Guest requesting discount for repeated short stays

[Jennifer1897]

Just looking for some opinions on an upcoming guest who is requesting a discount. I had a single guest book for Mon-Thurs (3 nights) one week and Mon-Fri (4 nights) the following week. She messaged me following her bookings and asked if I would extend a discount for long term stays, as she was possible going to be booking two additional 3/4 night stays in the month of March. While I appreciate the bookings, essentially, they are not long term as the stays are not consecutive. I have other guest booked in between her stays on the weekends so the cleaners will be required to come in each time and supplies will need to be replenished. 

While it would be nice to have her additional reservations, my prices are already pretty low, so offering a discount for shorter stays isn't that feasible for me.

I understand it's my call in the end, just looking for some opinions on how you would respond to her request and if a discount should be considered in situations like this. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Jennifer1897 Just explain to her the situation as you have to us and I'm sure she will. understand.

[Javer2]

Good point. 

I usually look up prices and mention something like. 

thanks for the interest  but the average price for a room in my area starts at 120 plus taxes. 

so as you can see I’m already listed at a more than fair price.

but it really depends on you  

[Pat271]

It’s getting irritating seeing guests treat hosts like they are bargaining in a bazaar or an auction.

Whenever I get requests like this, I always imagine being a hotel clerk. As a hotel clerk, what would I do if a guest came up and said they wanted to reserve snatches of stays here and there, but want a  long-term discount? Ludicrous, right?

No reason our neck of the hospitality business should deviate from what would be considered normal hospitality practices.

Some hosts may disagree, and have more of a “but we are not a hotel” style, and maybe they enjoy the bargaining banter. A host is free to do any kind of wheeling-and-dealing they see fit, but just remember that the more hosts buy into this as being an acceptable practice, the more the bar gets lowered with requests like this teetering towards becoming the status quo.

I don’t really blame the guest for asking, because there are tons of “How to get a discount” blogs out there, along with hearsay of hosts bending over backwards to haggle with guests. Can’t blame guests for trying. But it’s up to the host community to set the standard for what is and isn’t acceptable when guests attempt to bend existing rules and policies. It will be a much easier interchange for both hosts and guests if the policy boundaries are clear and universally followed.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Pat271 I actually appreciate it when I am contacted for a rate reduction. We dropped our price a few percent for one guest who then proceeded to stay with us for over a month in low season.

[Patti-And-Marty0]

@Jennifer1897 after doing this for 8 years I've come to the conclusion that in these situations, the less said the better. A simple " I'm sorry, no." There is no need to get into the reasons or a discussion about it. Picture yourself as the hotel clerk like @Pat271 and it becomes easier. A hotel clerk would simply smile and say, no sorry, that's not possible.

[Fred13]

I would say,  "I wish I could, but my prices are already at a bare minimum." And then I change the 'conversation', to any other nonsense will do.

[Trude0]

Only you can decide if it would be worth it for you to offer a discount, or not.

I’m in a similar situation as @Mike-And-Jane0: I have a single returning guest, who during the summer half of the year will come 6-8 times, stay 3-4 days, and then leave my guest house in such a nice shape that I can hardly see that she’s been there.  For me, it is definitely worth it to give her a discount, as it is so stress-free to host her. Wish I had more guests like this!

[Ezequiel131]

It works for me but how can I set it up on the app. 

[Lorna170]

@Jennifer1897   When I first started with STRs, I noted in my advertisement that repeat guests would receive a 10% discount for repeat stays.  I had a lovely guest who took full advantage of this statement and booked several stays over the course of two years, each time sending me what she had paid for the previous stay and requesting the 10% discount.  This resulted in her wanting a price that was 50% less than the advertised price of her first stay.  

Discounts can get dicey.  I now only discount on the first repeat stay, and all discounts are given only on the advertised "first time" price.

[Bhumika]

Hey @Jennifer1897 ,

Just wondering if you gave this guest a discount later on. Or if you were able to put some really great ideas from other members into practice?

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[Jordan851]

If the guest is paying the cleaning fee for each reservation, I would typically extend the discount. Someone earlier in the thread said they had a guest get discounts for EACH consecutive stay, off of the previous stay's rate. This was just bad business - any discounts should be off of the advertised rate.