Getting the best possible deal on Airbnb is very doable when you know what to look for. There are plenty of discounts, coupons and crafty tactics to help land an awesome deal.

It all comes down to timing, choosing the right listing and even using a little bit of charm.

In this article, I will let you in on all the ways you can score the best deals when booking an Airbnb. Be it a one night stay, a week or even months at a time, if you follow these guides you will never pay full price again!

How do I find the best Airbnb deals?

Finding great accommodation on Airbnb is no longer a hard task. The company has very strict guidelines for hosts that they must follow. So much so that Airbnb may remove hosts that get consecutive bad reviews!

When searching for a property make sure to use the filters. This will make your life a lot easier and eliminate looking at listings that aren’t suitable. There are quite a few filters that you can use, even ones that narrow your search to hosts that supply shampoo.

Some important filters include:

• Suitable for Kids/Pets
• Type of Airbnb – Entire Place/Private Room
• How many bedrooms
• Price range
• Does it have heating/cooling

Once you have narrowed down what type of listing you want, you can then choose the location. Simply zoom in the map to only show listings in a certain area. This is great if you want to make sure you are central to everything. It is also good if you want to avoid certain neighborhoods.

Reviews are always your first go to once you find a listing that suits your needs. You can get a really good idea of what experience you will have by reading what others have to say.

You can also get a good feel of what the host is like by how they respond to good reviews and the bad ones too. For example, are their responses professional and friendly? Or do they respond to criticism in a hostile way?

So now you have chosen a listing that you like the look of. The reviews are looking good and it looks like they provide you with everything you will need. Now its time to book it in, make sure to read on to find out when the optimal time is to get the best deal.

What is the best time to book Airbnb?

The best time to book on Airbnb to secure the best deals is roughly ten six days before your trip. During this time prices will come down by as much as 18% as hosts try to fill their calendars.

Of course, there are other factors that will influence prices and availability.

For instance, take a busy city with 100’s of listings. These hosts must stay competitive and reduce prices to keep up with the competition. Whereas properties in a small tourist town are more likely to keep prices higher as there is less competition.

The worst time to book an Airbnb to get a good deal is 30 days or more in advance. There will be little to no discounts as hosts have plenty of time to sell those dates.

Book more nights than you need

As strange as it sounds, by booking more nights than you need can reduce the price of your stay.

Nope, we’re not crazy, it’s true! The majority of hosts will offer weekly and monthly discounts to guests. So if you only wanted to stay for 6 nights, by adding one more day to your trip you will qualify for the weekly discount.

Here is an example of this tactic in action. The first photo shows the total cost of a 6-day stay. The second photo shows the same property but with an additional day added.

The host has included a 20% discount for guests that book for more than 7 days. So in this case, it was cheaper to stay longer. See, not crazy at all!

This also works with month-long stays with most hosts offering big monthly discounts. In the example below, the first photo shows the total cost for a 27-night stay. Then in the second photo, if you add one more night, the price comes down by $430.25. A huge saving!

So if you plan on staying in one place for a week-long or month-long stay, it pays to shop around for discounts.

Is Airbnb cheaper last minute?

So is Airbnb cheaper at the last minute? Yes! Indeed it is.

In the same way that some hosts offer weekly and monthly discounts, they can also offer a last-minute discount.

This discount gets automatically applied when you enter in the dates you are looking for. But as the discounts are only around 5%, it’s not a very reliable way of getting a good deal on Airbnb.

Also, as you are booking last minute, guests will have snapped up most of the good value listings. As a result, you won’t have many listings to choose from remaining.

In summary, yes, Airbnb’s are cheaper at the last minute. However you’ll have a limited selection and the discount won’t be anything to write home about.

Can you negotiate with Airbnb?

Airbnb is very much like buying a new car, never accept the first offer.

Negotiating is one of the most effective ways to get the best Airbnb deal. But if you’re not careful, it could see you missing out on a great property.

The trick to negotiating with hosts is to be as respectful and polite as you can. If you follow these simple steps you should come away with that coveted discount:

Airbnb negotiation tips:

1. Select the dates and amount of guests and then scroll down to “The Host” section of the listing. Then click on the Contact Host button.
2. Here is where you let the host know why you are wanting to book their home and tell them a little more about yourself.
3. If the host is happy with your request to book, they will pre-approve you. Now is the time to ask for a discount. But remember you are dealing with a homeowner, not a company, so don’t be greedy and always be respectful.
4. If the host decides to give you a discount, they will send you a special offer for you to look over. If you are happy with the price you can accept the offer and you’re all booked in.
5. Here is an example of a message you could send to a host:

Hi David,

Thank you so much for pre-approving my stay. I love the look of your place and would love to call it home while I am visiting.

I was just wondering if it would be possible to get a discount for the 2 nights? Anything at all would help as I am traveling around the UK and am on a tight budget.

Thanks so much,P. Duckworth

Check other sites

Now I know I said deals on Airbnb, but hear me out here. Often a host will list their property on multiple platforms like HomeAway or Booking.com.

As price structures and service fees differ from platform to platform it always pays to check out other booking sites.

Short term rentals don’t really have a dedicated comparison site as yet, so here is a little trick to save time. Find the listing that you like and load up the photos. Click on the first photo to make it larger. Now right click on the photo and select “Search Google for this image”.

Google will then bring up any page that uses that photo. Its a little bit of work, but if it saves you a bit of cash its worth the effort.

Use a first booking coupon code

If you are not into asking for discounts, then using a coupon code is another less stressful way of getting a discount.

The discount can be as much as $50 off your first stay so it’s quite a saving if you can qualify for it. So how to you get this coupon?

All you need to do is ask someone that is already using Airbnb to send you a special code. Once they send it, you can use it on your first trip. Simple!

If you don’t know anyone on Airbnb you are more than welcome to use our BnbDuck coupon code.

The only downside to this coupon is that it can only be used once when booking your first stay. So in order to use this multiple times, you would need to keep creating new Airbnb accounts. This is a lot of effort for a discount, but believe me, a lot of people are doing it.

Offer your services

A great way to earn yourself a great deal on your next Airbnb stay is to offer up your services. Minds out of the gutter please! What I mean is, if you are an electrician or plumber, ask your host if they need any work done in exchange for a discounted rate.

You don’t even need to be a qualified tradesman to try this tactic out. Once you have checked into the property, you may notice the garden is very overgrown. Or the front fence needs painting? They might have a dog that needs walking or even need a babysitter for a night.

So keep an eye out and offer a helping hand, it may just score you a free nights stay!

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Look for new listings

Brand new listings are a little known way to snag a great deal.

In the first 2 weeks, new listings get a boost in the rankings. Therefore hosts will want to attract as many guests as they can during this time.

Hosts attract guests by lowering their prices. The more guests they can get in, the more reviews they will receive. Once they get a good review base the host will likely increase their prices.

New hosts are often enthusiastic and excited to get a booking and are more likely to give a discount when asked. So this coupled with an already great price could see you land an even better deal.

Sure there is more risk involved by booking an untested Airbnb. However there are some simple checks you can do before booking.

Finding new Airbnb listings:

1. Look over the photos carefully. It’s not hard to tell the difference between a serious host and one trying to make a quick dollar. Look for quality furniture, neatly made beds and nice accessories.
2. Read the description carefully. Go over everything that they offer and cross-reference what they say to what the photos show.
3. Ask questions. If you have any reservations about the listing, just ask the host. You can tell a lot about a host from their response time and how they reply to your questions.

So don’t feel put off by listings with little to no reviews as they can sometimes offer the best value.

Have a full profile page

Having a completed profile is the key to getting discounts. As a result, it creates trust between you and your potential hosts.

Think about it. If a guest wanted to stay in your home, would you choose the person with a verified ID? Or would you go with a guest who only has a verified email and nothing else?

Check out the list below of verification that Airbnb allow. The more of these on your profile, the better chance you’ll have of snaring a discount!

Airbnb profile example:

• Profile Photo (Of yourself, not your dog)
• Government Issued ID
• Email Address
• Phone Number
• Town, State (Home Town)
• Connected Social Accounts – Facebook, Google etc…
• Reviews From Other Hosts

These are the main areas a host will look at when deciding if you’re a good fit for their place. So fill in as much as you can.

Also, remember to leave reviews after every Airbnb stay that you complete. The reason being that you can build a base of good recommendations.

Do this and every host will want to welcome you into their home. I encourage you to check my detailed guide for some Airbnb profile examples.

In Summary…

So as you can see, getting the best deals on Airbnb isn’t all that difficult with a little bit of know-how.

Let’s go back over all the ways you can find the best Airbnb deals and discounts:

• Book at the optimal time of 10 – 6 days from your trip
• For longer stays, increase the number of days you are staying as it may work out cheaper once you activate the monthly and weekly discounts.
• Use your charm to negotiate a cheaper rate with the host.
• Take advantage of Airbnb’s first trip booking coupon code.
• Check other sites to compare the price on the same property
• Look out for brand new listings as they offer lower introductory rates.
• Build trust be completing your profile page and increase the chances of a host approving you

Happy deal hunting! And hopefully this guide helps you save plenty of money in the future.