Second enquiry - this one sounds more promising

I just heard back from the 4 nights guy. He asked whether both himself and the other person staying with him in the room needed to get their ids verified by Airbnb. I responded that only the person making the booking (presumably him) needed to get his ID verified. Just checking here in case I got it wrong. Thanks.

Just heard back from the American college student, who asked about a discount. I haven’t actually set any discount for longer stays, since my daily rate is already quite low, but I thought a 10% discount was reasonable for 2 months. Thoughts?

Though in that case, I’ll tell him that he needs to book for the whole 2 months at once. Though I expect he’ll want to do that anyway.

Hi Faheem,

We don’t accept anyone for more than 29 days and we rarely get asked for discounts - I think it’s only happened two or three times. We sometimes have offered a very small discount but try to add value rather than give huge discounts.

Hi @jaquo,

Thanks for the feedback. :slightly_smiling:

I think people do give a discount for longer stays, but my daily rate is already very competitive.

What kinds of value adds do you offer? Just curious.

For longer stays, we offer to clean the apartment and change the linen and towels every week. I also ask if there are any groceries they’s like me to get in for them when they arrive. (Over and above the guests treats we leave for all guests). If they are on business and are likely to be busy, I also offer to do a wash and fold of their personal laundry once a week. These save them time and money and for some guests, they are more attractive than giving a discount. Plus, they take very little time for me to do. I prefer using my time than giving discounts!

Hi @jaquo,

I see. That makes sense. Thanks for the thoughts.

10% is fair.

I don’t offer large discounts, either. Like @jaquo I prefer shorter stays. There’s a trade-off for the longer stays - yes it can be less work, but more risk in case they aren’t a good fit for your home. Also, my price is also very reasonable, so I don’t feel a need to discount it much further.

What I have started to do is leave a laundry basket near the guest room so if they have towels or sheets they feel are dirty they can put them in the basket, and I have a clean set of sheets for them to put on themselves. I launder the sheets and towels.

Make sure two-month guy does change his sheets every 1-2 weeks so they don’t get gross!!

This is so exciting!

In our days before Airbnb we used to accept longer term rentals. We found that the trouble was that anyone renting for more than a month often treated the place just as their own in that they’d have overnight guests, have friends round or rarely clean properly. Which I can understand but it was a bit annoying having guests lording it around the place as if they owned it :slight_smile:

there’s a fine line between accepting hospitality and taking it…

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Hey @dcmooney,

Thanks very much for the thoughts.

Well, I responded to “two-month guy” with a offer of a discount from Rs 2300 to 2100. That’s approximately a 7% discount. Not munificent, but I think my daily rate is already very competitive. 10% would be 2070, which is an awkward number - I prefer round figures.

I’ve lived many years in the USA, and I’m very comfortable with Americans. I doubt an American college student doing a non-profit internship in India would be a nightmare guest. The worst to expect is that he might make a bit of a mess, and leave the lights and A/C on.

Agreed, there’s a complicated set of tradeoffs, including less reviews for the period. Reviews are important for the new host. On the other hand, you don’t have to do complicated correspondence juggling with a bunch of strangers.

Anyway, I guess if he agrees, I’ll have to make a “special offer”.

I’m touched by your enthusiasm for a stranger on the other side of the planet. :slightly_smiling:

I agree with that - that he’s hardly going to be a crazy partier. ; ) I’m sure the company he’s interning for has screened him.

yes, the a/c may be an issue, as you must be aware Americans (though not this one) are crazy about it. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts to the climate and culture. Since you’ve lived in the US you will be able to empathize a bit. Who knows he may be a seasoned traveler who will jump right in and be a joy to live with!!

Hi @dcmooney,

Well, I like A/Cs too. In some ways I’m quite Americanized. But the A/Cs here are a bit different. As are the electricity prices… :slightly_smiling:

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