law compliance, it would be nice if Airbnb made it easier for hosts as it is also common courtesy (cultural thing!). Seniors and disabled people may insist on this as is their right so native support should be worked on.