Do you negotiate the rate of house/villa/condo rental?

[Badamon]

Looking to rent again through VRBO/Homeaway and wondering if anyone has negotiated a rate with an owner/manager? Do you pay the full asking amount or have you haggled? Have you waited until last minute to book and make a deal?
Thanks for your input!

 

[Woodview]

As an owner of a 5 bed Villa .... I will throw the question back to you .

Do you haggle over the price of Theme Park tickets & all that goes

with them ?

Do you argue over the price of airline tickets ( after seeking & seeing the

best price ) ?

I know we all like the best rate & bargains that we can get .

.....................

As a European if we wish to go to Orlando , we Have to go by

air or sometimes by boat, and the price ,,,, is take it or leave it .

We have to rent a car .... if we wish to have one , and you pay

the asking price . or forget it.

Theme Park tickets Pay Up or don't Go


The villa owner is the last link in the chain of your vacation.

So why not pay a fair asking price .

 

[sympatico]

I don't think I've ever haggled about the price. They've usually given me a price that is better than what's on their website. If the quote is too high I just look till I find another place with the rate I want. Owners know how much they need to cover their costs better than I do so I don't argue about the price. I just move on if it's too high.

 

[Badamon]

As an owner of a 5 bed Villa .... I will throw the question back to you .

Do you haggle over the price of Theme Park tickets & all that goes

with them ?

Do you argue over the price of airline tickets ( after seeking & seeing the

best price ) ?

I know we all like the best rate & bargains that we can get .

.....................

As a European if we wish to go to Orlando , we Have to go by

air or sometimes by boat, and the price ,,,, is take it or leave it .

We have to rent a car .... if we wish to have one , and you pay

the asking price . or forget it.

Theme Park tickets Pay Up or don't Go


The villa owner is the last link in the chain of your vacation.

So why not pay a fair asking price .

Thanks for your reply. My question certainly wasn't meant to be an insult or disrespectful. It was meant to open up discussion on this subject and to get other opinions, and I appreciate yours. As owners of long-term rental properties here at home, I do understand the expenses involved with owning property and the rental process, both positive and negative.

You are correct, not all aspects of a vacation are easily negotiable. Accommodations are. Take hotels for instance. Not many people pay “rack rate” when making reservations. Typically, one asks for the best rate, a discount or upgrade. I’m at a loss as to what makes the vacation villa/house/condo rental process different. Is it unheard of for an owner to absorb the sales tax, cleaning fee or pool heat charge for the length of stay or to offer a discount for these items? Why? Perhaps for some owners the profit margin is so narrow that it’s not affordable to do so? Owners certainly can choose not to participate, but is it really taboo to ask? I typically negotiate when renting a car, buying a house, and furniture. I receive discounts when paying cash at certain retailers; I negotiate when purchasing something on Craigslist and Ebay.

I believe you are mistaken to think that so many suppliers are not willing to negotiate. Sometimes I think you just have to ask.

 

[Badamon]

Thanks for your reply, Wanda. We've rented many times before and love, love, love the house rental route, too!

 

[kathy884]

I usually do timeshare rentals from sites like TUG2.net and Redweek.com. I haven't negotiated for Orlando, but that's because there have always been enough rentals out there for the week I want at a fair price. I get one of those and don't contact people who have nice units that seem overpriced to me, above market value.

I did, though, one time negotiate for a Marriott timeshare rental in West Palm Beach. I needed two "two bedroom units" that slept 8 for our spring break week. I booked one right away from someone who indicated they were interesting in trading on TUG2.net. They were going to trade their unit for a cruise discounts though Marriott, but rented to me instead, for what I thought was a fair price, $1200 for the week. Most other places aren't as overbuilt as Orlando and usually prices are higher. // Retail these were $450 a night ($480 if taxi is included) I then on TUG2 also saw someone else with a for rent price for the same resort for my week. Crazy, though, they were asking $3000 for the week, way more than I would pay for an owner rental. I emailed them and told them that I had another rental for the same week for $1200 and would love to rent from them, but for that same price, which is in the range that I can typically get an owner rental for. They said, no way and that they could easily rent it for way more. I kept things friendly and said contact me if you change your mind, as I'm really interested if they would be willing to come down in price. This was 11 months before my spring break. In the meantime, I booked a hotel room at an adjacent property (not anywhere near as nice as the condo -- something, though at the $200 dollar price point retail) that I could cancel and kept looking, but didn't see anything else at a reasonable price for my week. And what do you know, the Marriott timeshare owners contacted me 10 months later, one month before my spring break and told me they would rent to me for $1200 for the week if I was still interested. I grabbed it and canceled the hotel room. Anyway I was thrilled to have two units at a good price here.

I also one time in Cancun couldn't find a reasonable rental for a week at a timeshare I wanted to rent from, so looked for people who had my week who were trying to sell their units for really high prices that they could never get and I knew they wouldn't be able to sell. Anyway I contacted a guy about three months before my spring break about renting and he rented to me for $1200 for the week, the same price he would get from the complex if they rented it for him. From me it was a sure thing and he thought I seemed really trustworthy. From them, he'd only get the money if they were successful in renting it out. I saw a bunch of overpriced sale units but picked to contact him, as he had the perfect ocean front location vs. others who were in side building (got a map of the resort online.)

 

[Judyat]

We don't haggle. We just look around for the best fair price for what we want and book it when we find it.

 

[Brian Noble]

Now that I'm a timeshare owner, I'm (thankfully) out of the renting-in-Orlando business. But, back in the day, I didn't haggle with an individual owner. Instead, I would get several quotes from several different owners and take the best combination of price/features based on what is important to me.

On the other side of the ledger, some of the timeshare "landlords" I know who rent often will stop working with a prospect if they start haggling and instead tell them that the unit was booked by someone else and to look elsewhere. They tell me that such people often turn out to be difficult to work with throughout the rental process, and it is just not worth it.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

I don't think I've ever haggled about the price. They've usually given me a price that is better than what's on their website. If the quote is too high I just look till I find another place with the rate I want. Owners know how much they need to cover their costs better than I do so I don't argue about the price. I just move on if it's too high.

I agree, when I rented a condo for nearly 3 weeks last year I got a better price than advertised (you do normally get a discount for over 2 weeks). Also the owner threw in a late last day which we really appreciated

 

[disneysteve]

I can't say that I've exactly "haggled" if by that you mean some sort of back and forth exchange about the price. I certainly have asked for and gotten a better price than what was listed on the website numerous times. This has been especially true when we were booking a 2-week stay. I suppose the owner was willing to come down a bit to lock in a 14-day rental.

When I submit my request for a quote, I always say something to the effect of, "Please give me your best price for these dates." Frequently, the response I get is for a rate lower than what is listed on the website.

As for waiting until the last minute, I do that all the time. Well, maybe not the last minute, but pretty late by most people's standards. I typically book no more than about 8 weeks out. There are hundreds and hundreds of great rentals so there is never a problem finding one where we want to be.

 

[Badamon]

Jennii, Coming from a background of extensive hotel management experience I encourage you to give it a try! Most hoteliers are eager to please, want you to be happy and quite frankly it costs next to nothing for upgrades.

 

[Mysteria]

I can't say that I've exactly "haggled" if by that you mean some sort of back and forth exchange about the price. I certainly have asked for and gotten a better price than what was listed on the website numerous times. This has been especially true when we were booking a 2-week stay. I suppose the owner was willing to come down a bit to lock in a 14-day rental.

When I submit my request for a quote, I always say something to the effect of, "Please give me your best price for these dates." Frequently, the response I get is for a rate lower than what is listed on the website.

As for waiting until the last minute, I do that all the time. Well, maybe not the last minute, but pretty late by most people's standards. I typically book no more than about 8 weeks out. There are hundreds and hundreds of great rentals so there is never a problem finding one where we want to be.

This is pretty much what I do as well. Though I have to do it a little earlier since we travel with animals.

 

[7165red]

No, we always accept the asking price.

 

[disneysteve]

As an owner of a 5 bed Villa .... I will throw the question back to you .

Do you haggle over the price of Theme Park tickets & all that goes

with them ?

Do you argue over the price of airline tickets ( after seeking & seeing the

best price ) ?

I have to say yes to both of these questions. In fact, you say yes to the second one when you say "after seeking & seeing the best price". I always check multiple sources to find the best deal. I don't buy my park tickets directly from Disney because I know I can get them cheaper from Undercover Tourist. And I don't buy plane tickets based on the first price that pops up when I search. I shop around and buy once I've found what I feel is the best price. Same for hotels.

So why would I blindly pay the posted price for a rental property. I see no harm in asking for a better deal. If the owner says no, so be it. That doesn't mean I won't rent the property if I feel the price is fair but I'd be stupid not to ask the question. I've rented many rental homes over the past 20 years. I doubt that I've paid the posted price more than a few times.

 

[Ksquared]

I'm not a big negotiator, but I have asked for a better price when renting.

We rented a house last year for 10 days and I was happy with the quote given as it was over the holidays and the price was very fair. Then the owner lowered the price of the pool heat in half saying he knows it's an expensive time in Orlando. It was much appreciated.

When renting a timeshare off of redweek, I had two properties for the date I wanted. One I had stayed at prior and one I had not. I really wanted the first property that I had stayed previously but the rate was lower on the 2nd property and that property looked nice as well.

I asked the owner if he could go lower on price and he went down a little the first time I contacted him. I went back to him and explained I really wanted to rent from him but his price was a bit higher. He met me in the middle and even though I paid more than the 2nd place, I just felt it was right, he was better at communicating then the other person and I told him I ultimately chose him because of his willingness to work with us.

So sometimes I don't go with the best price but the person who is willing to work with me to make sure I have the best experience possible.

 

[OtherScott]

Looking to rent again through VRBO/Homeaway and wondering if anyone has negotiated a rate with an owner/manager? Do you pay the full asking amount or have you haggled? Have you waited until last minute to book and make a deal?
Thanks for your input!

I don't haggle, but I have offered lower than the posted rate, usually to get some throwaway fee removed. Not every owner has agreed and I have never paid the rate listed in the ad.

I have money and the owner has a rental. I want his rental and he wants my money. If there happens to me more of him than there are of me, I have the advantage. Vice versa.

Don't be afraid to ask, especially if the unit you want is priced a little higher than comparable units. But I wouldn't spend much time arguing about it.

 

[sluggozmom]

It never hurts to ask. And asking nicely always helps!

 

[upon-a-star]

I've never "haggled" per se, but I have filled in that little inquiry card with a line saying something along the lines of, "We're trying to keep our lodging budget to $XXXX inclusive of pool heat and taxes. Can you work with us?" Obviously some tell us no, they can't. But we have always had several who are willing to give us our price, and sometimes even beat it.

It never hurts to ask....

 

[ready2vacation]

I am also one that does not typically negotiate (car dealerships love me), but in renting a home this week for our May trip I had two good experiences:

1. Submitted an online inquiry to a foreign management company and mentioned that I had seen a 20% off deal on their Facebook page. What I didn't realize at the time was I had misread the terms and actually did NOT qualify. However, they offered me the discount anyway which I thought was very nice. However, for several reasons, we chose not to book with them.

2. We were seriously considering two homes in Reunion. One with All Star Vacation Homes (who we've always used) so we qualified for a loyalty discount. The other established company was not offering any specials so I emailed and asked if they had any specials for my dates and mentioned that we were waffling between All Star with the loyalty discount and their company. They responded quickly and matched the discount. I didn't point blank ask for anything special and wasn't expecting it, but was grateful that they offered it and booked immediately after that.

 

[disneysteve]

I thought of this thread last night. We are traveling to Richmond, VA next week. I had already booked a hotel for our stay but I decided to check VRBO to see if anything was available. Sure enough, there was a nice condo for rent close to where we want to be.

I checked the pricing on the site and it was showing a good price but was also going to charge a couple hundred dollars extra for a 3rd person. I contacted the owner and asked if he would waive that extra fee - and he did. So just by asking, we saved over $200.

It never hurts to ask.