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?

[Huma0]

@Linda108 

Good point about the booking window. I had not thought of that but, as I am pretty sure we will be heading for another peak/lock down here in the UK, that makes a lot of sense. The problem is, I have no idea when that is likely to happen! What would you suggest, bearing in mind I only host long-termers? Three months? Six?

I understand also your point RE lowering rates, but they have already been lowered! Yes, they were a bit lower when I started out, but not much. I have never raised them to the market value. Similar listings in my area were charging nearly double (before my long-term discounts). On top of that, the prices are currently about 20% lower than I would normally set them at this time of year. Then add on the 15% long-term discount. Then add on the extra 10% I am offering...

My point is that I have already done what you suggest but every potential guest wants MORE because of COVID-19. Why? I know 'ethicial' and 'moral' are strong words and I am sure none of these guests are intentionally trying to take advantage of the situation, but it is still taking advantage.

Would you go into a small, local shop and tell them that, even though they currently have a sale on due to business being slow, they should give you a bigger discount because there's a pandemic? Would you tell a restaurant you will only book a table if they gave you additional discounts because you know they are struggling? Is it okay to expect an employee to do the same job but take a big pay cut, not because you can't AFFORD to pay their salary, but because you think they will be desperate to keep their job in the current circumstances? Of course, the latter is happening at some companies, but that doesn't make it ethical.

RE the weekly/monthly discounts, I have either a three or four week minimum on my rooms and only take short-term guests to fill gaps in between the long-term ones. However, that is definitely not something I will be doing anymore as I really don't want holidaymakers constantly in and out of my home.

Perhaps a better solution would be to raise the nightly price so that when guests come asking for further discounts, there is room to negotiate and they can book at a reasonable price and believe they got a bargain. And it is already a bargain. All of my friends and many other hosts have been telling me to raise my rates.

[Helen350]

@Huma0 Re you not wanting holidaymakers, I guess with the current 'only two households can mix' rule, it's a no no even if you didn't feel at risk? - Whereas longer term guests will count as part of your household, so it's OK to host several at once?

I've had 4 bookings for an 11 day period since the UK re-opened. - 1 been & gone, 1 here now, 1 coming Weds & 1 Friday. I've blocked the calendar so I only let ONE room at a time, being a private house with shared bathroom. None of them asked for discount, but my prices are super-low.

I had enquiries on Spare Room for furloughed folk wanting several weeks at lodger prices. I agreed to one for 2 weeks hence, like yours, first it was just her, then the boyfriend at weekends, then both of them all the time. We've agreed we'll try it 1 or 2 weeks to see how it works out. When I said Yes, it was before the magic 4 July, & I didn;t know a) if our government would allow STRs,b) if anyone would want to book me... So I thought I'd take this girl, + boyfriend sprung on me, thinking it might be all I could get.. But now, having had 4 people book between them 8 nights in 11 days, it seems I won't have trouble getting summer bookings..

BUT - I figured this cheap couple can be classed as 'my household'... SO, I could let a second room on Airbnb, so even tho the couple is paying below my Airbnb rates, it's extra to just letting ONE Airbnb room at a time...

[Huma0]

@Helen350 

Good to hear that the bookings are coming in so quickly. I also advertised on spareroom but didn't have much luck there. The rental market in London was flooded with Airbnbs as soon as the COVID cancellations started coming in.

I hadn't actually thought about whether I would be allowed to have the holidaymakers as I thought with STRs being allowed to reopen that was ok, but it's certainly something to look into in more detail for anyone doing those kind of STRs.

Personally, I have focused on longer term guests (weeks or months) for some time and very rarely took stays less than three weeks even before all of this happened, so it was a no brainer for me to only accept long term during this period. Also, with one exception, the enquiries have all been from UK guests, which I would also prefer to someone who has just got off a plane!

I was expecting to only let one room at a time, but left all three open to broaden my chances of getting a booking here or there. To be honest, I thought I'd be lucky to have one guest at a time this Summer. However, it seems there is maybe more interest than expected, so that's another thing to think about. Luckily for me, I have three bathrooms, so could easily allocate a bathroom each to two guests. We would have to share the kitchen though.

I am still nervous about all of this, especially as I have seen how quite a lot of people are very lax RE social distancing, taking extra hygiene precautions. I went on public transport for the first time on Saturday and was shocked to see so many people removing their masks as they could get away with it.

I am asking my guests about their routine etc. The guy who booked last night will be staying for over a month and working from home five days a week, plus some weekends, so that's reassuring. 

[Ann72]

@Huma0 Your concerns are valid, but I think it's less a moral problem than a mathematical problem.  People often don't think about how rent is calculated.  Your costs haven't changed due to "current circumstances."  That phrase is an attempt to guilt you into giving them a discount.

I don't expect guests to have sympathy for my problems; nor do I make their problems mine.  @Linda108's point about starting over is good, but if you can be patient and hold your ground I think you'll be okay.  Discount-seekers tend not to be the best guests.

[Ricardo85]

@Ann72 

Your costs haven't changed due to "current circumstances."

So true!

Discount-seekers tend not to be the best guests.

And again, so true!

Ricardo

[Russell49]

Every guest I have had that seemed needy turned out to be a regret. I have had guests moan about the type of free tea or snacks that are complimentary. For a 2 night stay I gave them cookies, a large bag of chips/ popcorn and coffee,tea and milk just to have them tell me I should have given them more. I shelter them, not feed them. These phony connoisseurs will be the first to leave a very ordinary review/rating despite all the extra work in trying to satisfy them.

[Huma0]

@Russell49

I had a couple stay once who asked me shortly before arrival which meals would be included as they couldn't find that info on the listing (the listing specifies tea, coffee etc.). 

Well, they couldn't find any mention of meals included because I am not running catered accommodation! I should have seen this as a massive red flag as they were resentful throughout their stay (they were don't cook, won't cook, won't pay for a restaurant type of people) that I wasn't feeding them three meals a day. Three meals a day would have cost more than what they were paying for the accommodation!

So, they then complained about everything. Used the whole bag of white sugar within in two days (I'm not joking) and then told me "sugar should be white not brown" when I directed them to the other bag. No thank you when I ran out at 11pm to buy them a bag of white sugar.

They said I should have a stove top espresso maker, not an electric coffee machine and cafetiere/French press (the latter was 'dangerous' apparently). It was 'ridiculous' that I did not have a waste disposal in the sink (NO ONE in the UK has those). The light switches in the landings should be located in their bedroom. It went on and on and on for eight days.

I swear, it was the longest eight days of my life. 

On top of all this, they expected me to take care of every little detail of their trip from car rental to shopping for hobbies to running to the pharmacy for them. Between them they were paying me something like £60 a night for a really beautiful room in a convenient spot in London during high season, but they saw it more that they had bought a slave to go with that. I felt like I had sold my soul for that £60 a night.

[Russell49]

@Huma0  These entitled idiots would never get that kind of service in the nicest of hotels, let alone an AirBnB.  Though AirBnB is normally cheaper than a hotel, you still get what you pay for-that should be the expectation. NOBODY in their right state of mind will give 3 meals for free for a very affordable accommodation. I would have mentioned their entitled attitude in a review-that's how I am. lol

[Huma0]

@Russell49 

This was a while ago, so I can't remember exactly what I wrote in the review but, believe me, I did not leave them a positive one. They broke numerous house rules while they were here as well, causing late night disturbance to the other guests (who, by the way, also thought this couple was very weird).  They also raided my personal stuff and did all sorts of other not okay things.

They wrote me a horrible review full of lies and exaggerations. I think my response was along the lines of 'Please read my hundreds of other reviews to get a more balanced perspective.' I did not even bother to ask Airbnb to remove the review as I thought it was pretty obvious to future guests who was the actual problem.

The thing is though, this pair had about 25 positive reviews and initially sent me a very lovely message, so there were no red flags in the beginning. Going back to the subject of this thread, they didn't ask for a discount. Rather, they were happy to pay the price (then rated me low on value) because they thought that it would include whatever they 'imagined'.

I can't imagine why, being experienced Airbnb users, that they thought they would get full board catering. I mean, breakfast, maybe, but the rest? I just wish that I had read the reviews they had left for their hosts because the common theme was that, if they got some food, e.g. breakfast, they left a positive review. Otherwise, they complained. One review they left said something like, "There was a kitchen we could use, but we were expected to buy our own food."

[Russell49]

@Huma0  I used to feel at the guest's mercy due to my concern of keeping superhost and getting all 5 star reviews. Now while I like having mostly all 5 star reviews, I won't keep it at their excessive enjoyment or my peril. If guests want to be a pain-they can book a motel.

These entitled jerks you had the pleasure of hosting could use a foot up their backside in all honesty. Someone needs to tell them they aren't entitled to ANYTHING other than the description and if they want more, then book elsewhere-preferably at a new host's place where they will do anything for the superhost status including wine, breakfast etc.

[Huma0]

@Russell49 

I am of the same mind. While it still annoys me when I occasionally get a four star review, I'm not going to put up with this kind of nonsense. In the case of this couple, it was less the review I was worried about that (I didn't expect 5 stars from them anyway as they were hyper critical) than trying to keep the peace.

The husband was friendlier and more polite than the wife, but seemed very tightly wound and would 'lose it' pretty easily, while the wife was semi-hysterical at times and not 'all there' at others. I am pretty sure she was on some kind of sedatives. I knew that if I challenged them in any way, the situation was going to escalate into something quite ugly.

However, I should have done. I should have told them if they were not happy, I could call Airbnb and have them relocated. I wonder how they would have reacted to that given that I'm pretty sure they would not have been able to find as high a standard of accommodation elsewhere in London at that price in the middle of Summer, certainly not any with food included!

[Emilia42]

What about if you say:

"Given the current circumstances, cleaning and disinfecting between guests has become my top priority. I have factored this extra cleaning time and supplies into the nightly rate. If you would like me to cease disinfecting the common areas and restrain from cleaning the guestroom in between guests, I am happy to offer you a discount. Please note that I cannot be made reasonable for the state of how the previous guest leaves the room. And I would welcome you to bring your own cleaning supplies." 

[Huma0]

@Emilia42 

Lol, that's genius. 

Unfortunately, I have learnt through this whole experience that many guests are under the impression that there are no costs for the host. They think that the rooms exist in some sort of la-la land where the mortgage, bills, Council Tax and cleaner pay for themselves. Of course, there are also guests who are more clued up. I am guessing those ones are also homeowners or may have even been involved in a rental business to some extent. They tend to be slightly older. The rest are clueless.

Unfortunately, a lot of people also believe that Airbnb hosts are all wealthy people, making money for nothing from the empty rooms they can afford to own. The media has been pretty influential in perpetuating this myth. Sure, there are some hosts out there in that situation, but I reckon the majority are like me. If there is no rent coming in for those rooms, it's a real problem.

[Russell49]

At the end of the day, I care exclusively about my needs. I provide them a nice room and whatever they need on top of that is their problem. I am jaded a bit and tired of babysitting BnB guest's needs that are outside of our description. I don't care about their reviews either. I have hosted more than 300-350 guests in total. I remember with booking.co I used to include free breakfast and said it is ready between 8:45-9AM. I had a guest ask me if it could be ready by 6AM...lol. I said no way, because I wake up an hour before breakfast and I am not going to wake up at 5am for his complimentary breakfast that is served at a listed time. Guests can feel far too entitled.

[Emilia42]

@Huma0 

All true. I also think that some guests are taken aback by the added Airbnb service fee and taxes and that they somehow think that asking for a discount will eliminate those fees. They are too clueless to realize that the only one who bears the brunt of that request is the host.