For many travelers, choosing an Airbnb stay is an affordable alternative to booking an expensive hotel. With over 6 million listings, Airbnb provides staying options even in places where hotels may not be available. Although the prices are generally reasonable, there are certain tips and hacks that can help minimize vacation rental costs even further. Even frequent users of the service might not be fully aware of the Airbnb booking hacks for securing better deals.
1. Use a few search filters
Most guests add several filters while looking for Airbnb stays online. There is a misconception that adding more filters will help users find homes with the best (or the most) amenities. This is not always true, as many Airbnb hosts offer fewer amenities than what they advertise on the app.
Users should identify this trend and refrain from adding more filters to the app. By not selecting many filters, users are likely to find hosts who do not get contacted as much as they have not listed more amenities and, therefore, do not appear on the list. Moreover, such hosts are likelier to offer great deals and discounts to users.
2. Reserve a longer stay
Hosts prefer the guests who will pay for longer stays in their rented Airbnb homes. To lure guests for a longer stay, hosts normally offer some of the best Airbnb deals and discounts to them. For guests who have the bandwidth for the same, one of the most useful tips for saving on vacation rentals is to book an Airbnb for at least 7 to 28 days to get weekly or monthly discounts, respectively. This discount gets applied automatically. Users will not see it reflected in the website interface until they click on the listing.
Here, one must remember that this is not a fixed discount. Many hosts may not offer this at all. This is why one must negotiate with one’s host to maximize the value of the Airbnb stays right before they finalize their reservation.
3. Take advantage of early bird discounts
In many cases, finding budget-friendly Airbnb stays does not require scanning through several comments and working incredibly hard. Many hosts attach early bird discounts to their listings. They also set their personal timeline for how far in advance guests can make reservations to score such discounts. In many instances, the timeline involves making reservations at least a year in advance. This is one of those Airbnb booking hacks for deals that unlocks substantial price cuts for rental vacation stays.
4. Check out the last page of search results
Searches on Airbnb’s portal can throw up to 18 result pages, which include all the Airbnb homes across different locations. These pages also reflect all the search results as per the filters used by the user. Usually, a vast majority of users pick and consider the listings on the first, second, third, fourth, or, at most, the fifth page. They generally do not bother with checking out the entries on the 16th or 17th page of the results.
The hosts who have not optimized their listings enough to bolster their ranking on the search engine results are often eager to accept bookings from guests. People making Airbnb bookings can get in touch with such hosts and ask whether they can offer price cuts on their listings to users. In many cases, guests do end up getting substantial discounts on their reservations.
5. Book recently-added properties
The Airbnb platform offers users special discounts when they make a reservation on homes with no reviews and no past guests. The first three bookings made on every new listing come with incredible discounts. Guests even get the option of stacking weekly or monthly discounts with such special offers.
The only risk involved in this process is that guests will not know what to expect from such vacation rental homes with no previous tenants. Nevertheless, booking recently added properties is one of the most affordable Airbnb tips for US travelers.
6. Update the Airbnb app to its latest version
Like other mobile applications, the Airbnb app also undergoes regular upgrades. With each update, the app refines its search engine results and offers more provisions for savings to users. The latest updates optimize the app for savings and offer guests price cuts on last-minute stays and host discounts. The suggestions could be like this: for people booking a 6-day stay, the app may suggest they extend their stay to 7 days to unlock a weekly discount on their booking.
7. Use the plus/minus feature
Many guests have successfully used the flexible +/- feature on Airbnb apps to save money. This is only useful for guests who are willing to be accommodative with their stay dates. When searching for Airbnb accommodations, one can select the “Exact Date” option or the +1, 2, 3, or 7-day alternative. This directs the Airbnb search function to look for available accommodation for the dates selected by the guests, plus a few days on either side. In many cases, doing so unlocks lucrative prices and deals for potential guests.
8. Ask the Airbnb host for a discount
Many hosts are incredibly straightforward to negotiate with. To maximize the value of Airbnb stays, they readily offer their guests price cuts and deals and, essentially, enhance the relationship with their short-term tenants. All one needs to do is ask the host of an Airbnb home for a discount directly.