How To Get A Discount On Airbnb

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How To Get A Discount On Airbnb

You found this blog post because you want to know how to get a discount on Airbnb, right? That is perfect because I wanted to know that very question when I set out to travel the world full-time with my three daughters nearly two years ago. I knew we would be mainly using Airbnb for our accommodations.

Kill Them With Kindness

-Updated April 13, 2019-

When shopping for places to stay on Airbnb and HomeAway, always ask for a discount. Someone asked me the other day if they should ask for a discount when one is already listed. My response was, “Heck Yeah!”. Always ask for a discount. Since I started asking, I have only been turned down once.

Here’s a tip. Kill them with kindness. There is no reason to be brash. Below is a great example of how I ask for a discount. You could use this exact wording when you go to ask for your next discount on Airbnb.

It works like magic almost every single time! I always end my message with, “I completely understand if you do not offer a discount.” This is how I see it.  Owners would rather have some money than no money. Seems logical, right?

Why You Should Use Airbnb

Airbnb is great for so many reasons. One of the biggest perks of Airbnb is you get more bang for your buck. Instead of being cramped in a little hotel room, you can rent an entire house off of Airbnb.

This is great if you have teenagers like I do that want their own space away from the fam. Plus, have you ever tried to share a room with someone who snores or sleep talks? I have and it sucks.

We actually rented a hotel off of booking.com a few weeks ago while visiting Merida, Mexico. Let’s just say that one of my daughters is a notorious sleep talker and walker.

That means that this momma got absolutely no sleep. Thankfully the hotel was super cute so that made up for the fact that I was walking around like a zombie the whole time.

We knew that we needed to book an Airbnb the next time and that is exactly what I did. When we moved to Merida a few weeks after that trip, we booked a month long rental. Guess how much I paid?

$390! Yep. You heard that right. I paid less than $400 for a month-long rental and I am going to tell you exactly how I did is so keep reading.

Last Minute Airbnb

It is usually easier to secure a discount on last-minute Airbnb bookings. This is because the owners are more tempted to take you up on your offer because they are not sure if their place is going to get rented. They would rather rent it for a lower amount than originally planned as opposed to not being able to rent it at all.

That doesn’t mean you have to wait until the last minute to book. I have secured discounts months in advance and some that were the day before. You never know so it doesn’t hurt to try, right?

After all our years of travel, I think last minute Airbnbs are going to give you your best chance of getting a discount on Airbnb.

The photo example from above was a last minute Airbnb that we got a discount for in New Orleans. You are basically tempting the owner with a sure thing.

I try and think of myself in the owner’s shoes. Would I want a for sure booking at a lower rate or risk not having a booking at all? 9 times out of ten the owner will accept your last minute booking at the discount you want. Give it a try!

Airbnb Monthly Discount 

Typically, owners offer a discount for long term rentals. Long term usually means at least a month long rental. The Airbnb monthly discount can be freaking amazing!

Remember how I was telling you that I recently scored a month-long rental for less than $400 on Airbnb? That is because I got the Airbnb monthly discount and this is how I did it.

I searched for new Airbnbs in Merida, Mexico. Owners often offer HUGE discounts for new listings because they know people are hesitant to book listings without any reviews. I found a new listing that had everything we were looking for like wifi, three bedrooms, and air conditioning.

I then put in our month-long dates which then gave us a second major discount. Sometimes month long rentals on Airbnb can be up to 40 or 50 percent off.

Basically, I got two huge discounts on our rental.

Here is another tip. Longer stays are typically cheaper than shorter stays. Seriously. Sometimes booking for a month is cheaper than booking for a week so play with the dates in the Airbnb system even if you do not plan on staying for the entire month.

Next month I am staying in an Airbnb that is $41 a night. I ended up booking for a month and that dropped the price down to $374 for the entire month. If I had only booked for only two weeks I would have missed out on that huge Airbnb monthly discount and ended up paying more than $374. Do you see what I mean?

Don’t Be Scared

I know the thought of booking a brand new listing can be scary but I have done it plenty of times and it has mainly been a good experience. Airbnb has pretty good customer service so you can always write to them or call them with any issues.

If it is a new listing, I like to send the owner a message before booking to verify the accuracy of the listing and to get a feel for how they are as an owner.

Airbnb Contact

I have had to contact Airbnb only a few times over the last couple of years of full-time travel, luckily, but they have been super helpful every time. The Airbnb contact info is at the top of the website. Just click on the HELP menu. Airbnb contact has an entire help center for your use. If you have any issues you can easily use the Airbnb contact and get things resolved very quickly.

Airbnb Weekly Discount

I have talked to you about the Airbnb monthly discount but there is also an Airbnb weekly discount as well. Maybe you only want to stay a few days?

Sometimes, it is cheaper to book for a week to secure the Airbnb weekly discount than it is to book for a few days. Play around on the Airbnb system with the length of stay and see what happens. I have saved so much money by doing this and a lot of people do NOT know about it.

I think you are more than ready now to secure your discount on Airbnb. Make sure to use my DISCOUNT code by clicking here to get $40 off your first stay!