I am reaching out to inquire whether your team provides co...
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I am reaching out to inquire whether your team provides co-hosting or property management services, specifically for Airbnb...
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Hello Fellow Hosts, curious if you'd be willing to share how you would have responded to this message that came in yesterday?
"Hi Kelly,
My name is ******* and I love this place so much! We are bringing a girls long weekend ages up u til 80. My question to you is that I lost my job because of coronavirus and I’m on disability. Is there any chance of any discount that we could apply to our reservation? Thank you for the consideration. ********"
This was an Inquiry from a brand new user located 5 states away from me, for 3 guests, 4 nights in the last weekend in July. The listed rate was probably $20-50 less/night than it would have been in a normal summer. Who knows if anyone will be traveling in July and/or what the supply/demand housing market will look like then. Our state is currently about 50% open.
What would you have said????
@Sarah977 yes!! that story reminds me of all the "I found something horrible in this listing" people who somehow never want to leave but do think they'd like some discount.
I've not yet had an in-house discount hunter, but my go to would be I'll fix it and you can be happy or we can agree to part ways here, but I'm partly able to do that bc I'm right here and I know that everything in the space is tip top. I always feel bad for the hosts who are trying to discount their way out of a problem bc I just don't think it usually works.
and, btw, I'm never offended if someone makes a reasonable case for a value adjustment, I'll consider it and then either say no or counter. But don't tell me that you're too poor to travel! Will you be trying that at the airlines or the grocery or a restaurant or the Hyatt... no, no way, so why do people think that is going to make me more interested in hosting them?!?!
No I don't get offended either. A lot of hosts say that guests who ask for discounts are going to be bad guests. I don't think this is necessarily true. Since I switched to long-term, guests often ask for a discount, not realising that they are already getting one. Once I explain that, they either decide they can't afford it or they book and many of the latter have turned out to be wonderful guests.
Even with short-term guests asking for discounts, I realised in a lot of cases it was simply because in their culture it was normal to haggle rather than pay the advertised price (these were usually less experienced Airbnb users). I would simply say no and explain the room was already well priced.
Those who keep haggling regardless are another matter. They will want more and more (early check in, late check out, extra guests for free). You can bet they are going to ignore or try to bend your rules as well.
What is annoying me lately is that almost every guest who is enquiring is asking for a discount, not because of financial hardship, but just because they think they are likely to get one in the current circumstances.
The way I see it is, people should be supporting small businesses right now if they can. Rates are probably already lower than usual, so they are already getting a bargain. If you are lucky enough to still have your job (as is the case with the guests contacting me) or can afford to travel, why are you expecting others who are maybe in a less fortunate position to subsidise your holidays or your lifestyle?
Part of the problem is that many people see hosting on Airbnb not as earning money, but as 'free' money, or money for nothing. They assume that this property owner has no financial need to rent out the rooms and just does it for a hobby. Even if it was a hobby (and therefore the host doesn't wish to factor their time into the equation), hosting still comes with costs, but that is never considered either.
I will never forget the lovely Australian couple who kept saying, "It's so nice that you're able to do this during your holidays!" They assumed (since I work from home) that I was on vacation and that I had decided to spend it hosting Airbnb guests, just for the fun of it. It's baffling really.
@Huma0 @Christine615 I've now had another 2 of these back to back...
"Hi Kelly we really like your place and it would be perfect but it’s just a little out of our price range. Would you be willing to reduce the stay $75 so we can book it? We would be greatly appreciative"
and
"Was wondering if you’d be willing to drop your rates given the times and short notice rental. We’re in another long term ABB in another town but have to get out for the dates. Let me know if you’d be interested. No pets, 3 kids under 4 my wife and sister."
for the first guy, he's asking for about 15% off. His request said we/us, but was for one guest only, so I'm asking about that before I address the discount request.
the second guest I said "Hi! Welcome to the Barn! So, at our place you have private parking, 2 covered decks, individual beds for your entire group, a full-size refrigerator, dishwasher, clothes washer and dryer, unlimited utilities, no city taxes, a grassy yard, and a 4 year rental history of very happy guests. What were you thinking that was worth to you? Thanks for your interest! Kelly"
would you take less GIVEN THE TIMES?!? You mean, would I like to host you for less bc my whole business model has been upended for 6 months?? Ummm, no, I don't think I would.
Yes, these are the kind of discount requests that annoy me the most. Probably most of them are asking for a discount for that exact same reason (I have never received so many requests for discounts in my whole hosting career as I have in the last month), but the ones that are blatant enough to actually spell it out are beyond shameless.
Then again, I am guessing that a lot of those guests are just naïve. They don't think about the host having made a big loss these last few months. Unfortunately, a lot of people think that Airbnb hosts are making money from nothing and that it's not a 'real' income that impacts us either way.
@Huma0 Yes, I think you’re right, it’s a ‘wouldn’t something be better than nothing’ mentality. And guests don’t have the ability to realize that GIVEN THE TIMES, ie cleaning standards, infectiousness of people, the dumpster fire nature of ABB cs, unenforceable damage claims, & just the overall suckiness of life right now, that actually for me, no, I’m not willing to host you for less. Quite the contrary, my rates are higher now and staying that way for the foreseeable future.
I don’t necessarily fault them for asking but it’s just not something I’m going to agree to.
@Kelly149, @Huma0 ,
We should tell them,
"Given these times you are likely getting $600 a week more than normal unemployment while those of us who file schedule E get nothing. So instead of a discount, I think I will charge you double. Something you are surely willing to do "given the times." I'm sure you will appreciate that the size of my apartment at five times larger compared to the 300 square foot two bed room you would get at the Westin, Hilton or Marriott is still a bargain at four times the price, but I'm only going to charge you twice the price. Looking forward to hosting you!"
😂
LOL, I like your approach.
However, the people asking me for discounts are lucky enough to still have jobs and a normal income. There was only one who said that it was a bit above her budget. The rest seem to think they just deserve discounts because of COVID-19.
I'm sorry, but if you can afford to travel or live temporarily in an Airbnb (the latter is the case for the requests I receive), then perhaps you should think about supporting small businesses that are struggling, instead of trying to haggle them down.
Apart from my current guest (who will be leaving in a week) and a lady who is possibly coming in a month, but will likely cancel, I have no bookings. Lots of enquiries though. All (bar one) asking for extra discounts. I'd rather have the rooms empty (much as it's a financial struggle) than have these people try to take advantage of a bad situation. I know they are not thinking that is what they are doing but, basically, that is what it boils down to.
Why should I offer you (person who is not struggling financially) extra money off because I am struggling?
Because Airbnb stopped emphasizing individual owners and favored investors. So everyone thinks we’re all investors getting rich off this and are rolling in cash. I am appalled at how Airbnb didn’t cut their fees while asking us to cut prices or Asking us to allow hospital workers to use our spaces for free.
if someone asks for a discount I always decline. I won’t allow them to book afterwards except in exceptional circumstances. Need the revenue but not the drama that comes with it. 😞
@Christine615 @Yes, and they don’t know how to differentiate us from abb. They’re looking at the total and thinking it’s high without factoring how much of that doesn’t come to us at all. On the last guy I thought, how about you hit up abb or the state taxes to give you a deal??
oh, and best part, you never hear back from these yahoos after you answer these questions and worry that you’re about to get stuck with a penny pincher.
I agree totally!
If they ask for a discount then they won’t appreciate what I have to offer. I then block that time as I don’t want them to come back and book.
@Kelly149 I'd just look at my budget, if it'd be fair for you anyway rather than have your property empty why not? But show me proof of your disability.
I think it's threads like this that keep me from snoozing my listing! (it's going to be a looong minute before we consider reopening) I do so love "well bless your heart"! ( better no guest than a wrong 'un)
Back in the day, I had a request from a couple of lads who said they worked for a "non profit" & loved my place but their stipend would not cover the price and would I consider taking 1/3 less? I thanked them for the compliment & suggested their finding something to fit their budget.
If/when we do reopen I am going to raise my prices, the difference in our water bill was illuminating! - especially as last year was abnormally cool & wet- the 2019 University grads thought they had it tough being rained out, little did they know!.
@Kelly149 I view this inquiry as a Decline for reason- property "does not meet her needs." That response works wonders and is not disputable.
It’s interesting that this thread has popped back up 16 months later and here we all are. Who’d have thought?
as for us, since this was written we hosted quite a few Vrbo & one ABB guest before we took a long hiatus for a family stay between moving houses. I’m not looking forward to reopening & I sure enough will not be hosting folks who are counting their pennies on the way.
I look forward to discovering where we are 16 months from now.