So I had colorful inquiry. He has a dog ( I allow pets), wants to crate him while on a two hour bike ride…ok. He wants a discount of $13 off my daily rate or to equal $700 for 9 days. I hadn’t even included the pet fee. Declined…was I right?
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I would not necessarily decline, given the length of stay. If this were a 1-3 night stay, we would feel as you do.
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Do you currently have any discounts set up for a week or more? If yes, just point that out.
If not, then IMO a minor discount for 9 nights is appropriate and hardly offensive for someone to ask.
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I probably would have declined also. Seems like a “give them an inch, they’ll take a mile” kind of person.
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I would have declined. Not necessarily his booking, but to discount. I don’t like the asking for discounts thing. If hosts wanted to give discounts for week-long bookings or more, wouldn’t a host already be offering them?
These discount seekers find a place they like, then expect the price to be adjusted to fit their budget, instead of looking for a place that fits their budget in the first place. As if their financial situation is any of a host’s business.
It really depends on the average length of bookings one gets as to what one considers to be a lengthy stay worth considering a discount on. My average booking has been a week to 10 days, so 9 days isn’t a lengthy booking to me, and I offer no discounts. Discounts are appropriate when you are trying to attract longer bookings- they make no sense if you don’t need or want to attract them.
I guess agreeing to discounts might also depend on how much profit a host makes. If they’re pocketing $100/ night after expenses, they might be in more of a position to offer a discount than a host who’s only making $40.
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Agreed but get the pet fee.
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I’m with @muddy. It feels like every time I give an inch, they want another. If I wanted to offer a discount, I would. And why would I provide a discount if I can book full price? And if I can’t book full price, I lower my prices when I’m ready and to what I want. My only exception to someone asking for a discount would be a past guest who was awesome.
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I don’t get bent out of shape over a request for a discount. I have plenty of friends who squeeze every nickel— they are fine people and would be perfectly good guests.
I just decide whether or not the proposed price suits me, based on how my calendar looks and how crabby I feel that day.
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LOL! Love it @mica555. Admittedly, I’ve become more “permanently” crabby over the years after all the stuff people have done without even blinking an eye. I used to be very generous with discounts and “I’m sorry” gifts (I still do them when appropriate…i.e. sending warm cookies because I FORGOT to turn the water heater on…totally my fault). But yeah…a request for a discount needs to be incentivized for me (i.e. chance of extending the stay, agrees to only access X # of rooms, will be out at work all day M-F, etc). Asking just to ask is a hard no for me…but I can dig different positions on this; if the business gets tough I may be forced to regress 
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I only provide a discount for 30 day stays,
I wasn’t bent out shape but it is the end of our season in Montana and no bookings in the future. I’ve listed my studio for traveling professionals on a different site to ensure I have it booked through January/February. So discounting at this stage in my calendar is not ideal.
Also allowing pets comes with specific rules for guests. I state clearly that guests cannot leave pets loose or crated for extended periods of time. My feeling was he wants a discount, leave a pet unattended (because people will not be completely honest about certain things) and for whatever the reason, I’m not entirely comfortable despite good reviews of this guest.
Let me note, he was very nice about it.
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Thanks for your thoughts everyone. I am new to Airbnb but I pretty firm about how I want to run my business but am open to what everyone might feel about certain situations like this one.
You did right – I would have declined because of his ‘fishing’ for a discount. We do not haggle prices. This is not the bazaar in Marrakesh! It is what it is, take it or leave it.
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I wouldn’t have a problem hosting him - but I’d insist on the full price.
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The few high maintenance/annoying guests we’ve had have been discounted stays lol. If I was confident I could book with someone else I’d probably decline too rather than give them a chance to book after starting a stay with me saying “no.” Otherwise, I’d just stick to the facts of how we set our prices on the calendar but folks can always check back to see if it changes closer to requested dates. I’d also remind them of pet rules and extra price to cover extra cleaning.
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I would decline AND block a day of the requested dates for a few days so they do not instant book. The last discount seeker I said no to the discount, they booked IB and left a 4 star review.
This after I gave her the code to the laundry room door a few days into her stay even though laundry facilities not included.
RR
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I dont use instant book. I was a little perplexed by the haggling too. I can see doing that after a guest has already stayed once or twice.
Exactly this and the same in my dog boarding business.
OTOH, I did have an Air guest who I converted to direct booking ask for a discount. It was for a week when I was closed anyway due to the large number of dogs here. Also for multiple days and she’s the kind of guest who is out all day with her family, not hanging out in the room. She has stayed more than once here and I expect she will always choose my place if it’s available. So it was an easy yes. But for a stranger to think they are so great that they should get a discount is presumptuous.
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In my first STR I had someone ask for a discount and was surprised by it but since I was pretty new, what the heck offered maybe $10 off per night. She came back and asked about something lower. OK, that was it for me, no dice and I’m not doing it again.
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Plenty of advice here about the discount request. In regard to the dog, I would be pleased that this guest was honest about what he wanted to do. Some would just make the booking and throw the dog in the crate regardless of your rules.
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I have a 6 night discount and a 14 night discount and 21 nights. If anyone asks for a discount over and above I say no and point out my discount policy. I’ve had a couple of odd experiences with guests and discount seeking and just say no.
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