Question about negotiating with guesthouse owners in rural Laos

I was staying at a small guesthouse in Luang Prabang last month, and the owner told me her rate was $15 a night. I asked if she could do $10 for a week stay, and she just laughed and said "you pay $15, I give you free breakfast and a ride to the waterfalls." That deal actually saved me like $20 total. Has anyone else had luck getting better rates by just being friendly and asking for extras instead of a straight discount?

2 comments

2 Comments

nancy1547d ago

A flat discount feels like haggling and they get tired of that fast. I got a free motorbike rental for two days by just asking if they had any bikes and then chatting with the owner about his kids for 20 minutes. He basically handed me the keys and said bring it back when you're done. The extras come way easier when you treat them like a person with a business to run, not a vending machine.

spencer_wood7d ago

Offer to let them keep the $5 if they throw in a cold Beerlao each night and call it a cultural exchange. That way you both feel like you won and the math stays fuzzy enough to not matter. Just don't try that at the fancier places with the pool, they'll hand you a bill for the iced coffee.