If an Airbnb guest asked you for a discount, would you give it to them? Would you ever give a guest a discount without them asking?

The answer is more complicated than you might think. That’s because asking for a discount can be a sign of a bad guest–but not always. At the same time, giving discounts can be a great way to make guests happy, but giving discounts too often can seriously hurt your profits.

If you struggle to decide when to give your Airbnb guests a discount, keep reading. By the end of this post, you’ll know exactly when and how to give a discount on Airbnb!

My potential guests asked for a discount before even booking with me! What do I do?

From time to time, a potential Airbnb guest might message you before booking to asking for a discount. When they do, you have to make a tough decision: give them the discount and risk losing out on revenue you could have otherwise earned or turn them down and risk losing the booking altogether.

The answer is simple—it makes sense to give a discount when you believe those nights would otherwise go unbooked. Discounted bookings are better than no bookings!

That’s to say, if a potential guest asks for a discount, it doesn’t always make sense to give it to them. If you think your place will likely get booked by someone else at the current rate, politely turn them down. When you do, who knows—they might just book anyway. On the other hand, sometimes it’s unlikely your Airbnb will get booked for those dates. This is especially true during low season and when it’s a very last-minute booking. In those cases, you might be totally happy with giving your guests a discount!

That said, you might have heard that guests who ask for discounts tend to be bad guests so you should always turn them down. The idea is that, if they’re asking for something now, chances are they’ll continue to ask for more and more throughout their stay. While that might be true in some cases, applying that rule to everyone might mean you’re missing out on great revenue opportunities.

In my experience, the decision is much more nuanced than flat-out turning down anyone who asks. I’ve hosted guests who asked for a discount and turned out to be some of the best guests I’ve ever had! I’ve also rejected a lot of guests who ask for a discount and, to this day, I’m glad I did.

For example, I once had a WONDERFUL guest who booked the day-of check-in. Before booking, she shared a lot about herself, why she was traveling, and eventually asked for a discount. I’m so glad I agreed because she ended up being an absolutely wonderful guest (that left a GLOWING 5-star review!) and those nights would have otherwise gone un-booked.

On the other hand, I typically reject guests who, in their very first message, demand that I give them a discount. I just think this is a bad sign that is telling of how they’ll treat me and my property throughout their stay. So, don’t turn down every single guest that asks for a discount. Instead, make your decision based on HOW they ask.

Pro Tip: One of the best things you can do to avoid discounts altogether and command a higher nightly rate is optimize your listing.

Oh no–something went wrong during my guests’ stay! Should I give them a discount?

When something goes wrong during a guest’s stay (which happens all the time!), I recommend responding with the appropriate level of severity for the incident. If something small happened that shouldn’t have disrupted much of their stay, simply apologizing and fixing the issue should be all that’s needed. If something bigger and more disruptive happens, then I say giving a small discount is a very nice gesture that shows you really care about them having a great stay. The amount you choose to refund them should reflect the severity of the issue. When in doubt, ask yourself: If I were them, what would make me happy in this situation?

Should I reach out to past guests and offer them a discount to stay with me again? Should I let them book directly with me for a discount?

If you want to, sure! Reaching back out to previous guests to let them know how much you appreciate them staying with you and that you’d love to host them again might help you get one more booking (maaaaaaybe two, if you’re lucky) but I wouldn’t count on it to significantly move the needle.

I don’t allow guests to book directly through me because I love the liability and damage protection Airbnb provides (AirCover) as well as the platform itself for getting and managing bookings. That said, many other hosts love getting direct bookings so if it’s something you’re interested in, give it a shot! Just make sure not to talk about it on the Airbnb platform—that’s a great way to get kicked off.

How do I give my guests a discount on Airbnb?

Now that we’ve discussed when to give a discount, you need to know how to give a discount on Airbnb (which can be harder to figure out than you’d think).

How to give a discount on Airbnb:

1. From your Airbnb inbox, find the message thread with the guest you want to offer the discount to
2. Tap “details” in the upper right-hand corner
3. Tap “special offer”
4. From there, you can offer a new rate for their entire stay, without changing the nightly rate for all potential guests
5. Once you send the offer, the guest will have 24 hours to accept it before it expires

Pro Tip: When calculating the amount for your special offer, be sure you calculate the rate for their ENTIRE stay AND you include your cleaning fee or any other fees you have! This can be confusing, so I recommend triple checking you’ve entered the correct amount before hitting send.

Takeaway

Approving discounts when guests ask can be a great way to increase your Airbnb revenue. By using the tips in this blog post, you’re well set up to give discounts strategically and correctly.

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FAQs

Can Airbnb hosts give discounts?

Absolutely! Here’s how Airbnb hosts give discounts:

1. From your Airbnb inbox, find the message thread with the guest you want to offer the discount to
2. Tap “details” in the upper right-hand corner
3. Tap “special offer”
4. From there, you can offer a new rate for their entire stay, without changing the nightly rate for all potential guests
5. Once you send the offer, the guest will have 24 hours to accept it before it expires

How do I offer last-minute discount on Airbnb?

When a guest asks for a last-minute discount, you can send them a special offer using the step-by-step guide in this blog post. Giving guests a last-minute discount is a great way to fill nights that would otherwise go unbooked!

What to say when an Airbnb guest asks for a discount?

Giving discounts when Airbnb guests ask can be a great way to to increase your hosting income. I once had a WONDERFUL guest who booked the day-of check-in. Before booking, she shared a lot about herself…and asked for a discount. I’m so glad I agreed because they ended up being absolutely wonderful guests and those nights would have otherwise gone un-booked. Follow the steps in this post to learn how to give a discount on Airbnb.

How to send a special offer on Airbnb?

Here’s how to send a special offer on Airbnb:

1. From your Airbnb inbox, find the message thread with the guest you want to offer the discount to
2. Tap “details” in the upper right-hand corner
3. Tap “special offer”
4. From there, you can offer a new rate for their entire stay, without changing the nightly rate for all potential guests
5. Once you send the offer, the guest will have 24 hours to accept it before it expires

What questions do you have about giving discounts to Airbnb guests? Let me know in the comments.

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