Which Airbnb discounts show in search and which should I use?

A discount of 10% or more shows a strikethrough nightly price in search results and on your listing (Controlling your pricing, Airbnb Resource Center). Smaller discounts lower the total but show nothing in search. Only one primary discount applies to a reservation (Help Center article 3421). A 5% weekly discount stacked on a 5% early-bird gives the guest 5%, not 10%, and no strikethrough.

What are the Airbnb discount types and what does each show?

Airbnb lists six discount types for homes. The priority order comes from Hospitable, a vendor that documents the Airbnb rules.

Check the applied discount in the guest price preview when more than one offer could apply. Use the final payout to decide whether the reservation meets your margin.

Two more thresholds apply across types. At 20% or more, guests who searched your area recently may see your listing in Airbnb emails. Airbnb publishes no data on how many guests those emails reach. A separate non-refundable option gives 10% off and lets you keep the payout whatever the guest does.

How do I get the strikethrough price in search?

Set any of the primary discounts at 10% or more. The old nightly price appears crossed out next to the discounted one, in results and on the listing page. The path is the same for every type.

1. Open your calendar and select Pricing. Services and experiences use the listing editor instead.
2. Select Discounts.
3. Choose the type and enter the percentage.
4. For early-bird and last-minute, set the day window the discount covers.
5. Check a date in search as a guest would, with the trip length that triggers the discount.

Step 5 catches the common mistake. A weekly discount shows a strikethrough only when the guest searches 7 nights or more. A 2-night search shows nothing, because the discount does not apply to that stay.

Why do my discounts not add up?

Because Airbnb applies one primary discount per reservation. When a booking qualifies for several, the top one in the priority order wins and the others are ignored. Hospitable lists the order as new listing, custom, length-of-stay, early-bird, last-minute.

Say you run a 20% new listing promotion and a 15% weekly discount. A guest books 7 nights as your second booking. The guest gets 20%, not 35%, and the weekly discount does nothing. After your third booking, the promotion ends and the same 7-night guest gets 15%.

The exception is the top-rated guest discount. Airbnb says any of the primary types "may be combined with" that one. Airbnb publishes no percentage for the top-rated guest discount.

Should I use the new listing promotion?

The new listing promotion takes 20% off your first 3 bookings. It clears the 10% strikethrough bar and the 20% email bar on its own. Three considerations decide it.

• Reviews. Guest Favorite status considers at least 5 reviews, strong ratings and reliability. Airbnb publishes no fixed 4.9 rating cutoff. Three fast bookings are three chances at those reviews.
• Smart Pricing. Hospitable reports the promotion requires Smart Pricing to be off. Airbnb's discount article does not state this. Check the toggle when you switch the promotion on.
• Cost. The 20% comes out of your rate. On a 100-per-night rate and three 3-night bookings, you give up 180 in total.

100 × 20% = 20 per night
3 bookings × 3 nights = 9 nights
9 × 20 = 180

In our audits the promotion pays off when the listing is otherwise finished. Switched on with eight photos and half the amenities unticked, the promotion burns 20% on an unfinished listing.

Which discount should I use for my listing?

Pick by the problem you are solving. Set one discount, because only one applies per booking.

• Empty calendar 2 to 4 months out: early-bird. The callout starts at 3%, but set 10% or more if you want the strikethrough.
• Gaps this week: last-minute at 10% or more. Callout and strikethrough both start at 10%.
• Cleaning fee folded into the rate: weekly or monthly. The discount rebuilds the long-stay total and shows a strikethrough at 10% or more.
• Specific dates you need filled: custom promotion at 15% or more for the callout. Hospitable reports it needs 3 prior bookings and covers at most 50% of the nights in a month.
• Fewer than 3 bookings: the new listing promotion, with Smart Pricing off.

Airbnb publishes no data on which discount converts best. The thresholds decide what guests see. The rest is your margin.

What should you check before a discount goes live?

Preview the guest price for a short stay, a week and a month. Confirm which offer applies, how it is displayed, and what you receive after fees.

A visible discount is useful only if the resulting price attracts the guests you want at an acceptable margin. Check it again after changing Smart Pricing or adding another promotion.

Questions hosts ask

What is the strikethrough price on Airbnb?

The old nightly price crossed out next to the discounted one. Airbnb shows it in search and on the listing when a discount is 10% or more.

Do Airbnb discounts stack?

No. One primary discount applies per reservation. Only the top-rated guest discount combines with it.

What percentage should my weekly discount be?

At least 10% if you want the strikethrough. Below that the guest pays less and sees no signal in search.

Does the new listing promotion work with Smart Pricing?

Hospitable reports it requires Smart Pricing off. Airbnb's discount article does not mention the conflict, so check the toggle yourself.

Do weekly and monthly discounts override Smart Pricing?

Yes. Airbnb says weekly, monthly, and trip-length discounts override Smart Pricing.

Sources

• How search results work, Airbnb Help Center article 39, Airbnb, undated.
• Smart Pricing, Airbnb Help Center article 1168, Airbnb, undated.
• Discounts, Airbnb Help Center article 3421, Airbnb, undated.
• Controlling your pricing, Airbnb Resource Center, undated.
• Airbnb introduces Guest Favorites, Airbnb Newsroom, 2023.
• Airbnb discounts, Hospitable, undated.