No, they were just saying that they were leaving their dog at home and letting the host know that they would be friendly to the host’s dog.
Yes. Decline this. By trying to negotiate they are signaling that they are not easy going at all. In fact, the $7 they’re asking you to wave is just insane. That’s like the price of two lattes at Starbucks. These are petty people who have already signaled to you that they will be going over everything abut your space with a fine toothed comb.
An appropriate response might be ‘we offer a great value for a quality stay and do not offer discounts. Recommend seeking a room that is more within your travel budget.’
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That’s a winner response I am going to keep around! Thanks Jack!
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I charge $15 for second guest; I have 2 single beds
(same reason, to discourage 2 guests, not for the sex, just because
they are noisier in general)
I recently had a guy ask for a discount with the reasoning
"we are both kind a respectful people"
I responded
“there is a small surcharge for second guest for food/sheets and towels and energy /water consumption, total it would come to about $30 per night per guest. The price is fair and I honestly cannot go lower than that with all the preparation that is inolved, its simply not worth it ( no tumble dryers here/all linen has to be washed & ironed).
Anyway Im probably not a good fit for the 2 of you, if you look at my page you’ll see the room is quite small. Good luck!”
He then said it was fine with the rate I wanted, but at that point I declined, just gives me a bad taste in my mouth. Got a much better booking the next day.
Use your instincts!
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You know… when they argue with you, even a little bit, DECLINE.
That was the right choice.
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My favourite was a guest asking for a hefty discount because he was a student on a budget. I wanted to say that I too was a student on a budget so perhaps he could pay extra to help me out. What I actually said was that public transport was good and I was sure he’d find something in his price range further out.
I don’t negotiate, period. I politely tell them the price is already discounted and if they push the issue I will flat out decline the booking with the explanation that this property doesn’t seem to meet their needs. It’s not me being petty or standing on principal. I have learned the hard way that if a person thinks price is all that matters, they will have NO respect for your property, and not be happy with what it offers.
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The one I always get a kick out of is when they ask for a ‘local discount’, I say no because I don’t get a local discount in anything I have to buy to support my place, so there is no discount to pass along.
Are you saying you don’t give discounts to locals who just want to use your place for a party instead of a genuine vacation? 
Aye felix. And the locals show up with 6 guests and 24 ‘adorable’ children, all under 12 years old which means they stay for free. Imagine.
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I’m really surprised by all of the rigid answers of “no discounts.”
There are many people who just love a bargain. Look at websites like Rubylane or Ebay that allow “make an offer” deals.
Often, people who are asking for a discount just want to satisfy a desire to “get a good deal.” And I think that it is shortsided to arbitrarily reject any booking request that asks for a discount.
Case in point, I had a Syrian-American guest this month. He emailed and asked for a discount and as I needed the days to be booked and his profile looked good (family Man, 3 kids), I gave him a counter-offer. One of my best guests ever.
And, (also last month) I had a guest who asked for a 25% discount on a 4 night stay for a week where I had 5 days open. I emailed her back and offered her 5 nights for the cost of 4. I got my “full price” for 4 nights and filled an empty night at the same time. Also, one of my best guests ever.
I would not accept or reject a request based soley on asking for a discount. If you would accept the booking otherwise (based on your “vibe” of the guest) then perhaps you should consider a counter-offer. They ask for a $7 a night discount, offer them a $1 or $2 a night discount. Just the fact that they can save $5 for the whole trip may be enough to satisfy their “desire” to save a buck and you might get the booking.
I read a few posts up that the $7 is only the cost of two lattes and the poster said (more or less), “don’t be so cheap.” I do get a good laugh out of this attitude because most of my friends and family that have the “its only a few bucks” attitude (as they spend the few bucks) are always broke. Whereas I scrimped and saved those few bucks for 20 years and those $7 here and there paid for an apartment with an ocean view.
Just remember, there are people who are saving towards their beach house, if you satisfy their “urge” to save, you may win a good lodger.
I have to agree. I don"t reject guests based on a fact that they negotiate. I am myself a bad negotiator, but slowly learning. Some people don"t even expect to be paid asking price, thats why price originally is elevated.
I had my best guests who negotiated with me. My three last guests negotiated, 2 of them were excellent, one is annoying, but he would be annoying anyway even he paid full price.
What i don"t like is when people offer me 30-40% less of asking price. Thats pushing it, but once i asked one guy why he thought it would be ok to offer me such a low price. He said, because it often works. If the season is slow, some hosts would take his offer, because something better than nothing.
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That’s pretty flawed logic.
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I’ve never accepted anyone who asked for a discount. First time I got such a request was from a host in Brooklyn, who actually had bad reviews from her guests. Now, the only people who ask for discounts are people who also seem to not have read the listing at all. Clearly states maximum of 2 adult guests, yet the discount seekers are traveling with grandma and twins under 2 yrs old and just crazy things like that. So, it’s always no. However, I’ve been known to actually give discounts once or twice without being asked to for various reasons.
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Proof that they don’t give a stuff about what you offer, or the condition of your place, or the quality - they are only after four walls and a roof. So why should they respect your home? (Answer: they won’t.) The actual damage/neglect that will happen is of course down to the type of people they are, so maybe nothing will go badly. But that’s a maybe that I’m not willing to take. I can discount the room price MYSELF then get people who book that later on, who are totally unaware they got a bargain and who just think they’re paying a fair price. I want people who think that they, and I, struck an even deal, as they almost universally respect what they’ve paid for.
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True, something are sometimes worse than nothing. Then we become resentful on giving in with discounts.And its not good for both parties
I never take it to heart if someone does asks for a discount per se. Some people love to haggle or must think they are getting a good deal, the fact is they are and I have interesting ways to let them know they are. I.E. on way to the island we pass this other one costing 3x more and lacks ‘everything’ most do come all the way to Belize for, like swimming, snorkeling, diving, etc. and even privacy.
The real red flag is when they start asking for extra things or services for free, that always speaks volumes.
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And it doesn’t help that every travel blogger suggests to travelers to try to negotiate a better deal. So travelers going around thinking if they don’t ask then they are paying a car sticker price.
The savvy negotiators will offer something in return, like their dates are flexible and they can take weekdays, fill an odd hole in the calendar, only have two people when rate is based on four, etc. The other negotiators are annoying when they just expect a discount because they asked.
My last two asking were both parents with kids…HELL NO!! - No discount. Are they crazy? One had three kids. The other had two - both through VRBO. Here was the last one:
“hi
I’m looking to book your cabin for 3 Nights to spend some time with my little family, ,
can we have additional discount due to my kinds are still young, and we are quite lovely family looking to spend a few days in the nature
our original plan is to stay 3 nights, but if we have good discount we might go for 4 nights
Appreciate your feedback
Regards;”
If I give him good discount then he might stay 4 nights with his little kids…lolololol.
I had a guest ask me to 1) let her stay a month when I have a 4 day max then 2) ask me to deeply discount my rate because she was going through a divorce 3) then request it for the absolute busiest month of the year when I make my most income and am booked 100%. When I politely declined, she insisted I should reconsider because I was a single woman like her and should certainly understand. What does that even mean? Her “offer” would have cost me $2500 in lost income!!
It seems like he’s doing YOU a favor if you give Him a discount, interesting logic
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At 2:55am a guest from London woke me up on the mobile app asking for a discount. Sigh.