And what percent of your guests return on a regular basis? Is it worth it to advertise that I offer discounts to returning guests? I feel most of them will not come back, even if they love everything and want to visit again. It’s just how it goes. People get busy, want to see another new spot, life gets in the way of planning vacations. At least for me, as much as I’ve had a great time in places I’ve seen and wanted to come back, there are always new destinations to explore that take higher priority. Unless the guest is returning due to business or has family in the area they visit periodically, I don’t foresee them coming back. So why bother advertising return guest discounts?
I’ve not worked out the percentage but we do have guests who return. Often, they have stayed for a few days the first time, then the next time come back for a couple of weeks. We don’t advertise any discount for repeats guests but if they asked, we probably would because of ‘better the devil you know…’
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I’ve had around 70 sets of new guests and only 9 of those have returned. Most are grandparents visiting babies and so my location and price are key. However, most of these guests return 2-3 times a year (3-4 days each trip) and so they actually book a significant number of days on an annual basis. Since I book good return visitors independently (hence they get a discount) many of them actually plan visits around my availability (they buy airfare after contacting me).
If I found a great place in Miami or sunny isles that worked for my family, I would definitely do return visits. Busy people often like to avoid the time-consuming research that’s involved in visiting new locales.
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Almost 100 groups, no repeats. But almost all of my groups are tourists coming to see Washington DC, most from out of the country, so I wouldn’t expect repeats. I did have a mom who had been a guest inquire for her son, but, I was booked.
Most of our guests who return are here for business. We have a few regulars: a dentist who lives a couple hours drive away, but works close by, a recruiter who lives in the Bay Area, a reporter who lives on the East Coast. We enjoy having regulars, but we don’t offer them discounts except for the reporter who is such a fun guest that it’s worth it. She bought a memory foam dog bed as a gift for our arthritic dog. The dentist is quite a high maintenance guest, so no discount. I had one vacationer return because she loved Los Angeles and bonded with us. We gave her a discount. As you can see, we don’t have a policy of giving discounts to return guests. It’s on a case by case basis.
I’m in Hawaii and have had two leisure repeats. I’ve had several business repeats, and take their cash directly, not through the Air system.
So many say they would love to return and of course never do. I wouldn’t do anything special for them if they did.
I have had 3-7 returnees per year since the second year of renting; some skip a year; some skip two; one is on their 5th stay. I don’t woo them with discounts though I did in the early days.
If they are returnees from the previous year, I may let them have the same rate one more time but it depends. If they skipped a year or two, they get the going rate. I do nothing to encourage returnees.
There’s no magic in having a repeat guest. Other than a few instances of accidental damage (or pilfering), guests - without exception - have left the place neat and tidy. It may be because I spell out the law as to what I expect early in the game and they take heed…dunno. I’m a no-nonsense type of gal when it comes to business and my property.
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I already have the best gear. No one has asked to borrow the hose to rinse their car. Or are you trying to be funny? 
If so, I don’t get it. ??
This is a business. It’s a business I love, and I thoroughly enjoy our guests. But I’m not only in it to meet great people. I don’t offer discounts to people just because they’re repeat guests. I wouldn’t expect to get a discount at a hotel because I’ve stayed there before. The discount I give is for a week’s stay. Also, I wouldn’t do this for cash. I like the Airbnb controls, and I keep that as my standard.
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If my guests come through Air or Flipkey, Booking.com then they can get their own discount by booking directly through me. This will save them all those guest service fees! No way am I going to discount someone (repeat or not) who is willing to fork over useless fees to all these other sites.
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But I would consider discounting a great repeat guest if they have a flexible schedule and are willing to take some weekdays in the off season (that likely wouldn’t book) - win win for both of us!
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2 out of nearly 100 guests. Both guests shared our house. I wouldn’t offer them a discount but rather treat them to a feast instead.
I think currently 15% of my revenue is from returning guests, and this is still increasing every year.
No, I do not offer a discount, if they book trough AirBnB or any other channel. I tell them they can save money by booking direct with me.
Returning guests are good, because they do not require as much attention as new guests. Also if guests are returning, this means your place is ok for them, and their friends will notice this too. And also come visit you.
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The great thing about repeat guests is that you and they know what to expect. They like your place which is why they are returning so that means that you’re likely to get another good review (if they’ve booked through Airbnb).
You know what to expect because of their previous stay. For example, the first time a particular couple stayed, they asked me where they could buy more of the coffee I’d provided. I told them but let them have more anyway. The next time they came, I stocked the rental with extra. Another repeat couple loved playing golf so I got all the latest golf course brochures and put them in the rental. These ‘personal touches’ are appreciated, as are comments like ‘How’s your son Tom doing in New York?’ or whatever. (I keep notes).
Also you know that they are good guests but if there’s anything that made them less than perfect, you can head the problems off at the pass.
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Yep. Our guests have to encounter a bridge. Head 'em off.
Move ‘em on
(Head em’ up!)
Head em’ up
(Move 'em on!)
Move ‘em on
(Head em’ up!)
Rawhide!
The Blues Brothers 
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No, Bonanza. Much as I love the Blues Brothers.
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I’ve been on Airbnb and a SuperHost of 3 cabins in my native Northeast GA for 2 years now. I can’t believe how few repeat guests y’all get. Repeat guests are 15-20% of my business, easily. I try my hardest to make it as easy as possible to let past guests rebook. Including letting them know they can book directly, they can save the entire Airbnb service fee (only if we’ve had a successful stay first, though). I also do a few other things to take care of my repeat “VIP” guests, as I call them. Haha! 
I haven’t figured it out yet but we do get some regulars.
According to Airbnb, one of the “perks” of being a SH is;
“More pricing options;
As a Superhost, you can offer discounts to guests to encourage them to stay with you again in the future.
COMING SOON”
I don’t see that as a perk I’m interested in and obviously others here don’t either.
I’ve got a returning guest today. This is her second stay and I’ve blocked off two more days for her in May. One is going to be while I’m out of town so that works out great for me as otherwise it would be blocked. That’s an extra $40 and I don’t mind giving her a little discount. I haven’t decided yet if I will offer her the option to pay cash direct. The first visit was fine. Second visit fine so far but she arrived before check in time again. The room is ready but I think if you get too familiar and seem very friendly then people just make assumptions. She probably assumed since I told her leaving Dallas at the crack of dawn was the best way to avoid traffic that meant she could come check in early. Luckily today’s guest checked out early so I had the room ready. Still I mentioned in the message thread about hustling to get the room ready so maybe it will remind her
I have hosted for 1 year 4 months, and I do get two returning guests who have families in my area. One of them has stayed with me 4 times and have booked for the 5th time. I do like them because they always take good care of my property so I’m happy to offer discounts every time they book. The other group was average so I didn’t offer any discount.
There are a few more requests from returing guests but unfortunately the dates are unavailable. There was an interesting one, her family stayed at our place and no complaint during the stay. But reviewed me four star overall and three star in value. I only had two non five star reviews, where one of them was due to retaliation. So when she asked if she can book with me again, oops I just got another conflicting booking. This kind of returning guests are not welcome . She was able to stay at my house for less than $40 AUD per person per night, and yet she complained about value. A similar service apartment would have costed double the money for her group.