Are extra discounts the 'new normal'?

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

Are extra discounts the 'new normal'?

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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?

118 Replies 118
Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

Thanks @Debra300 .

 

Hopefully the cleaners will be able to come back on a regular basis in future . They are very efficient and very thorough under normal circumstances, so I expect will be even more so now.

 

I guess I was just naïve in thinking I could request a clean in five or six days time and they would have someone available. Clearly business is better for a lot of people right now that I suspected.

 

I have always done the guest bedrooms myself any way, but it was such a relief to finally find good cleaners after having to clean this four storey house myself for so long.

Debra300
Level 10
Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

@Huma0,

After reading your post, I decided to prepare for discount offers from prospective guests.  I slightly decreased the weekly discount to an amount that would allow me to provide an additional and still maintain my desired rate.

 

I received an offer today requesting an additional $350 (~21%) off a three week stay that already provides a 25% discount.

 

Hi Debra and Ronald! I love all the pictures of the apartment and would love to stay there. Is there a possibility that you would be able to do $1300 total with fees and services in that price?
Thank you for your time,

 

I am not going to assume that she is a low-baller.  She may just be testing the water to see if there is any flexibility in the rate.  With that in mind, this was my reply:

 

Thank you for your inquiry, and I am happy to hear that you like the apartment. We've invested a lot into the apartment's furnishings and amenities.

You have great reviews, and it would be our pleasure to host you, but we cannot accept your offer. Unfortunately, to make your offer equitable for both parties, we would have to remove or disconnect almost all of the appliances, and we have no interest in doing that.

I can amend the nightly rate to $57, but cannot change anything else, because the cleaning fee goes to the cleaner, and Airbnb maintains the funds for their service fee and the occupancy taxes.

Please contact me if you want to book, and I will send your a special offer.

 

I will post if I receive any response.

@Debra300  “I can’t discount it anymore and still be able to leave a bed there for you”

 

🤣🤣🤣

Debra300
Level 10
Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

@Kelly149,

That's quite funny.  

 

I've not received any response from the inquirer.

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Debra300 

 

Good response!

 

Wow, that's a pretty hefty discount that they are asking for. Do you think they realised there was already a 25% discount in place?

 

In the past, it was not unusual for a potential guest to ask for a discount seeing as they were staying for so long. I would explain that a long-term discount was already applied and that would be the end of the discussion. They would either book or not, but most often they booked. It seemed to me that so many had genuinely missed the fact that there was already a discount. Guests often don't pay attention to the details and just look at the total price with fees.

 

However, the requests for discounts that I have been receiving lately have been different. None of them have asked because of the length of stay. Some even asked if they could have one on top of the long-term discount, so they were completely aware of it. They just seem to think they should get an extra discount at this time.

Debra300
Level 10
Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

@Huma0,

The length of stay discount is clearly displayed in the booking details on the listing page.  I have mentioned before that discounts for long-term stays require a lot of cost-benefit analysis, because these types of guests tend to stay inside for longer periods, and consume more resources (electricity/gas, water, internet bandwidth) and put more wear and tear on the furnishings.  The host has to take this into consideration while determining if the lesser amount of revenue is worth the extra expenditures.

 

In this situation, I had a person acknowledge that my space had desirable qualities, but apparently the rate was out of budget.  Instead of booking something affordable (and probably not as nicely fitted), I am confident that similar messages were sent to other hosts in my area in hopes of finding someone who is desperate or doesn't realize the worth of their listing, and would agree to a further discount.  

 

I didn't receive any response to my counter offer.

 

 

Kelly149
Level 10
Austin, TX

@Huma0 for me, I'm charging more now to account for the $ I've already lost this year, not less. My space is a better/safer/less crowded option than any hotel and they can take it or leave it.... COVID means I don't have time for crummy people.

 

A combo of @Jessica-and-Henry0 & your strategies makes sense - "if you have access to a better option, I certainly understand that you'll take it"

 

your lovely space and you as a host is worth what you're charging

Kelly149
Level 10
Austin, TX

@Huma0 I had a request yesterday where an experienced guest sent me a message about a cleaning protocol she had seen on another listing and asked what I was doing.

My answer back to her told her some of what I'm doing but then also told her what I expected her to be doing to clean up after herself during and at the end of her stay.

Then she asked me to explain my (Strict) cancellation policy. I told her my goal was always to be fair to her and ME if a cancellation became necessary but that if she wasn't sure of her plans then she was welcome to wait until she was more sure knowing that the space was open to being booked by others during that time. 

Sometimes explaining to a guest what they're asking for involves on your side, gets them to come around.

 

Good luck!!

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Kelly149 

 

Interesting to hear that several hosts have put their prices up rather than down. I did not expect that.

 

No, I also have no intention of changing my cancellation policy, despite Airbnb urging hosts to adopt a flexible one (that really didn't help those hosts that totally missed out on any compensation for cancellations, did it?). Many of my guests fall under the long term policy but for those who are staying just under a month, I have a Strict policy and I'm sticking to it! So far, no one has asked me about that but I know from experience that a lot of guests don't actually read the policy. Perhaps more will be now?

Supply and demand is one reason as a lot of BnBs are getting busy since covid restrictions have lightened up a bit here.

Traveling has been shown to be a luxury in today's times so it should be priced accordingly.

Tony-And-Una0
Level 10
Belfast, United Kingdom

With regards to pricing you just have to understand your market.

 

Our apartments are in the city centre. There is no business travel,no open theatres, no conferences, no  pop gigs etc so demand is weak and supply high. Therefore we have reduced prices.

 

If I had a place in the countryside where families were looking to travel to after three months cooped up, I would increase my prices.

@Tony-And-Una0,

After proactively reducing your rates have you received inquiries that requested additional discounts?

Cormac0
Level 10
Kraków, Poland

@Huma0 

 

There applying the law of the jungle, when a wild animal senses a weakness they go in for the kill, that ** senses you weakness and is trying to exploit you, tell her and her boyfriend take a hike and find another stooge.

 

**Inappropriate content removed - Community Center Guidelines

Russell49
Level 10
Katoomba, Australia

With AirBnB they are already getting a discount as well as extras that a hotel often wouldn't include. I will only offer a discount for an extended stay. I feel most people asking for extra items are really just being fussy and at the end of the day nothing you do will get that 5 star review from them if they aren't in the mood to give it.

David3267
Level 10
Torquay, United Kingdom

Most definitely not. Stand firm, we've lost thousands of £s, now is the time to ignore the discount seekers and seek out the decent folk willing to pay a fair price. Good luck.