Discount wisely...a link on Twitter this morning

[Morticia]

We offer several regular discounts and do some seasonal discounts mostly in the off season to get folks in the door. We tend to gear things down during the height of the busiest months, but as a newer B&B without a trust fund or big amounts of capital to fall back on, we feel like its a proactive way to advertise without upfront costs UNTIL someone books.
All of our discounts are geared to rewarding longer stays and our loyal returning guests.
We also participate in the B&B.com "hot deals" regularly which don't often yield immediate results, but puts our name and identity in front of targeted folks who have requested email alerts about a particular town or area.
We offer a 10% lifetime discount to all returning guests. They really are all of our best advertising and while not a huge discount, it is greatly appreciated. One just can't ignore what it means when anybody wants to come back more than once in an extraordinarily competitive market like we're in.
Our most popular one is our "drive green" special. We're treehuggers and are running a very "green" property, so in addition to us walking our talk, we put our money where our mouths are in trying to attract like minded and our target demographic guests.
What's really ironic on that one is that last summer when gas was over $4.00 per gallon, barely anybody took advantage of it, but now with the economy in extended recessionary mode, lots of folks are doing it.
With a certain number of nights stay, we offer a sliding scale discount depending on the combined average MPG of the car folks arrive in. The U.S. Dept. of Transportation has a website www.fueleconomy.gov which lists every make and model for the last 15 years. When folks know what they are driving in advance we can tell them right away what the discount will be. Otherwise, its whatever rental they were given at the airport.
Another we offer is a sliding scale for extended stays. Most of our colleagues and competitors don't offer anything off until someone has booked for seven nights, so we think its a unique approach in our area.
Being about 20-25 minutes from our "city" requires some creativity and inducement to entice people away from the downtown area..

That 10% lifetime discount is a nice incentive. We do a $ amount which can be 10% or more or less depending on the season.
I totally like the idea of the discount based on the car's MPG! Do you advertise that online? Care to mention what the sliding scale is?
We'll be doing something later on when the train comes to town to encourage weekenders to not drive but to take the train instead. We've had a couple of Zip cars here so I'm guessing the train might appeal to those who don't have a car at all.
.

We offer it on our website, the big directory sites and it is one of our regular "hot deals" via B&B.com
The "drive green" is scaled so that ther person only gets the maximum if they rent a hybrid or very high mileage car and it goes down in 5% increments for every five MPG less the car acheives. Somebody showing up in a Hummer should not bother even asking for it. We reserve the right to round DOWN to the next level. It also starts out 5% lower for any stay that includes even one weekend night.
We just lost a booking to someone who wanted argue over his car's MPG while I was on the phone and looking at the government's website. Sure, we could have just caved in, but this special is reserved for people who are appreciative of our sacrifice in revenue for the greater good. He probably would have given us headaches on other issues given his tone and demeanor, so why bother?
It also must be mentioned by the guest when making their reservation, none of this at check out stuff "Oh, what about my drive green discount?"
We don't voluntarily offer any discounts unless asked except for the returning guest one.
The sliding scale is 5% for four nights, 10% for five, 15% for six, etc. with a maximum of 25% for eight or more nights. The labor saved on longer stays is evident so for the most part we prefer longer stays. That is unless its the type of guest I described yesterday for who, two nights is two too many. LOL
Thankfully, the folks staying the longest are usually the ones most excited to be staying here to begin with, so its a win-win.
The other form of "discounting" we do regularly is room upgrades and complimentary dipped strawberries and sparkling cider for anniversaries, wedding nights and such.
We have a 48 hour block on the rooms we offer via B&B.com because we don't mind surprise "call-ins" from the road at full price but not through that system, so its easy to tell by the afternoon if we can switch someone who arrives and immediately connects with us in a very positive way to a nicer room. That we feel is another one of those little feather in our cap kind of surprises we can offer that folks really remember and appreciate.
.

Dang, I was figuring I could get the full % off my stay but the website says I should only be getting 28MPG on the highway. As it is, I get better than that even around town! I can see where you might get someone arguing with you if their vehicle regularly gets better mileage than the average car stats on the website.
However, it's a good independent site to refer guests to as the standard for everyone!
And who knows what the heck you're going to get at the airport for a rental.

 

[Tim_Toad_HLB]

We offer several regular discounts and do some seasonal discounts mostly in the off season to get folks in the door. We tend to gear things down during the height of the busiest months, but as a newer B&B without a trust fund or big amounts of capital to fall back on, we feel like its a proactive way to advertise without upfront costs UNTIL someone books.
All of our discounts are geared to rewarding longer stays and our loyal returning guests.
We also participate in the B&B.com "hot deals" regularly which don't often yield immediate results, but puts our name and identity in front of targeted folks who have requested email alerts about a particular town or area.
We offer a 10% lifetime discount to all returning guests. They really are all of our best advertising and while not a huge discount, it is greatly appreciated. One just can't ignore what it means when anybody wants to come back more than once in an extraordinarily competitive market like we're in.
Our most popular one is our "drive green" special. We're treehuggers and are running a very "green" property, so in addition to us walking our talk, we put our money where our mouths are in trying to attract like minded and our target demographic guests.
What's really ironic on that one is that last summer when gas was over $4.00 per gallon, barely anybody took advantage of it, but now with the economy in extended recessionary mode, lots of folks are doing it.
With a certain number of nights stay, we offer a sliding scale discount depending on the combined average MPG of the car folks arrive in. The U.S. Dept. of Transportation has a website www.fueleconomy.gov which lists every make and model for the last 15 years. When folks know what they are driving in advance we can tell them right away what the discount will be. Otherwise, its whatever rental they were given at the airport.
Another we offer is a sliding scale for extended stays. Most of our colleagues and competitors don't offer anything off until someone has booked for seven nights, so we think its a unique approach in our area.
Being about 20-25 minutes from our "city" requires some creativity and inducement to entice people away from the downtown area..

That 10% lifetime discount is a nice incentive. We do a $ amount which can be 10% or more or less depending on the season.
I totally like the idea of the discount based on the car's MPG! Do you advertise that online? Care to mention what the sliding scale is?
We'll be doing something later on when the train comes to town to encourage weekenders to not drive but to take the train instead. We've had a couple of Zip cars here so I'm guessing the train might appeal to those who don't have a car at all.
.

We offer it on our website, the big directory sites and it is one of our regular "hot deals" via B&B.com
The "drive green" is scaled so that ther person only gets the maximum if they rent a hybrid or very high mileage car and it goes down in 5% increments for every five MPG less the car acheives. Somebody showing up in a Hummer should not bother even asking for it. We reserve the right to round DOWN to the next level. It also starts out 5% lower for any stay that includes even one weekend night.
We just lost a booking to someone who wanted argue over his car's MPG while I was on the phone and looking at the government's website. Sure, we could have just caved in, but this special is reserved for people who are appreciative of our sacrifice in revenue for the greater good. He probably would have given us headaches on other issues given his tone and demeanor, so why bother?
It also must be mentioned by the guest when making their reservation, none of this at check out stuff "Oh, what about my drive green discount?"
We don't voluntarily offer any discounts unless asked except for the returning guest one.
The sliding scale is 5% for four nights, 10% for five, 15% for six, etc. with a maximum of 25% for eight or more nights. The labor saved on longer stays is evident so for the most part we prefer longer stays. That is unless its the type of guest I described yesterday for who, two nights is two too many. LOL
Thankfully, the folks staying the longest are usually the ones most excited to be staying here to begin with, so its a win-win.
The other form of "discounting" we do regularly is room upgrades and complimentary dipped strawberries and sparkling cider for anniversaries, wedding nights and such.
We have a 48 hour block on the rooms we offer via B&B.com because we don't mind surprise "call-ins" from the road at full price but not through that system, so its easy to tell by the afternoon if we can switch someone who arrives and immediately connects with us in a very positive way to a nicer room. That we feel is another one of those little feather in our cap kind of surprises we can offer that folks really remember and appreciate.
.

Dang, I was figuring I could get the full % off my stay but the website says I should only be getting 28MPG on the highway. As it is, I get better than that even around town! I can see where you might get someone arguing with you if their vehicle regularly gets better mileage than the average car stats on the website.
However, it's a good independent site to refer guests to as the standard for everyone!
And who knows what the heck you're going to get at the airport for a rental.
.

Well, to get here you have to drive through both "city" and "highway" and while here, odds are folks will be driving on both, so the combined MPG is what it is.
That's fair and it is a very generous discount that we offer year-round.
Very few complaints yet except for the one recently. One other guest gave the airport car rental agent total grief for over an hour because they ran out of all the high efficiency vehicles and the car he ended up with cost him a whopping $7 more per day here.
Ummm... an hour of vacation time for me is worth way more than the $28 dollars he didn't save at our end. Considering this was the guest I described a while back as the one who lit the fireplace without our assistance and without opening the damper and filled the house with smoke while sending another guest into hysterics, giving that discount really hurt us.

 

[Tim_Toad_HLB]

I do not look at discounts as a loss I look at them as a reason we have guests booked in our rooms. It is not costing you. It is gaining revenue.
Just like I do not look at their payment via a cc as a loss vs cash, it is all a part of doing business. Each one of us in our own niche markets how we need to for occupancy. None of us is doing this for fun, it is a business, and we want to be successful. For us it is easier to get new guests than repeats. We have so many first time BnB goers that we get them hooked and unleash them upon everyone else!
This morning (to sidetrack, sorry) guests commented on the view from their room window how they sure picked the right room! In 6 years no one has said that to me. Have others enjoyed that side of the house? Yes probably, but none has commented on it. What is that forum motto? "ABSENCE OF PROOF is not proof of absence" so here I am thinking that is not a favorite room, and these guests just loved it. Go figure! So we have such a variety of guests - all of us on this forum, which is the reasoning behind listening to others marketing ploys, I mean, ideas. You never know...
Any great ideas for discounting and keeping the quality as is, please share everyone..

 

[Copperhead]

I do discount for multi night stays as I find it sometimes will make someone extend their stay in order to receive one.
I started a new discount this month for the summer in connection with our 10th anniversary...rates dating back to 1999 for multi night stays, weeknights only. Yep, it is a hefty discount but they must ASK for it, I am not just handing this puppy out just because they call. DH and I decided to do this because we are experiencing the deadest summer in more than 6 years!!! Yes, this is our slow season but really it is DEAD. We will see what it does as the summer goes on.

 

[Morticia]

We offer several regular discounts and do some seasonal discounts mostly in the off season to get folks in the door. We tend to gear things down during the height of the busiest months, but as a newer B&B without a trust fund or big amounts of capital to fall back on, we feel like its a proactive way to advertise without upfront costs UNTIL someone books.
All of our discounts are geared to rewarding longer stays and our loyal returning guests.
We also participate in the B&B.com "hot deals" regularly which don't often yield immediate results, but puts our name and identity in front of targeted folks who have requested email alerts about a particular town or area.
We offer a 10% lifetime discount to all returning guests. They really are all of our best advertising and while not a huge discount, it is greatly appreciated. One just can't ignore what it means when anybody wants to come back more than once in an extraordinarily competitive market like we're in.
Our most popular one is our "drive green" special. We're treehuggers and are running a very "green" property, so in addition to us walking our talk, we put our money where our mouths are in trying to attract like minded and our target demographic guests.
What's really ironic on that one is that last summer when gas was over $4.00 per gallon, barely anybody took advantage of it, but now with the economy in extended recessionary mode, lots of folks are doing it.
With a certain number of nights stay, we offer a sliding scale discount depending on the combined average MPG of the car folks arrive in. The U.S. Dept. of Transportation has a website www.fueleconomy.gov which lists every make and model for the last 15 years. When folks know what they are driving in advance we can tell them right away what the discount will be. Otherwise, its whatever rental they were given at the airport.
Another we offer is a sliding scale for extended stays. Most of our colleagues and competitors don't offer anything off until someone has booked for seven nights, so we think its a unique approach in our area.
Being about 20-25 minutes from our "city" requires some creativity and inducement to entice people away from the downtown area..

That 10% lifetime discount is a nice incentive. We do a $ amount which can be 10% or more or less depending on the season.
I totally like the idea of the discount based on the car's MPG! Do you advertise that online? Care to mention what the sliding scale is?
We'll be doing something later on when the train comes to town to encourage weekenders to not drive but to take the train instead. We've had a couple of Zip cars here so I'm guessing the train might appeal to those who don't have a car at all.
.

We offer it on our website, the big directory sites and it is one of our regular "hot deals" via B&B.com
The "drive green" is scaled so that ther person only gets the maximum if they rent a hybrid or very high mileage car and it goes down in 5% increments for every five MPG less the car acheives. Somebody showing up in a Hummer should not bother even asking for it. We reserve the right to round DOWN to the next level. It also starts out 5% lower for any stay that includes even one weekend night.
We just lost a booking to someone who wanted argue over his car's MPG while I was on the phone and looking at the government's website. Sure, we could have just caved in, but this special is reserved for people who are appreciative of our sacrifice in revenue for the greater good. He probably would have given us headaches on other issues given his tone and demeanor, so why bother?
It also must be mentioned by the guest when making their reservation, none of this at check out stuff "Oh, what about my drive green discount?"
We don't voluntarily offer any discounts unless asked except for the returning guest one.
The sliding scale is 5% for four nights, 10% for five, 15% for six, etc. with a maximum of 25% for eight or more nights. The labor saved on longer stays is evident so for the most part we prefer longer stays. That is unless its the type of guest I described yesterday for who, two nights is two too many. LOL
Thankfully, the folks staying the longest are usually the ones most excited to be staying here to begin with, so its a win-win.
The other form of "discounting" we do regularly is room upgrades and complimentary dipped strawberries and sparkling cider for anniversaries, wedding nights and such.
We have a 48 hour block on the rooms we offer via B&B.com because we don't mind surprise "call-ins" from the road at full price but not through that system, so its easy to tell by the afternoon if we can switch someone who arrives and immediately connects with us in a very positive way to a nicer room. That we feel is another one of those little feather in our cap kind of surprises we can offer that folks really remember and appreciate.
.

Dang, I was figuring I could get the full % off my stay but the website says I should only be getting 28MPG on the highway. As it is, I get better than that even around town! I can see where you might get someone arguing with you if their vehicle regularly gets better mileage than the average car stats on the website.
However, it's a good independent site to refer guests to as the standard for everyone!
And who knows what the heck you're going to get at the airport for a rental.
.

Well, to get here you have to drive through both "city" and "highway" and while here, odds are folks will be driving on both, so the combined MPG is what it is.
That's fair and it is a very generous discount that we offer year-round.
Very few complaints yet except for the one recently. One other guest gave the airport car rental agent total grief for over an hour because they ran out of all the high efficiency vehicles and the car he ended up with cost him a whopping $7 more per day here.
Ummm... an hour of vacation time for me is worth way more than the $28 dollars he didn't save at our end. Considering this was the guest I described a while back as the one who lit the fireplace without our assistance and without opening the damper and filled the house with smoke while sending another guest into hysterics, giving that discount really hurt us.
.

Yikes. The combined MPG is MUCH worse than what I normally get, even in the winter. I've noticed my mileage getting better as the car gets older. All of which is totally irrelevant to the topic at hand as I wouldn't be driving out there anyway!

 

[aieechihuahua]

My idea of a discount is to invite my old friend from the east to come out for a few days. I supply the rooms, they supply the food and booze. We party like rock stars for a few days. We all clean the place spottless. They go home. Rates return to normal, and so does everything else.
Return guests alway get the last room rate. Always. If someone stays 5 nights or more, I may give a discount depending how hungry I am. I also have a seven night rule. Seventh night is always free. Seven nights in a row, or one night at a time over a year or more. That is about it for discounts.

 

[SweetiePie]

I do discount for multi night stays as I find it sometimes will make someone extend their stay in order to receive one.
I started a new discount this month for the summer in connection with our 10th anniversary...rates dating back to 1999 for multi night stays, weeknights only. Yep, it is a hefty discount but they must ASK for it, I am not just handing this puppy out just because they call. DH and I decided to do this because we are experiencing the deadest summer in more than 6 years!!! Yes, this is our slow season but really it is DEAD. We will see what it does as the summer goes on..

I think you can blame the latest rising gas prices for the slowdown. It's hard for people to plan if they don't know what they are going to have to pay for gas as it is going up daily. Speculation in the stock market seems to be the culprit.

 

[gillumhouse]

I do discount for multi night stays as I find it sometimes will make someone extend their stay in order to receive one.
I started a new discount this month for the summer in connection with our 10th anniversary...rates dating back to 1999 for multi night stays, weeknights only. Yep, it is a hefty discount but they must ASK for it, I am not just handing this puppy out just because they call. DH and I decided to do this because we are experiencing the deadest summer in more than 6 years!!! Yes, this is our slow season but really it is DEAD. We will see what it does as the summer goes on..

I think you can blame the latest rising gas prices for the slowdown. It's hard for people to plan if they don't know what they are going to have to pay for gas as it is going up daily. Speculation in the stock market seems to be the culprit.
.

I cannot agree with gas prices affecting anything. When gas was over $4 per gallon last year, I was busier than ever. I had posted on my specials somewhere that I would guarantee - with a 2-night or more stay - a price of no more than $2.25 per gallon for up to 15 gallons of gas. NO ONE asked for it!

 

[Willowpondgj]

We offer $10 bucks off for booking online or if your are coming to the college for an event. We have a 15% off same day special and we give our return guests a very special rate. That's pretty much a little something for everyone, so if they still want to haggle, I let them walk.

 

[SweetiePie]

I do discount for multi night stays as I find it sometimes will make someone extend their stay in order to receive one.
I started a new discount this month for the summer in connection with our 10th anniversary...rates dating back to 1999 for multi night stays, weeknights only. Yep, it is a hefty discount but they must ASK for it, I am not just handing this puppy out just because they call. DH and I decided to do this because we are experiencing the deadest summer in more than 6 years!!! Yes, this is our slow season but really it is DEAD. We will see what it does as the summer goes on..

I think you can blame the latest rising gas prices for the slowdown. It's hard for people to plan if they don't know what they are going to have to pay for gas as it is going up daily. Speculation in the stock market seems to be the culprit.
.

I cannot agree with gas prices affecting anything. When gas was over $4 per gallon last year, I was busier than ever. I had posted on my specials somewhere that I would guarantee - with a 2-night or more stay - a price of no more than $2.25 per gallon for up to 15 gallons of gas. NO ONE asked for it!
.

How were you able to do that? Do you own a gas station?

 

[gillumhouse]

I do discount for multi night stays as I find it sometimes will make someone extend their stay in order to receive one.
I started a new discount this month for the summer in connection with our 10th anniversary...rates dating back to 1999 for multi night stays, weeknights only. Yep, it is a hefty discount but they must ASK for it, I am not just handing this puppy out just because they call. DH and I decided to do this because we are experiencing the deadest summer in more than 6 years!!! Yes, this is our slow season but really it is DEAD. We will see what it does as the summer goes on..

I think you can blame the latest rising gas prices for the slowdown. It's hard for people to plan if they don't know what they are going to have to pay for gas as it is going up daily. Speculation in the stock market seems to be the culprit.
.

I cannot agree with gas prices affecting anything. When gas was over $4 per gallon last year, I was busier than ever. I had posted on my specials somewhere that I would guarantee - with a 2-night or more stay - a price of no more than $2.25 per gallon for up to 15 gallons of gas. NO ONE asked for it!
.

How were you able to do that? Do you own a gas station?
.

If you do the math it came to about $30 max. The guewst would have to pay $2.25 per gallon of it. There was a 15 gallon limit - my tank is a littler over 10. it was a 2-night min. reservation offer. I gotthe idea from our grocery store - you spend $100 and you get a coupon for 20 cents off per gallon for up to 15 gallons. They are giving me about $20 per tank.
No one used it. Not one person asked about it. And the ONLY way to get to me is to drive! It is cheaper to fly into Pittsburgh and rent a car than to fly into our local airport. PITT is about 120 miles.

 

[egoodell]

My idea of a discount is to invite my old friend from the east to come out for a few days. I supply the rooms, they supply the food and booze. We party like rock stars for a few days. We all clean the place spottless. They go home. Rates return to normal, and so does everything else.
Return guests alway get the last room rate. Always. If someone stays 5 nights or more, I may give a discount depending how hungry I am. I also have a seven night rule. Seventh night is always free. Seven nights in a row, or one night at a time over a year or more. That is about it for discounts..

My idea of a discount is to invite my old friend from the east to come out for a few days. I supply the rooms, they supply the food and booze. We party like rock stars for a few days. We all clean the place spottless. They go home. Rates return to normal, and so does everything else.

That's my kind of discount! I have friends coming this weekend. Stay free and pay for the wine tour and I'm thowing in upgrades on the tour. Time for us to take a weekend off and destress.
Riki

 

[wendydk]

I made our "Top Ten" repeat guests (all of whom have stayed anywhere from five to nine times in our six year history) the sole members of our "$30.00 club". $30.00 off per night, whenever...that way I would not be stuck with trying to think of what to offer if one of them called.
Otherwise, I only offer discounts for extended stays. Last year it was for stays of three more more nights, this year it's for stays of five nights or more.
Oddly enough, business shot through the roof when another Innkeeper told me that I was underpricing my rooms and I should raise rates, especially on my cheapest room. It worked...I guess perception really is everything. That was hard to get used to after all the years in the hotel business....you know they have a discount for everydarnthing.

 

[EmptyNest]

I made our "Top Ten" repeat guests (all of whom have stayed anywhere from five to nine times in our six year history) the sole members of our "$30.00 club". $30.00 off per night, whenever...that way I would not be stuck with trying to think of what to offer if one of them called.
Otherwise, I only offer discounts for extended stays. Last year it was for stays of three more more nights, this year it's for stays of five nights or more.
Oddly enough, business shot through the roof when another Innkeeper told me that I was underpricing my rooms and I should raise rates, especially on my cheapest room. It worked...I guess perception really is everything. That was hard to get used to after all the years in the hotel business....you know they have a discount for everydarnthing..

Yes, perception is everything. Discounting often times draws the kind of people we don't want at a B & B...but they are looking for a bargain.

 

[JBloggs]

I made our "Top Ten" repeat guests (all of whom have stayed anywhere from five to nine times in our six year history) the sole members of our "$30.00 club". $30.00 off per night, whenever...that way I would not be stuck with trying to think of what to offer if one of them called.
Otherwise, I only offer discounts for extended stays. Last year it was for stays of three more more nights, this year it's for stays of five nights or more.
Oddly enough, business shot through the roof when another Innkeeper told me that I was underpricing my rooms and I should raise rates, especially on my cheapest room. It worked...I guess perception really is everything. That was hard to get used to after all the years in the hotel business....you know they have a discount for everydarnthing..

Yes, perception is everything. Discounting often times draws the kind of people we don't want at a B & B...but they are looking for a bargain.
.

Yes, perception is everything. Discounting often times draws the kind of people we don't want at a B & B...but they are looking for a bargain.

old ladies with purple hair and poodles to match

 

[Tim_Toad_HLB]

I made our "Top Ten" repeat guests (all of whom have stayed anywhere from five to nine times in our six year history) the sole members of our "$30.00 club". $30.00 off per night, whenever...that way I would not be stuck with trying to think of what to offer if one of them called.
Otherwise, I only offer discounts for extended stays. Last year it was for stays of three more more nights, this year it's for stays of five nights or more.
Oddly enough, business shot through the roof when another Innkeeper told me that I was underpricing my rooms and I should raise rates, especially on my cheapest room. It worked...I guess perception really is everything. That was hard to get used to after all the years in the hotel business....you know they have a discount for everydarnthing..

Yes, perception is everything. Discounting often times draws the kind of people we don't want at a B & B...but they are looking for a bargain.
.

Yes, perception is everything. Discounting often times draws the kind of people we don't want at a B & B...but they are looking for a bargain.

In this economy, everybody including the most considerate, B&B savvy, repeat guests are feeling the pinch and the vast majority seem to genuinely appreciate any gesture we offer to lessen the burden of them trying to still take vacations in the midst of the most trying economic times in most people's lives.
We have one goal here. Put heads in beds to pay the bills. We'll take our chances on the occassional bargain hunter who might or might not abuse our generosity in order to keep pushing the rock up the hill.
Our room rates are such that we are attracting mostly working and middle class folks only. We feel their pain too, can relate to it and empathize with them. We're all in this together, guests included.