Hello,
I was shocked to discover that the following functionality does not exist in Airbnb. I thought it was standard.
You cannot create special standing promo codes for discounts, to drive bookings. Wha?
Background: we're partnering with other businesses in our community. Shops, shared work centers, colleges, everything. These strategic partnerships drive bookings: they refer their members, customers, incoming guests, etc., to our Airbnb listing. We promote their businesses to our guests. Excellent win-win, and fairly straightforward.
The problem? There's no way to create a promo code in Airbnb. I'm not talking about a "special offer." A special offer requires all kinds of headache, back-and-forth. What that means: nobody does it. It's rare. Folks want to INSTANT BOOK. They want to "just go." Few people, especially those who aren't familiar with Airbnb (yet), will tolerate all the back-and-forth.
Instead, a standing promo code is something I can make, custom, and give to a business partner. Say I partner with Acme Coffee Shop. I create a secret promo code "acmecoffee22" and give it to them. Use that code (even on Instant Book) and get 10% off. They give it to their customers. Presto! They have a REASON, a VALUE-driven reason to refer their customers to us. They get perks! Their customers get perks and, yay, it increases bookings: referrals from the partnered business.
But there is no way to do this. I just promised a new business partner that I'd hop home and create them a promo code, ignorantly thinking this was a no-brainer built-in thing in Airbnb. I am shocked to discover that this isn't available.
Only thing you can currently do is to send one-at-a-time special offers to those who begin the relatively arduous back-and-forth process of inquiry. We've experienced a lot of problems with that, as already described: new people, especially non-Airbnb people, are very intimidated and confused by it. It's not a good way to pull new people into the Airbnb world.
Anybody else looking for this kind of business-driving capability?
