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Email template to ask a vacation rental host for a better rate

You have found a house or apartment you want to rent for a trip and the total is higher than you hoped, or the place has open nights right around your dates and you suspect the owner would rather fill them than leave them empty. Rental owners set their own prices, and many will lower the nightly rate, waive a cleaning fee, or drop a minimum-stay rule if someone asks politely and gives them a reason. This works best for longer stays, last-minute bookings, and off-season dates. It rarely works on a holiday weekend that will sell anyway. Asking in writing, through the booking site's message tool or by email, keeps the offer on record and lets the owner reply when they have a minute.

Before you send

  • The exact dates and the number of guests. An owner cannot adjust a price for a vague request.
  • The current total for those dates, broken into nightly rate, cleaning fee, and service fee, so you know what you are asking to change.
  • A specific number you are asking for, and a reason that is true: a long stay, a weeknight booking, a return visit, or a gap in their calendar you noticed.
  • Whether you are ready to book today if they say yes. That is your strongest card, so only say it if you mean it.
  • A backup listing. Knowing you have another option keeps the ask relaxed.
Subject Question about [dates] at [property name or address] 
Hi [host's name],

Your place looks like a great fit for us. We're [a family of four / a couple / three friends] looking to stay from [check-in date] to [check-out date], [number] nights in total.

The listing currently comes to about [total] for those dates. I wanted to ask whether you'd consider [what you're asking for: a nightly rate, a waived cleaning fee, or a total amount] for the stay. [Your reason: midweek nights, open nights around yours, or a past stay with them], so I'm hoping there's a little room.

If that works, I'm ready to book as soon as you confirm. If not, no hard feelings, and I appreciate you taking a look.

Thanks,
[Your name]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • Most owners reply within a day. A yes usually arrives as a special offer or a custom price through the booking site, so book it before it expires.
  • A counteroffer in the middle is common and still a win. Take it if it beats your backup listing.
  • If the answer is a flat no, one polite follow-up is fine: ask whether an extra night or a different check-in day would change the math. Then let it go.
  • Never take the conversation off the booking site to pay by bank transfer or cash. A discount is not worth losing the site's payment protection.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Try to get a better rate on a vacation rental 
Hi StandIn,

Please ask the owner of a vacation rental whether they'll lower the price for our stay, and handle the reply.

The listing: [link or property name and city].
Dates: [check-in] to [check-out], [number] guests.
Current total: [amount], made up of [nightly rate, cleaning fee, service fee if you know them].
What I'm hoping for: [a target nightly rate or total, or "waive the cleaning fee"].
Why it's reasonable: [long stay, midweek, open nights around ours, return guest].
Ready to book: [yes, today / yes, once I see the offer].

If they say no, ask whether shifting the dates by a day would help, and if that fails, find two or three similar places nearby and ask them the same question so I can compare.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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