Lay My Hat

I've read about lots of experiences on here, and had my own thoughts, but it was interesting to realise how I actually felt when we had a "would you take £xxx" email of our own.

In brief, it was an enquiry for one couple for two weeks. We always offer a 10% discount for one couple in our two bedroom properties, and I knocked a little bit off to reflect reduced cleaning costs for a two week stay. I emailed detailing both the normal full rate and the discounted rate of £895 we were offering.

Here's the reply:

The property looks great and we would like to book it ,if still available,but the price is rather high as there will only be two of us. I would be happy to pay £800 for the two weeks ,which apperars to be the going rate for a one bedroom cottage, and wonder if you would agree to this.

Spit. Grrrrrr. Put business head on - does it make sense? Well no, it devalues our (probably already under priced as it turns out) product. It's a request for a discount for no good reason. Take business head off and spit again. It's interesting to experience first hand the emotional reaction.

Okay, put business head back on, have coffee, construct reply - having had a quick look at the website of a nearby owner whom we know and whose places we've been to see.

Whilst we appreciate your interest, we know that we represent very good value for properties of a very high standard, particularly in such an enviable location, and we are therefore unable to entertain offers. We've checked for you with a nearby owner who has a one bedroom property of a high standard and whom we are happy to recommend, but her week rate is £495 and she doesn't have availability for the 2 weeks, so unfortunately we can't help.

But the really interesting part to me was what I thought and felt having sent the email. I really didn't want them to accept my quoted rate and book after all. Heart ruling head? Possibly - but in my mind a real possibility of nit-picking if they did stay; we're on site and life's too short for pointless hassle.

They didn't book; had a response: Very many thanks for your assistance and I appreciate the trouble you have taken

So a very polite email transaction, and nothing like the rudeness experienced by others here, but enough to enable me to understand just how much of a bad taste is left in the mouth by the "you're not worth what you're asking" approach.

Useful outcome though - I've confirmed a suspicion that we're too cheap!

GB, I recently had an email from a previous guest who booked at full price last time, asking for a large (unspecified) discount as he wanted to book the apartment for his wife's birthday. I pointed to our 'previous guest' discount code in my recent newsletter, and left it at that. He replied politely that it was still too expensive. I still have the week vacant so don't know yet whether I did the right thing.

I'm feeling dreadful as I just gave a massive reduction for my last week in peak to some repeat guests who stayed off peak last time. It seems you can't win either way.

LV, I think we need to toughen up..

Good on you for your standing your ground, GB.

I've only ever had one of these and it was very early on and very last minute (two or three days prior to arrival). Our rates were already reduced due to the late availability, but it was early days for us and I was keen to get every booking we could.

I accepted the offer, met the couple on arrival and they were perfectly pleasant. They've expressed an interest in coming again but I'm not sure they will because I won't be lowering prices like that again now, and yet I think it's something they might expect.

Why be offended by someone offering to buy, albeit at a lower price, what you are offering to sell at a higher price?

Let’s be realistic, the “list price” we choose to offer our accommodation at is neither the lowest breakeven price we might accept nor the highest we might, on occasion, be able to achieve. There is no magic formula for determining exactly where our list price comes between the lower and higher limits, so long as it comes between the two – otherwise we have no profit or no turnover. We need both.

If we offer at different prices in different seasons we are demonstrating that we are flexible where pricing is concerned unless the difference is explained exclusively by varying seasonal costs (summer air conditioning vs. winter central heating, for example) rather than by varying demand. The same applies if we offer discounts for, say, returning guests or early or late bookings.

Personally, I would rather have a potential guest make a specific counter offer than get no response at all. I don’t feel any obligation to accept the counter offer.

Despite the lower price, an important difference is that the final decision is made by us (do we sell at £xxx?) rather than by our guest (does he/she buy at £yyy?).

Just my $0.02 (less a small discount for cash?).

RichardHenshall wrote:...an important difference is that the final decision is made by us (do we sell at £xxx?)...

Indeed, we do have the final stay in confirming whether we are prepared to accept a particular price. However, my own (limited) experience isn't that the guest says "do we sell at £xxx?" but rather "I'll pay you £xxx". I personally think that when they feel they can dictate the terms in this way, it comes across as 'a little pushy' at best and perhaps 'offensive' at worst.

We also get pushy types who, with good reason, expect to get (usually bad) accommodation in this area for peanuts. We are so far over their idea of peanuts that they just say 'OK, now I know (what you charge)' and go away. On the other hand, some people do have an idea what a particular holiday is worth to them and how much they can reasonably afford. OK, so it's below your going rate and you don't need the booking so you can refuse it. Equally, some of us like the fact that we are not working for a conglomerate and can give lower prices if we want to. Out of season, there has been more than one occasion when we have given a large family or group 2 apartments instead of one at no extra charge. Other times, we just liked the way they asked and felt like negotiating. Other times we just needed the money. Obviously, you have calculated very precisely exactly what you think your property is worth and want to stick with it and that's fine for you. Personally, I like being a small business and able to be flexible. We ARE a business and we rarely do deals because we need to maximise income but I like the freedom to be able to do deals if I want to. I certainly don't have a precise idea of what our apartments are 'worth'.

la vache! wrote:I'm feeling dreadful as I just gave a massive reduction for my last week in peak to some repeat guests who stayed off peak last time. It seems you can't win either way.

Not again LV - you'll get a reputation as a pushover

Marks wrote: Not again LV - you'll get a reputation as a pushover

I'm thinking of registering as a charity next year.
In my case, they made an offer, I refused, they made a higher offer, I refused again and then I proposed my very best price, thinking they would probably refuse. They didn't. At least they are very nice guests and there are only 8 instead of 12 people. And I now don't have that week left to shift (not that it would have been too much of a problem in August).

la vache! wrote: I'm thinking of registering as a charity next year.

Oh LV what are we to do with you!

You presumably wouldn't have made an offer that you weren't happy to make, LV?

Or did you?

I think I offered too low a price. A 15% discount rather than a 20% would have been a much better offer. But a bird in the hand...
Plus I live next door to the house they have booked and so I have the guarantee of nice neighbours for that week. There is no way I would have offered a price if they hadn't been a) repeat guests and b) very nice and c) if my bookings generally weren't OK this year.

Look at the bright side... maybe they wouldn't have accepted if you said the best you could do was 15% off.

Personally, my suspicion is that you should be a bit more hard-nosed. If it's a week that you are likely to have booked regardless, then I think I'd be inclined to hold out. But it's your call and there should be nobody better positioned than you, LV, to know what is and isn't a good deal for your place.

Looking at your calendar LV, your extremely healthy bookings suggest you may be too cheap. BUT what price is peace of mind if you have the stress over and done with of booking your place out for the majority of your season?

I have a reasonable amount of bookings but the next month still remains thin on the ground. I also have four peak weeks left to sell. So I question whether I should discount sooner to get the "bird in the hand" feeling?

I have lost a couple of bookings because I was too expensive for this low season. Now I have to decide how low do I go, or are the bookings I want just not out there? I would rather fill my place at a slightly lower price than have it stand empty. No easy answers as always, and I'm definitely still learning.