Bargain hunters

Oh no they didn’t. I’d be messaging them ASAP and if they didn’t like it they could kiss my ass. The nerve. And by that I mean I’d be messaging for a clarification and if I didn’t like their answer I’d cancel, SH status be damned.

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To avoid this happening again; if a guest asks for a discount that you want to give, have the guest make in inquiry for the dates they want to book. You can send a special offer.

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@KKC, I am letting the reservation happen, as this late in the season we probably wouldn’t get another one. However, it will be mentioned loud and clearly in their review. I’m also going to report them as soon as the reservation ends.

@EllenN, thank for that tip. That is indeed an excellent way to keep this from happening again.

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Just to cheer you up - it is possible they’re going to prolongue their stay once they’re there. I had that happening several times, especially in low season. This early June I had a couple booking just 5 days through Airbnb, and eventually staying for almost 3 weeks. I hope this is the case with your guests as well. If not, they’re really jerks and they deserve a bad review!

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In my experience, deny. I try to under-promise and over deliver. I feel his seems to help keep reviews higher and brings in more people willing to pay a fair price.

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Not really. How about you use that term correctly in the future because people here have experienced many bargaining guests with almost all of them being horrible guests including myself. So, deny them instantly because nothing good ever comes with those kinds of people!
DENY DENY DENY

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That’s a bit Blundt of you

I agree you should definitely deny.
When I started renting out my guestroom five years ago (I use booking.com), my place was the cheapest option nearby and my rating was 8.8. Now there are cheaper options and I get guests who choose to stay at my place rather than choosing the cheapest place. My rating is now 9.3 and the quality of the guests have also improved a lot.
It’s not possible asking for discounts on booking.com, but it happens I give some if I didn’t give a proper service or I notice the guests are poorer than me.
Bad people ask for discount, good people sometimes deserve it.

Well I have been denying all bargain hunters after two unhappy experiences with them. I denied almost 10 enquires in the last 6 months because they want discounts. But I accepted one recently because they have a family emergency and spent lots of money on tickets blah blah. Anyway my faulty I accepted her booking and gave her $250 discount (which is one night free and a bit more). Now two nights after they checked in, she called me and told me the doonas are too hot and throws are too cold, we are summer here in Australia so I used summer doona and thin throw. I told her that’s all we have, and there is air conditioning to control temperature to their like but she wouldn’t let me go. So now I have to buy some blankets which is not too thin and not too thick, and deliver to her on a Sunday. Well, my conclusion is deny those bargain hunters because many of them seem to have more requests after requesting discounts.

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Here are our two experiences with bargain hunters.

First BH requested that we lower the rental of our new cabin to that of older ones in the neighborhood. We declined, saying that it was a high demand holiday weekend and that the new cabin had new furnishings. She booked it, but we got a bad feeling, worrying that she would resent not getting her bargain and take revenge. Sure enough, she gave the cabin a 3 star review, saying that it was over priced, lacked amenities and was smaller than appeared in the pictures.

Our 25 other reviews are 5 stars, earning us Superhost status (for what that’s worth, and from what we read here, not much). Overpriced? Nope, you didn’t get your bargain. Lacked amenities? The 26 photos showed what the cabin had to offer. Smaller than appeared in pics? 4 bedrooms + Loft with 3 bathrooms and 2,000sf.

Second BH was a blind dog advocate. Since our cabin is pet friendly and we have two rescues, we were open to negotiating. After numerous lengthy exchanges, her final request was a ridiculous 50% reduction of the rental price. We politely declined. That same holiday weekend was snapped up last minute at full price.

We will “decline” bargain hunters moving forward because they have a chip on their shoulder. They are by definition looking for bargains, and your listing is their target.

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Exactly. This is how all of us have learned BH make crap guests. If they don’t respect your price they won’t respect your place.

If they do end up booking they will complain you aren’t a good value and will try to find things wrong to prove their points that you should have reduced your rates.

Just say no to BH