Can You Negotiate on Airbnb Prices – Like most people who use Airbnb , you probably don’t know that it’s possible to negotiate prices.
Yes, most of the rooms, apartments and houses offered for rental often display a price that is too high! For what ? Because the hosts leave themselves some room for negotiation. So, you might as well take advantage of it!
And contrary to what you might think, there is nothing simpler than negotiating and getting a discount on Airbnb , even if you don’t want to waste time and even if you hate haggling.
I have tested this method myself several times and it has already saved me several hundred euros. So, here we go, I’ll explain how to do it!
PS: if you have not yet registered on
AirBnB you can use the links in this article. You will then receive a free coupon for your registration and so will I 🙂
Summary
Why negotiate on Airbnb?
Because you are paying too much! This is the most important reason. Assume that if you don’t lower the price of housing by at least 20%, then you are paying too much.
Negotiating on Airbnb is not haggling. It’s about making sure that you and your guests are a win-win. After all, it never hurt anyone to receive an email asking for a small discount. I have developed a simple and effective technique that allows me to obtain a reduction almost every time. It would be a shame to deprive yourself of it, right?
Step #1: Take care of your profile
Have you created a profile that only talks about you? This is normal, it’s the very definition of “profile”. But to make your profile attractive to hosts and make them want to welcome you (and give you a discount!), I advise you to put yourself in their head.
What could make the difference? Why would a host want to welcome you more than someone else? Why give you a discount when he could perhaps rent his place at full price to someone else?
The answer: you must be the ideal guest. You are human, and so is your host. And if you want to sleep at someone’s house, share an apartment or even a room, your profile will play a fundamental role for your host.
This is what my profile looks like on Airbnb:
I’m not telling you that it is perfect, but it works well thanks to different criteria:
PROFILE PICTURE
I usually dress in shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops. But for my profile photo, I preferred to use a photo where you don’t see any of that. Avoid photos taken at parties, this risks putting off your host. In my profile picture I’m smiling, and I think that’s important. Even if you don’t like your smile, make a little effort. No one wants to welcome someone who looks worshipful!
THE OPINIONS
When a host views your profile, they don’t know anything about you. The only thing he can really trust are the reviews left by other Airbnb users. So to show that you are trustworthy, I advise you to ask your previous hosts to leave you good reviews. It’s essential.
Step #2: Find out about market prices
The best way to lose a host’s trust is to ask for too big a discount. To find out what’s reasonable, use Airbnb’s different filters to find the prices charged by hosts in the area you’re looking for and with the type of accommodation you want.
If you’re looking for a self-catering studio in Berlin, for example, remove private rooms and houses from your search and look at different neighborhoods. Do your research on a stay of 2 to 5 days, then expand to a week then a month. Prices generally adjust automatically depending on the length of stay.
Here is some information to remember in order to make a reasonable offer:
- For a one-week stay, you will hardly be able to obtain a lower daily rate than the monthly rate. Below that, your host is likely to decline.
- For a month’s stay, you should be able to get down to the rate of a three-week stay.
- For a stay of a month or more, always ask for a reduction of at least 20%. It costs you nothing, and it will often be accepted.
High/Low Season Tip: If you’re staying in an unfamiliar region or country, try to find out on Google whether you’re traveling in high or low season. This information will allow you to have a better idea of your trading margin.
Step #3: Negotiating for a discount on AirBnB
Now that you have created an attractive profile, have done your research on prices and have selected some interesting accommodations, you are ready to negotiate.
But how do you send a message that will hit the mark?
First, click on the desired accommodation, and scroll to the bottom of the ad, just before the comments. You will see a “contact host” button.
By clicking on this button, the host will know your desired dates, because you had entered them in the search.
Then send a message!
To help you, here is a message I sent a while ago to a host to negotiate. This allowed me to obtain a 38% reduction for renting a studio in Berlin for a week (the price was therefore displayed at $50 per night, or 45 euros).
I now suggest that you analyze this email and explain to you how and why it allowed me to obtain the reduction I wanted.
WRITE A PERSONALIZED MESSAGE
Rather than copy and paste or remain ultra basic, I addressed the host by calling him by his first name and I explained to him why his apartment particularly interested me:
If you don’t have anything specific to say about housing, you can also mention a passion that you have in common.
The objective of this start of the message is to show that you are a nice person. But always stay honest, no need to get into something hypocritical.
EXPLAIN THE WHY AND HOW
Never ask for a discount without giving a reason. Even if this reason is not really valid, this argument will increase your chances of getting a “yes”.
In any case, I advise you against the argument
“I found it cheaper elsewhere.”
Better to say that your budget is this much, that you would therefore like to have a reduction of 10 or 20 € per night.
ASK FOR A 20-50% REDUCTION IN THE DAILY RATE
We all know the expression “open to negotiation”. Yes, negotiation is above all a discussion, an exchange, which makes it possible to find an agreement between two parties on both prices and conditions. And I rarely get the discount I initially asked for. This is why I advise you to ask for a minimum 20% reduction.
OFFER SOMETHING IN RETURN
You don’t get anything without giving.
In my message, I suggested that Mina write him an ultra-positive review which could enable him to better rent his apartment. I also mentioned the possibility of staying longer (and in fact, I even managed to negotiate an even lower rate once I got there, since I stayed there for over a month!).
You need to give your host a reason to give you a discount on their AirBnB. On the other hand, I really advise against offering to do menial tasks around the house. This is not the objective of Airbnb.
No matter what you offer your host in return, most often it won’t cost you anything and will save you money!
THE ANSWER
Mina first offered me an offer of $35 per night instead of $50. So I sent him a message:
Thanks to this second message, Mina agreed to lower the price to $31. While the basic price was $50. Or around 38% off.
Conclusion, on AirBnB discounts
To trade correctly, you must be able to take risks and be willing to lose. This means you will have to contact multiple hosts.
But don’t panic, it doesn’t take much time to contact two or three hosts and ask them for a discount. And all this could allow you to save several hundred euros if you often use Airbnb.
You now have all the tools in hand to negotiate on Airbnb . And even if you’re not at all the type to haggle, the fact that it’s done in writing makes things a lot easier. So get started!
