Discount ? Hell No!

Got an inquiry:

My name is xxxx.
I’m an accountant for a cyber-security company and my husband works for an investment bank.

bla bla bla

Can we agree to the following rental terms?
60% of original price “all-inclusive”, i.e. ALL charges, Airbnb service fees, taxes, cleaning fees, etc.

Reply:

You start with telling us about the good jobs you have, you are probably making a lot more than us at the moment. So I think you can afford the original price.

They can go **** themselves I don’t work for free.

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Yea, I would always approach the replay as a “business”. And state your policy and stay firm. Any reply can be be met with the copy of your policy over and over. They have to understand this is a business, not a hobby.

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I usually tell such people I will give them a discount tomorrow.

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Whenever I’m asked about a discount I say “Sorry, the apartment already represents great value for money so no discounts are possible”.

Often they’ve just read on some travel blog that you should always try to haggle with your accommodation provider and end up booking anyway.

Fortunately, most hosts are way too smart to fall for the discount game. :slight_smile:

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“Thank you for your inquiry. I’m sure you will be able to find a rental that meets your budget.”

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At my former rental when I was a newbie I had someone ask if I could give them a discount. So, I offered them something small. They then had the utter nerve to ask if I could go lower.
That was the end of considering discounts. I told them no.

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I have had folks ask for discounts and I respond with a BS line “The price was recently lowered and I’m breaking even. Any additional discount would put me at a loss. However, please feel free to contact Airbnb and ask for a discount on the booking fee.” That puts an end to the request. They can book elsewhere.

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I don’t want them.
Asking for a discount is already a lack of respect, but combine that with where they live and how they like to talk about themselves first …. you know they are trouble (and I had not read the reviews yet).

4.5* messy, high maintenance, demanding …. Etc.

No thanks, I rather have no revenue than a load of stress before, during and after their stay.

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I can see what you mean. However, some jobs, some professions and some cultures see asking for a discount to be almost a way of life.

People who are dealers in just about anything (used cars, antiques, Persian carpets, drugs, [the latter was a joke] real estate) tend to see the published price as a starting point for some serious bargaining.

Some cultures are the same. In some countries, prices displayed are on the higher side because vendors expect that the customers will haggle.

I know that many hosts are put off when guests want to chance their arm a bit but I don’t mind it.

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Just asking for a discount is far different from stating credentials, then suggesting a ridiculous amount and crazy terms.

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OMG, brilliant! You are my hero.

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excellent vetting work.
anyone who starts out telling me how rich and successful they are, are likely going to be a problem. And investment bankers can pay double!

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The realtor that sold us our property sent a potential guest to me for high season. The guest wanted me to hold two weeks for them for a couple of weeks while they thought about it. I refused. Then the guest found our website and called me. First thing out of his mouth was how rich and successful he was and how he could help my business! Fortunately, he didn’t end up asking to book.

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Asking for a discount is a red flag and typically turns out to be a bad guest that expects everything for nothing, asks for things not offered, etc. I WILL NOT EVEN CONSIDER anyone who asks for discount as my prices are already very competitive. Same people that may complain about something and ask for refunds! I tell them to look for something further inland and then block them from sending requests.

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Unfortunately this isn’t possible but I have a very nice tent in my backyard for this price. Includes free use of the outhouse.

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I know, but from my experience these kind of people will keep continue haggling and demanding and squeezing you during the whole stay , and often try to get a refund afterwards.

Some people really made a way of life out of abusing other people/businesses.

The really smart ones, that really want to save money, will find me on google contact me over my own website anyway. That would saved them a few hundred already.

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Funny. I was just going through my calendar adjusting prices (upwards) and I noticed it says “price before discounts”. I have only ever offered a discount once or twice and it was initiated by me.
Inflation is running rampant in Australia so if we discount we will be going backwards!
Cheers All.

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I’m also putting my prices up. Just had a chippie charge us $3K to install a door!! granted it was a bespoke door that had to be custom made, but it was just 2 bunnings pine panels, total materials cost $800, he has charged us 15hr in labour. this is laughable cos no Adelaide tradie can work a “full day” (7am -3pm is east coast norms) so he’s charging us 3 days of labour to install a door, and so far no amount of logical conversation can get through to this guy. this is just Driveway Tax cos he thinks we are loaded cos we have a nice farm with some nice buildings, and running airbnb makes us “rich people” apparently. (also, he was recommended by another tradie whom we trust). This is why farmers end up selling to developers who chop up the land for tiny house plots. People call the farmers “greedy” but really it’s not us who are greedy, it’s the people who drove us to give up.

if i’m paying tradies $120/hour why on earth am i letting my spaces go for $150/night? the middle class is gouging everyone and pushing up prices. I know in other nations with the “illegal immigrant” situation they get cheap labour, but we have strict laws and standards here. illegal immigrants (quite rare anyway) just cannot do any kind of “skilled” labour here, everything is regulated.

Never heard the term Driveway Tax before. But we have similar in Mexico, called Gringo Tax. Always a good idea to get a price before rather than after the work is done. It might vary a bit depending on whether there are unexpected problems with installation, or the price of materials goes up, but hard for a tradesperson to charge you double or triple what they’ve quoted.

When I had my place built, I purchased the materials myself to avoid them padding the materials cost.

OMG–can’t make this stuff up :woman_facepalming: