How To Get An Airbnb Discount 2023: 7 Easy Tips & Tricks
Trying to figure out how to get a discount on your next stay with Airbnb?
After recently completing our hundredth stay with Airbnb, we thought we’d tap into a popular topic: how to get an Airbnb discount and save money on your future bookings. From coupon codes to month-long Airbnb hacks, we’ve got you covered!
How To Get An Airbnb Discount 2023
A common travel resource is Airbnb. As full-time travelers, Mike and I frequently use Airbnb for month-long rentals around the world.
Airbnb is convenient and allows travelers to customize their vacation to fit their needs and budget. You can book an entire apartment for yourself, an entire vacation home, or even just a private room.
In this blog post, you’ll learn the seven easy tricks to save money on your next Airbnb rental. This list will continuously be updated as we learn new Airbnb tricks and tips. Be sure to bookmark this post for future reference on how to get an Airbnb discount.
Disclaimer: Please use Airbnb responsibly. Although they may be the cheap and convenient option, vacation rentals are displacing families and creating housing crises around the world. As travelers, it’s important for us to understand the impact we create, both positively and negatively.
1. Book An Airbnb By The Week
One of the easiest ways to earn an Airbnb discount is by booking a rental property for an extended period of time. The majority of Airbnb hosts will start giving discounts to guests that book their property for a week or longer.
Weekly discounts range in percentage from 5% to 20%, depending on the individual host. These discounts will automatically show up on the reservation when you select a period of time that is one week or longer.
2. Book An Airbnb By The Month
For an even better price, consider booking an Airbnb for a month or longer. By booking a rental property for a month or longer, you’ll likely see discounts ranging from 25% to over 50%.
Again, this discount is automatically added to the reservation and is based on the hosts’ discretion.
Note: It is rare to find a host that doesn’t offer weekly or monthly discounts. Keep this in mind when searching for an Airbnb to stay in.
If you come across a host that doesn’t offer lower rates for weekly or monthly stays, I recommend finding another Airbnb listing that does offer some sort of discount.
3. Book More Nights Than You Need
Another great way to save big on Airbnb stays is by booking more nights than you need. This seems counterintuitive, but it actually works! More often than not you’ll get larger discounts.
For example, perhaps you’re planning a long trip abroad. Notice in the picture below that I’m in the process of booking an Airbnb for 25 nights. The total price would be $846, which includes a 10% weekly discount.
Now, look at the picture below. This is the same rental property but instead of booking for 25 nights, I decide to book it for 30 nights. A 50% monthly discount is now added to our reservation. Instead of paying $846 for 25 nights, I am paying $546 for 30 nights, saving us $300. Isn’t that a great deal?
The same technique can be applied to shorter stays, too. Notice in the picture below that I’m looking to rent an Airbnb for 6 nights. Since this isn’t an entire week, I am not given the weekly discount. We would pay a total of $252 for this stay.
The same property is shown in the picture below, except we intend to book it for 7 nights. Regardless if we actually stay the extra night, we still pay less because we are given a weekly discount.
If you are planning a holiday with Airbnb, I highly recommend playing around with dates of your next trip, to see if you can pay less by booking a stay for more nights than you need.
4. Ask The Host For An Airbnb Discount
This tip can be controversial, but asking the host for a special discount can also save you a LOT of money on your Airbnb stay.
Before I get into this tip on how to get an Airbnb discount, keep in mind that this should only be done with tact and respect. Airbnb hosts are offering up their homes for travelers; they do NOT need to give discounts.
Personally, I feel that you should only ask Airbnb hosts for discounts if you have a valid reason. For example, when I book long stays (one month or more), I politely ask if they would be willing to discount the price.
You could also ask for a discount if you are making a short notice Airbnb booking.
Some Airbnb users ask for a discounted price on every stay regardless if they have a valid reason. Personally, I wouldn’t suggest this because it can come across as rude and offensive.
Why Would Airbnb Hosts Offer A Special Discount?
An Airbnb host might agree to a special discount if they can benefit from it in return.
In particular, if someone plans to book a long stay, an Airbnb host is more likely to offer a special discount.
Longer stays benefit the host because they only deal with one guest during an extended period of time. They will also be certain that their property will be rented out and making money during that time.
An Airbnb host may also give a special discount to a guest that is booking a last-minute stay. Rather than not making any money at all, an Airbnb host will offer a discount so that their property is booked and earning money.
How To Ask An Airbnb Host For A Special Discount
Again, I must stress that asking an Airbnb host for a discount should be done with respect. Telling an Airbnb host that they should give you a discount because their property is overpriced? Yeah, that’s not going to fly.
Instead, approach the Airbnb host politely.
You can do this by clicking “Contact host” below their rental property description. Start by introducing yourself and telling them a bit about you. Explain why you want to stay in their home using specific details. It’s also a great idea to reference your positive reviews and feedback from other Airbnb hosts.
Next, simply let them know that you’d love to book their home but it’s a bit out of your budget. Ask if they would be willing to give you a discount on your stay and politely suggest a figure.
Note: This figure shouldn’t be so low that you offend the host. I typically ask for an additional 25% discount on long stays, but this number changes based on the property and asking price.
What To Do If An Airbnb Host Gives You A Discount
If an Airbnb host agrees to give you a discount, they’ll send you a “special offer” on their rental property. Book your stay right away using the special offer link.
During your stay, always be respectful of the home you’re staying in and their house rules – it’s not a hotel room, it’s someone’s private property. This is especially true if the host gives you a special Airbnb deal. Being nit-picky and expecting a 5-star resort experience will leave a bad impression with the host.
5. Use Our Airbnb Referral Code For $40 Off Your First Stay
The best way to earn an Airbnb discount is by signing up for a new Airbnb account using our unique Airbnb referral link.
Signing up for Airbnb is completely free; you’ll only pay when you book a rental property.
Just follow the simple sign-up instructions, all you need to do is fill out your name and email address. From there, your account will be credited $40 through the one-time use referral program. Use this credit toward your first booking with Airbnb.
*If you decide to sign up using our promo code link, you will earn $40 and Mike and I will earn a $20 referral credit after you complete your first Airbnb stay. We only recommend products and services that we truly love and use on a regular basis.
Want even more tips on how we save money while traveling the world? Check out our related post: How to Get Free Flights Around the World.
6. Airbnb For Work Discount
If you’re looking for ways to get an Airbnb discount and you’ve already exhausted your sign-up coupon from above, consider this special trick.
Airbnb now offers a coupon to individuals or businesses that add a work email to their existing customer profile. In order to receive this $25 coupon, you’ll need to have a legitimate work email. If you have a work email address, navigate to the account settings page of your existing Airbnb account.
Once you’ve reached the account settings page on the Airbnb website, click on “Travel for work”. The travel for work page will give you the option to add a work email address. Add your email address and confirm it by going to your email inbox (use the pictures below for further reference).
Now that your email address has been registered, you’re eligible for a $25 coupon. But before the coupon is added to your account, you’ll need to book a stay with Airbnb that totals $250 or more.
As you are confirming your Airbnb stay on the checkout page, be sure to click “Traveling for work?”.
Once you have completed your first work stay of $250 or more, you’ll earn the $25 coupon for your next booking on Airbnb. Since Mike and I are constantly staying in Airbnbs, this was an awesome way for us to earn some credit on our next stay.
7. Refer Friends To Airbnb
Several years ago, we started to recommend Airbnb to our friends. Since we LOVE Airbnb, we wanted to share the love. Unfortunately, we didn’t realize we could earn Airbnb credit for referring our friends.
The best part is that anyone can tell their friends about Airbnb and earn a discount. Use the “Invite Friends” button under your account menu to start referring your friends. For each friend you refer, you’ll earn $20 toward your next stay.
FAQs: Airbnb Discount
Of course, I’m sure you have a few additional questions about how to get an Airbnb discount. In the section below, we hope to answer even more of your burning questions:
Does Airbnb Offer A Military Discount?
As far as I know, Airbnb does not offer a military discount.
Can You Negotiate Prices On Airbnb?
Yes, you certainly can ask for a discounted rate on an Airbnb. Whether the host will honor that discount is up to them. However, we have seen Airbnb rates rising lately, so we do believe there is some room for negotiation.
The Wrap-Up: How To Get An Airbnb Discount
Airbnb is our favorite travel resource. Being able to feel at home wherever we travel in the world is incredible. Being able to earn a discount on Airbnb stays is even more incredible. Use this guide to help you get a discount on your next stay and make the most of your Airbnb experience.
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This is a good article, as an Airbnb superhost I thought I might chime in to give a host perspective on this.
(1) Yes many hosts give longer stay discounts, because it’s just not worth the cost of cleaning, laundry, and welcome service for a 1 or 2 night stay. Airbnb is super flexible hosts can give discounts not just for 7 days but for any amount of time, I often give a disocunt if people stay over 4 or 5 days.
(2) Contrary to what most guests believe, not all hosts *want* someone staying in their place for over 3 weeks. I have found that people who stay over 3 weeks usually use the apartment much more intensely, and while they never want mid-stay cleaning, I have 3x the cleaning when they do leave to prepare for the next person.
(3) The main concern of hosts, is not the duration of your stay. It is knowing that they re renting to a good, honest, problem-free guest who will respect house rules, take care of their property, not be nit-picky, not try to pressure the host with the threat of a bad review, and not call at 10pm for issues that could wait until the next day, not expect call-out servic eor deliveries for things they would easily have dealt with themself if it were their home.
So here is my tip; to get an airbnb discount:
(1) Make sure it is not a high seaosn time when the host can rent it for sure at his normal price
(2) Do not ask for a discount, weeks or months in advance (unless it’s a very seasonal market and low season). Only ask for last minute bookings. Why would the host block his calendar months ahead, refusing other offers if you are paying less than his asking price?
(3) Make sure you introduce yourself nicely, tell the host something about why you are coming, and let him know you will respect his property, be appreciative, not create problems – basically you will be a polite and courteous low-maintenance guest. For me, this is the number one reason I would give a discount – if I’m sure not to be getting multiple call out requests, demands for extra services, etc.
(4) Answer your host messages and questions in a prompt and transparent way, and READ THE LISTING before asking things that are already answered there. Read the house rules. Take some time to do this.
(5) Make sure you have GOOD REVIEWS from other hosts! Reviewing goes both ways!
(6) Make sure you leave your host a positive, tactful and honest review. I personally look at how guests reviewed their prior stay before accepting a reservation and especially before giving a special offer. If the guest has a history of complaints about his hosts, I will not accept a reservation from this guest let alone give a special discount.
Once you get a discount, make sure to fulfill your end of the promise – be an easygoing, appreciative, courteous guest! Message your host on arrival to tell him you like his apartment (if you do). Do not start asking for extra services like early check in, late check out, extra linens, free mid-stay cleaning, etc. Do not invite extra people or bring pets or smoke! Do not call the host at all hours for things that can wait or that you would not expect even from a good hotel. Read the house manual and try to figure things out yourself before calling the host during normal hours.
Hi Susan,
Thank you SO much for taking the time to give us this insight. Very VERY helpful to us Airbnbers.
I agree with all of the things you mentioned and I hope this will help others be the best Airbnb guests possible.
Thank you again, truly!
Laura