Friends and family discount?

[Jonathan Bombaci]

We just finished renovating an investment condo in a vacation destination. We do quite a bit of long term rentals but this one was bought with the intention of using it ourselves and then renting it out when we're not using it. I think we bought it right and the mortgage + HOA fee ends up being about $1000 a month. Based on other comparable vacation rentals (in worse condition) in the same area we should be able to get $1200-$1500 per week. Which I see as a bonus since it's really a vacation spot for the family when we want to use it. We're able to support the monthly payments without renting it out but I like having assets, not liabilities, on our balance sheet.

I am pretty bad at saying no to people I like. The question is do we offer a “friends and family discount” of like 50% off to people we know that don’t book through Airbnb? The reason why I want to establish a rule early on is because I’m the kind of person that would let people use it for free but don’t want to back myself into a awkward situation.