When a Guest asks for a reduced rate how can you respond without getting negative marks from AirBNB?

[Jennifer62]

Saw a message through the app from a guest asking for a reduced rate and responded with a message, then logged on and saw he put it through as an actual inquiry, so if I preapproved he'd expect to get that lower rate.  Do I need to Decline? Is this affecting my response time? A

I'm still trying to dig out from the impact of one negative review in years of hosting with nothing but 5 star reviews. The options under Decline make it sound like I just don't like the rate ... but this guest doesn't want to pay the rate. 

[Jim472]

Couple of things to unpack here. In your initial response did you offer them a reduced rate and by "actual inquiry" I'm assuming you meant request. If you declined to reduce rate and they requested anyways then they're accepting whatever the normal price is. If you agreed to a reduced rate then they just messed up by reserving and you should just send them a special offer reflecting the price you agreed upon. 

[Kath9]

@Jennifer62 , if it is just an enquiry, then you don't need to preapprove or decline. Just respond to their message within 24 hours with a yes or no to their reduced rate request. If you agree to the discount, then you will need to send a special offer, which is up to them to accept or not. If you don't agree with the discount but youre still happy to accept them at the normal rate, you can preapprove and it is up to them whether to proceed at the normal rate.

If it is an actual request, then you technically need to accept or decline. However if you don't agree to the reduced rate, then ask them to withdraw their request so you are not penalised for declining. If they don't do this, you can tell them you will accept at the normal rate and if they're not happy with that, it is then up to them to cancel the booking. 

By the way, asking for discounts is considered a red flag for hosts because it usually indicates a less than ideal guest. 

[Felicia99]

My minimum notification of stay is 2 days.  On the day that a potential guest named Sharon, who informed me that she was a Super host for The Fern Lodge in NY, wanted to arrive, which was the evening of the request, she inquired if "I could any better on the price." Apparently my offer was not good enough for Sharon Super Host of The Fern Lodge, because she kept me waiting for a response the entire day and never got back to me...and she was the one who requested a shorter turnaround time then my  When it got to be midnight I message her the  had expired.  I ultimately received a message from Sharon Super Host of the Fern Lodge, that stated, " if I'm ever in the area I'll look you up byut you'll have to do better on the rates."  I won't ever be hosting Super Host Sharon of Fern Lodge anytime soon, I can tell you that ! From now on, my response to the can you better question is simply going to be NO !

[Barry-and-Lera0]

@Jennifer62: We usually get the "reduced rate" inquiry when its about two weeks from an arrival date and people see the dates are not full. We have no issue knocking down the rate (in off-season only) depending on where the rate is to begin with. We will not go below $125 a night but we have found that if we even take $3 off a night people will accept the booking even with such a minor reduction. 

[Lisa723]

@Jennifer62technically it's impossible for a guest to submit an actual inquiry or booking request at a reduced rate. They can only do that in the text of their message to you. So you can always respond with "I'm sorry, we do not discount. I'm accepting your inquiry/request at our listed rate, as Airbnb penalizes hosts who decline." If it was an actual booking request you can add "If you do not wish to book at our listed rate, you can cancel penalty-free within 48 hours."

[Jennifer62]

Thanks Lisa, Barry and Lera ... that's what I did. Preapproved him and then told him we were not going to take a reduction. I think hosts have to find their way through this as to what meets their needs, how much they want the revenue. If you live next door and can rush over and fluff the place up, do the extra wash, check in the guest and clean when they go, topping up supplies and what not, I guess it could make sense to discount to pick up the extra cash. For us as we have a greeter we pay, maids and laundry costs that the cleaning cost we charge doesn't fully cover, and any guest brings in their own wear and tear issues, we're pretty firm about our rates. And this guy wanted a big big discount just because the dates were free. 

The only guest I ever had trouble with in six years of renting via various platforms was an AirBNB guest. They broke things and AirBNB was horrible about paying for repairs, wouldn't cover what a handy man charged for labor. I spent almost all the money that guest paid fixing what they broke, hours on the phone  and they left a bad review, so I'm cautious.

[Anonymous]

@Jennifer62  I think the advice above is comprehensive on the matter. I just want to add - Airbnb is not your boss and you're not accumulating "marks." There's no circumstance under which it will ever count against you to refuse a refund to a booking inquiry. (I don't recommend pre-approving them either - your best guests are going to be ones who appreciate the value of your hospitality, and the rest will be impossible to please).

There are a few things that will harm you on this platform:  cancelling a confirmed booking, making statements that are perceived as discriminatory, having undisclosed surveilance cameras (or even fully disclosed ones, as some hosts have reported), failing to respond to an inquiry or request within 24 hours - those are the deadly sins. Blowing off an inquiry without accepting or declining is a totally neutral gesture that won't impact your standing, as long as you write something - even just "thank you for your interest; the prices as shown in the listing are final."