Price Is a Strategy: How Smart Discounts Win You More Bookings on Every Channel

Discounts: a last resort or a strategy?

Most hosts treat discounts as a last resort: something to switch on when the calendar stays empty. The big booking channels see it differently. Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and Vrbo all reward listings that use promotions on purpose, with more visibility, better placement and access to their most valuable guests.

This guide shows which discount fits which goal, whichever channels you sell on.

Price is the first thing guests look at

Across channels, travellers say the same thing. In Expedia Group's 2025 Traveler Value Index, travellers ranked price as the most important factor when booking a vacation rental. Booking.com data shows that 62% of travellers are more price-conscious when planning trips, and 55% say they are more likely to search for promotions.

The channels' search algorithms reflect this. They compare your total price with similar listings for the same dates. A competitive price, combined with consistently good quality, helps you rank higher. And the channels' own numbers show what promotions can do:

Discounts are not price cuts

Used well, a discount is a signal to the channel and to the guest. On the major channels, an active promotion can unlock some or all of the following:

• Badges and strikethrough prices that make your listing stand out in search results.

• Dedicated search filters, for example for last-minute or early-booking deals.

• Better placement in search results.

• Inclusion in the channel's own marketing, such as emails, app placements and campaigns.

A guest who sees "10% off" next to a crossed-out price reacts very differently from one who just sees a slightly lower number.

Price and quality belong together

Guests judge your place before they arrive, based on photos, description and price. If the stay falls short of what the price promised, reviews suffer. If it meets or beats expectations, you earn the 5-star reviews that drive visibility on every platform. The right discount helps you hit that balance.

The toolkit: one goal, one discount

Every discount has a job. Start with what you want to achieve, then pick the discount that does it:

1. Fill your calendar earlier: early-booking discounts

Reward guests who plan ahead. You get earlier occupancy, steadier cash flow and less pressure later. On Airbnb, bookings with an early-bird discount come in about 2.6 times further ahead than those without. Vrbo's early-booking promotion covers stays booked 60 or more days in advance and has its own search filter. Booking.com offers an Early Booker deal for the same purpose.

2. Fill empty nights: last-minute discounts

Use these to fill short-term gaps, not as a permanent setting, so guests don't learn to wait for deals. On Airbnb, listings with a last-minute discount saw about 2% more bookings per year. Vrbo's last-minute promotion covers bookings 0–30 days before check-in, has its own search filter and was the most-used promotion after Vrbo launched its promotions suite. Booking.com offers a Last-minute Deal.

3. Longer stays, less turnover: weekly and monthly discounts

Fewer changeovers mean lower cleaning costs and fewer gaps between stays. On Airbnb, about 60% of 7–28 night bookings use a weekly discount, and those bookings bring about 2.8 times more nights. On Vrbo, length-of-stay discounts stack with one other promotion, so they keep working alongside your other deals.

4. Win the best guests: loyalty and member discounts

Every big channel has a loyalty audience that books more, spends more and tends to be more reliable. A discount just for them is one of the strongest levers you have.

• Booking.com Genius: according to Booking.com, partners see on average 70% more search views, 45% more bookings and 40% more revenue, measured after the cost of the discount.

• Expedia and Vrbo Members Only Deals: Expedia Group's loyalty members generate about three times the gross bookings per customer of non-members. Properties offering a deal of 20% or more saw about 25% higher booking value than those offering 10%.

• Airbnb Top-rated guests discount (15%): estimated to bring about 24% more nights booked and 19% more booking value. These are also the guests most likely to leave a 5-star review.

5. Reach the mobile majority: mobile-only discounts

Most bookings now happen on a phone. On Booking.com, 59% of bookings are made on a mobile device, and a mobile rate brings about 22% more bookings from mobile traffic. On Airbnb, 65% of bookings happen in the app. Vrbo offers mobile promotions as well.

6. Launch strong: new-listing promotions

A new listing with no reviews is hard to sell. A launch discount brings in the first guests, and the first reviews, quickly. On Airbnb, new listings with the promotion saw 70% or more extra bookings and nearly twice as many reviews in their first three months. Vrbo offers a new-listing promotion for the first 90 days after a property goes live.

Combine, but set a floor

Discounts can stack, and a higher total discount can unlock more visibility. Each channel has its own stacking rules. On Airbnb, the Top-rated guests and Mobile-only discounts combine with most other discounts. On Booking.com, a mobile rate comes on top of Genius. On Vrbo, length-of-stay discounts stack with the strongest single promotion.

Before you combine, decide your lowest acceptable nightly rate. Then build your discounts down from a base price you're comfortable with, not from today's price.

Pick your goal

• Fill the calendar earlier: start with an early-booking discount.

• Fill empty nights short term: start with a temporary last-minute discount.

• Longer stays, less turnover: start with weekly and monthly discounts.

• More high-value guests and better reviews: start with loyalty and member discounts (Genius, Members Only Deals, Top-rated guests).

• Reach mobile bookers: start with a mobile-only discount or mobile rate.

• Launch a new listing: start with a new-listing promotion.

• Maximum visibility: combine two or three, for example a loyalty discount, a mobile discount and an early-booking discount.

Your next step

Pick one or two discounts this week, switch them on and check your results after 4–6 weeks. Not every discount is available on every channel or for every pricing model, so check what applies to your setup and start with the strongest fit.

With Beds24, you can set up and manage promotions for Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and Vrbo directly in your control panel, and Beds24 sends them to the channels automatically.

Figures come from data published by Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia Group and Vrbo, partly via their partner materials. They are averages or estimates from different periods and markets. Most compare listings with and without a feature, so they don't prove cause and effect. Your results depend on your listing, market, season and pricing, and are not guaranteed. Availability of discounts and visibility features varies by channel, market and connected software, and channels may change them at any time.