First responder and active military

What is everyones thoughts on offering discounts for active military and first responders, my instinct is to do it??

I am a newly retired active army officer and still a first responder (equine ambulance). My BS alma mater of the United States Military Academy is indicated in my list of schools in my profile. I think this was actually pulled from my Facebook profile back then as I hadnā€™t added it. My listings are all near military bases as I live in one of them and have lived in all of them so far at one time or another. I have been doing Airbnb for 3 years now and am always budget listings. I have occasionally offered military discounts. My results have been mixed, however. I have gotten horrible reviews and great reviews from military, whether I have given them a discount or not. I have also been stiffed by failure to follow House Rules and/or pay for extra people or fines or whatever, whether or not I have given discounts.

I take each on a case by case basis and hope for the best. I have decided that regardless though I will indicate that I gave a discount And they still break the House Rules (if they did). It may help future hosts decide that giving them a discount is not going to work in their favor with this guest regardless.

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Thanks for your very objective opinion. All that was good information.

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I donā€™t.

My price is my price. I donā€™t discount for jobs I find respectable and I donā€™t charge more for jobs I find less respectable.

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Iā€™m not against offering a military discount however Iā€™ve decided my price is my price. My rentals are reasonable for the area.

Also my rental was not treated well when I gave a discount to meet the military housing allowance for an expectant mom to stay in my fully furnished rental (stationed in Germany; family and birthing center in NC,USA).

Examples: Parking on tiny condo lawn instead of visitor parking, left the condo a terrible mess, dining furniture screws loosened/disassembled (I reassembled) nice dining light fixture barely hanging ( I had to reinstall) (it was as if her local family thought they would take the furniture then changed their minds) breaking of toilet flush mechanism and more.

No more discounts.

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No discounts. Many people who think they ā€˜deserveā€™ discounts earn way more than I do. So I donā€™t let them take money out of my pocket.

Much as I admire and respect people in many jobs (the military and first responders definitely being included) to not give discounts is just a business choice.

Many hosts who donā€™t give discounts give generously to the charities of their choice and thatā€™s a personal thing for each host to decide upon.

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Thatā€™s what I do. It also signals guests about my values. If someone feels strongly about it in favor it might help me get booked. If they feel strongly in a different direction Iā€™m probably doing them a favor.

I have given some discounts, but not when they are asked for. Recently I broke this ā€œruleā€ and offered a discount on a 12 day stay. They woman canceled and I got a better booking so it worked out. Iā€™ve also rebated folks after they stay and thatā€™s what I recommend if you want to ā€œdiscount.ā€

I agree that military and first responder are special and so are a whole bunch of other folks for various reasons, some having to do with their profession, others for other reasons. Itā€™s not related to how good a guest they will be.

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Unless those first responders were coming to save my house from an imminent bush fire (in which case they can stay for free) then no. I would rather the government (and hence taxpayer) paid them a good wage rather than they needed to make up for poor pay by discounts. But I wouldnā€™t argue that anyone not do it if that was their inclination. And I come from a family in which my father and every one of my uncles on both sides and one aunty were in the military back in the day.

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Related story
I was standing in line at a decor fabric store in a highly desirable beach retirement area. Couple in line in front of me were discussing their morning golf outings.

They asked the ā€œclerkā€ for a senior citizen discount because they were living on fixed income. The clerk appeared at least 10 years older than the retiree couple.

She blurted, ā€œI canā€™t give a senior citizen discount because I own this store and canā€™t afford to retire. Iā€™m tired of working 6 days a week. If you would like a part time job, so I can have time to play golf you can have the employee discountā€¦ā€

Priceless

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I was an active-duty US Army soldier for three years, and a volunteer firefighter and first-responder medic for three years.

The pay is low for active military, while first responders earn far more and receive greater retirement pensions and other benefits.

Most local fire departments host large community dinners, which feature raffles, to raise money to buy needed firefighting equipment.

You might consider donating a weekend Airbnb stay to these fire department fundraising-dinner raffle-prizes. Plus, you could receive a tax-deduction for the valued amount of your Airbnb stay.

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I never ask for a senior citizen discount. When I started getting them without being asked my age I wasnā€™t sure how I felt about it. :wink:

Iā€™m also from a military family and if I said any more about how entitled I feel military are to discounts Iā€™d offend someone.

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Well thatā€™s just funny

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You are allowed to have an opinion. People shouldnā€™t beat you up for it. Respectful difference of opinion should be expected. There are some folks on this forum who havenā€™t figured out the difference

My margins are low so I really have no margin left to offer discounts.

Also my parents were school teachers. We lived modestly but always had a roof & food. Thatā€™s another group that serve the many at low salaries

Iā€™m a nurse. Nursing pay is getting better I think because there is a shortage of nurses but my masterā€™s educated co-worker with 32 years of experience commented that her 28 year old son (Information technology associates degree) has better wages & benefits.

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I appreciate that. But my strong opinion is highly offensive to a lot of folks (ask me how I know LOL) and it wouldnā€™t add anything here. If people want to give away their rooms to the military itā€™s no problem for me. Iā€™ve had lots of military guests and none of them asked for any special treatment.

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Next month Iā€™m donating my unit to a non-profit that is having a big event. They ended up making me a sponsor and putting a link on their Web Site so that was nice.

We have Fleet Week coming up (so much fun for our little Port town), and Iā€™d love to offer a discount for families looking to visit their service members during Fleet Week. Just donā€™t know how Iā€™d advertise that. If a military family books, maybe Iā€™ll provide a gift card.

Finally, Iā€™m considering the AirBnB Open Homes program specifically for medical stays (kind of a Ronald McDonald house thing), but as others mention, I do need to pay the mortgage.

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I wish I could heart :heart: this a thousand times!!!

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Iā€™d try to find a better way to give the rooms to those in medical need than the Airbnb Open Homes program, if possible. As I understand it you arenā€™t able to write off anything and Airbnb gets all the credit and I think they still get some $$ from somewhere. Please correct me if I am wrong.

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I have mixed feelings on this. Iā€™m former Navy enlisted. My husband was Air Forceā€¦he stayed in so he got a retirement. Lower ranks of enlisted military personnel really struggle financially, especially if they are married and have children.

I recently had a booking inquiry for my large historic entire house listing. It was three siblings, two of them with spouses, four children, grandmother, step-grandfather, and grandfatherā€”12 people total.

So first, they wanted to stay for several nights, have family and friends who live here in the area visit them at the house (house rules: no guests except those on reservation and no parties)

They wanted to know where the three senior members of the family could smoke (house rules: no smoking on the property at all).

And finally, they wanted to know if we had a military discount.

Then, the kickerā€¦one of them needed to bring his dog! (House rules: no pets)

Lessonā€¦entitled, presumptuous, would-be guests come in all varieties.

I was willing to give them a 10% discount, but not the rest!

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My husband and I are both former military. We live in an area with all of the services represented, and have a giant house with a giant lower level apartment that we use as a vacation rental. We are bargain hunters, ourselves, so donā€™t mind when someone is looking for a discount. Actually, we represent the opposite end of the spectrum from most of the people on this forum, as we give discounts to just about everybody, first responders, nurses, teachers, veterans/active duty, homeschoolers, missionaries, ministers. They have to ask for the discount before booking, though, because that ā€œafter the factā€ business got to be a pain. Families suffering from PTSD or traumatic brain injury who have been treated and are in recovery stay free. We finance those with the resources from the bookings. Itā€™s working nicely. We stay booked pretty much as much as we would like to be. Havenā€™t had a bad experience, yet (I know, I know, itā€™s aā€™cominā€™). Everyone is grateful and just has a wonderful time with their friends and family.

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Uh, where are you located? And how much is the discount? :wink:

Seriously I think what you are doing is wonderful and I donā€™t doubt that your kind generosity has and will continue to bring many blessings.

Itā€™s just hard for hosts with different practices to make guests understand that each host is different. Just because one host gladly gives discounts doesnā€™t mean another one does. And then when they ask for something special or extra (discount, luggage drop off, early check in, etc.) that another host freely granted, it seems odd when the new host gets their knickers in a twist over it.

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