7 Strategies for Dealing with Discount Requests

Discount requests – Has this happened to you lately? There is plenty of chatter in the host community around this and we have noticed this ourselves in our own hosting business. We’ve seen a marked increase of people asking for steep discounts – people who can clearly afford normal prices but they seem to be trying to drive prices down. This is possibly a response to the pandemic – many news outlets are reporting that Short Term Rental hosts are hurting with the travel bans and international travel grinding to a halt. Plus there is an increase of travel bloggers and digital nomads writing articles about how to get the best pricing. So there is quite a lot of opportunistic haggling going on. Yes it is a buyers market right now but hosts still need to keep their heads up.  

I was talking to a non-hosting friend recently and told her about this situation. She felt it was quite predatory and it made her angry. For her, this was the time to be helping small business owners and not trying to exploit their pain. And for some hosts, there is quite a lot of pain. 

Is this how it feels for you too?

You hear the familiar ding on your phone – ooh a booking request. The feeling of anticipation for a successful booking with an amazing guest. Then, the deflation when the inquirer is asking for a hefty discount without seeming to have read through your listing or your glowing reviews. You’ve put your heart and soul into your listing. You’ve thought carefully about the needs of your ideal guest. You’ve done your due diligence and you have all the necessities and also some items to surprise and delight your guests. You’ve done your job and you have done it well. To have somebody ask you to discount feels like a let down – like somebody is not valuing you or your work. 

Given that many hosts are struggling to pay their mortgages and support their families, the search for bargains by opportunists does feel somewhat predatory. For some hosts, this can be downright triggering. 

However, instead of taking this personally, here are some strategies for dealing with discount requests.

1. Start a conversation

Some hosts will immediately shut down the word “discount” is mentioned. It is easy to write off the inquiry as a time waster or an opportunistic bargain hunter. However, I am a big advocate for giving the benefit of the doubt at first. There might be some common ground to be found and a deal to be made that is mutually beneficial. 

Take a beat, ask some questions to discover if this guest has the potential to be your ideal guest. They might just be asking for a discount in case one if on offer but through a conversation, they will pay your asking price. 

The final decision to accept a booking will always be yours. But start each inquiry with an open mind and give people the opportunity to show themselves to be potentially great guests.

If they prove otherwise, then gently move them on.  

2. Understand cultural differences with sensitivity 

Not all discount requests are opportunistic but can be cultural.

In some countries, haggling is a part of life and it is expected on both sides of any transaction. From daily fruit and veggies to large purchases, prices are fluid and market forces dictate the final price. If you are from a country that doesn’t have this practice, it can be a little confronting. 

However, take a breath and remember that the inquirer is not intentionally trying to insult you. Use the advice from Strategy 1 above and start a conversation. Expand global understanding through communication.

Some people will be happy to book with you and will be great guests if you can even offer them a 2% discount or some sort of “special”. Give a little to get a little.

3. Have a copy and paste reply prepared

To avoid being triggered and writing a snarky reply that is not in line with your hospitality standards, it is best to have a standard reply that you can copy and paste when faced with discount requests.

A possible script goes something like this:

Thank you so much for your interest in our property. We are very pleased that you have considered us, however, we are comfortable with our current pricing. This pricing does take into consideration, seasonal market forces as well as the exceptional standard of hospitality we provide in our listing.

We hope that this pricing will also suit you and we would be glad to host you. However, if it doesn’t we completely understand. Thank you for your inquiry. 

This is good advice for all communications with your guests. Check out my free mini-course on how to standardize your language across all types of guest communications. 

4. Barter or Negotiate

If you do have some wiggle room in your margins, and you are comfortable with offering a discount, then by all means do. But my advice is to ensure that you are getting something in return. Perhaps you can suggest that the guest extends their stay from 6-7 days to get the 7 day discount. 

Or perhaps you can “barter” for something in return. For example a discount stay for a photographer in exchange for some photos or some publicity on social media. 

Again, communication is the key. (Can you sense a theme for this post?)

5. Capture your ideal guest from your competition. 

In my own hosting business, Tokyo Family Stays, I often discuss a partial discount if there are a number of children in the group. What I have done successfully is to offer a family discount for the total guest count – say, count two children as one full paying guest. As a parent, I appreciate this thoughtful acknowledgment of my family. Traveling with children can be expensive. But most importantly, I am signaling to my ideal guest, (families traveling to Tokyo) that they are welcome and I understand their needs. 

Showing that I am understanding of my guests needs will mean that they will choose to stay with me, rather than another non-family friendly host.

So think about what you can offer your target guest that the other hosts in your area will not. You can possibly use this as a signal that you are the ideal host. Maybe you can offer a tickets to nearby theme parks or coupons to local restaurants for gourmet travelers instead of discounting your nightly rate. This is still offering additional value to your guest and shows them that you know their needs better than other hosts in the area.

It is important to feel like you are an equal partner with your guest in the negotiation. That you both have some “skin in the game” and that you are partners in the experience. This breeds connection and goodwill between you and your guest. They feel that you are accommodating their needs and you know they will feel gratitude for your service. 

6. Know your bottom line

You might really be hurting from the downturn in travel and from lockdowns. You might be happy to accept whatever is on offer to mitigate losses. But recognize that you are effectively “paying people” to stay with you if you are not covering your costs. 

When considering discount requests, decide if this is OK with you in the short term or even medium term. Or whether you need to consider that this business isn’t viable any longer. 

Do you need to think about closing down? I have written about this already. I have listed some steps you can take to shut down effectively and ethically.

Be objective and unemotional. You might need to make some tough decisions. 

Or if you are able to ride this through with government support, bailouts, savings then accept the discounted booking. My advice is to always consider if that potential guest ticks all your other boxes of an ideal guest.

It is better to have your place being enjoyed – perhaps by guests who are also hurting from the pandemic. A holiday might just what they need to lift their spirits. 

7. Politely decline

You don’t need to accept all and any guests. It is your property and your business and you are not obliged to provide service if things just aren’t right. 

So many kind-hearted hosts have discovered the hard way it is often the guests who ask for, and get, discounts without anything in exchange give you more problems. There are plenty of horror stories of guests who get discounts but continue to complain about minor issues and nit-picking. These are not your ideal guests unfortunately.

Your ideal guest will appreciate that you have set your pricing that is in line with their needs. Non-ideal guests will not appreciate you or your service. They see your listing as discount accommodation rather than as a hospitality focused staycation with exceptional guest experience provided by a wholehearted host.  

Too often, the discount seeker is not your ideal guest.

Again, you should have a standard reply in polite language that is in line with your hospitality standards. 

My advice when dealing with non-ideal guests – discount seekers or otherwise: Thank them for their interest and then send them away with love and kindness. 

Final note on Scammers

Discount hunters are in a different category from the outright scammers. These seem to be on the rise lately as well. 

I haven’t included the increase of scamming attempts that also seem to be increasing lately on Airbnb. Let me know in the comments if you have seen this lately. I am compiling a list of the current sorts of scams that are popping up and how to deal with them.