How negotiable are prices of rentals??

[ChrisinNJ]

Have you been able to negotiate with the renters you have dealt with?

Have you been able to get them to lower the price?

Throw in the pool heat without the extra charge?

Will homeowners/ renters negotiate if you are booking months in advance, or only last minute?

Christine

 

[isla bonita]

It dosn't hurt to ask. All they can say is no thank you.

 

[FoggyToad]

Just from my personal experience, I would say the farther out you are requesting to negotiate the less likely your owner will desire to do so. When I've politely requested the "lowest rate possible" I usually get their standard rental rate. When I follow up with another polite request asking for negotiation on the stated rates, only a couple owners have lowered their rates and then it's a very small amount. The latest I've booked is about six weeks out because I get too nervous waiting any longer than that. From postings I've read, most homeowners are not making much profit on their rentals unless they keep the units rented almost year round. There are many expenses for homeowners that we don't always think about. It never hurts to ask especially if you're booking last minute. In that case, I'm sure homeowners would gladly lower their rate rather than have the unit empty for that time period. JMHO!

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Some owners will discount if you stay longer - others will negotiate the rate - but we tent to book for 2 or 3 weeks at a time. How long is your stay?

 

[MommyTo5]

We were able to negotiate a slightly-better-than-originally-quoted rate for our stay in a Windsor Hills townhome during MLK week later this month. Original rate was to be $800 for 8 nights, but we are paying just $760. This is a flat rate which includes pool heat, taxes, etc... which I think is a truly excellent deal!

As far as the original quotes we received, we found that once we added pool heat and tax to many of these, they were nearly double the amount above! DOUBLE! Can you believe that? For the exact same structure with the exact same splash pool! We are VERY budget-minded and don't feel it necessary to pay hundereds of extra dollars for the owners' specialty paint, designer couches, or plasma TVs. We spend most of our time in the parks anyway and think of what we could do with an extra $700!

Anyway, we picked our 3 favorites (which happened to be the 3 that were offering the lowest total cost combined with our 1 must: a high chair) and I took the advice that I read here on the DIS! I emailed them and explained our siuation and asked if the price was at all flexible. It worked!

By the way, we booked right at 2 months out and I do think things are more negotiable the closer you are to your trip dates.

 

[Robinrs]

In my world all things are negotiable! If not, then I take my business to the guy who is willing to negotiate.

I ask for a full price total. Including taxes, cleaning, heating fees etc. Then I compare the rates, the location, and the amenities. If I see I have one that is a bit higher with everything I want I ask for the total I am willing to pay. You take it from there.

I just returned Monday from a wonderful trip, stayed at Vista Cay in a 3 bedroom that is usually $175 a night, I paid $125. Of course, like in real estate the "location location location" mantra turns to time of year when it comes to rentals. Always ceck their availability calendar. One time I saw an owner had 3 free days between two booked weeks. He gave those days to me for $150! And that was July 4th week!

 

[MommyTo5]

Always ceck their availability calendar. One time I saw an owner had 3 free days between two booked weeks. He gave those days to me for $150! And that was July 4th week!

I agree with this! Back in 2002, we stayed in a beautiful 4-bdrm pool home in Indian Point (at least I think it was Indian Point... behind WalMart on 192, near Medieval Times) and we filled a 10-day gap in the owners' late availability calendar and paid $60-ish a night including pool heat, taxes, etc...! We loved the home so much that we actually stayed again on our next trip and although we didn't get as good of a deal, the owner did give us $50 off our stay as a repeat renter - so that's another possible way to save money on a rental!