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Hey guys I wanted to know what other barns offer for a multiple horse discount...... Thanks for your help!
How much for a multiple horse discount?
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At our barn, none. We board three horses at full price.
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We offer full care $350 for first horse, $300 for second horse and $275 for each horse after that.
We don't offer a discount, nor do any barns around here! The 2nd and 3rd horse still use shavings, eat grain, require someone to clean their stalls... Plus, once your barn fills up wouldn't you rather have the full board for every horse rather then a discounted board? Maybe not. But for most situations I think I would.
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Hey Starline,
My barn does offer a discount! it is for multiple horses, or full time college students.
I believe it is a 10% discount.
But...my barn I feel charges way to much. I will be moving my horses outside in a few months. I have 2 horses, but being inside the big barn is just to much for what you get.
HP
My barn does offer a discount! it is for multiple horses, or full time college students.
I believe it is a 10% discount.
But...my barn I feel charges way to much. I will be moving my horses outside in a few months. I have 2 horses, but being inside the big barn is just to much for what you get.
HP
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Some barns offer a discount and some don't but I would like to offer a multiple horse discount if they are good paying customers.
My theory is we put a lot of faith in people to pay board on time so that we can care for their horses as expected...if a person has 3 horses that is a good sum of money coming from one person and if that person is late or doesn't pay at all that hurts big time. I would like to offer a discount to customers with multiple horses that are in good standing because those are the customers I would like to retain.
I think 10% is a good starting point.
My theory is we put a lot of faith in people to pay board on time so that we can care for their horses as expected...if a person has 3 horses that is a good sum of money coming from one person and if that person is late or doesn't pay at all that hurts big time. I would like to offer a discount to customers with multiple horses that are in good standing because those are the customers I would like to retain.
I think 10% is a good starting point.
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I don't. For the reason that UPNOVER pointed out. No one in our area does either to my knowledge.
I do however offer discounted board for a mare/foal combination. Up until such a time that the foal is weaned, and being treated as a separate "entity" from the mare
I do however offer discounted board for a mare/foal combination. Up until such a time that the foal is weaned, and being treated as a separate "entity" from the mare
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I see what you're saying Starline. In our area it's common for the discounts. So we need to stay competitive. Thankfully our overheads are quite low so we're figuring we won't be disadvantaged by it.
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Upnover - Yes I would love to have everyone at full board! But I'm starting to learn to value GOOD customers. I have issues with boarders not paying on time and she does.. its worth it to me 
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Heck that sounds like a good idea to me - rewarding good customers. Word might get out that you rewqard good customers and voila - on time payments!
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In that case it works for you then.Upnover - Yes I would love to have everyone at full board! But I'm starting to learn to value GOOD customers. I have issues with boarders not paying on time and she does.. its worth it to me
I haven't had issues w/late payments yet...*knock on wood*
However, I have in my contract that interest is charged for each week that it is deemed late. Its amazing what a little incentive will do :wink:
I Also have different options for boarders. Credit card payment is available....but most will give me post dated checks for the entire year...that way the check is always cashed 1st of the month no matter what.
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I'm not positive on this, but I think my barn offers multiple horse discounts. Since I only have on horse, I can't be sure though, however.
Instead of thinking of it as a loss of profit, think of it this way: In a down economy, would you rather have a boarder who pays a discounted rate, on time, or would you rather have empty stalls? The first thing that draws people in to anything is how much it costs. If it ends up costing less the more you use it, then people will be more likely to buy it, use that service, etc.
My BO has also arranged a "board forgiveness" program. She takes off 50 dollars every 6 months, so we save 100 dollars a year on board. All you have to do is give her 30 days notice that you want to do that. Also, she's pretty lenient about late board paying. I once gave her the check for September on the 17th of September.....however, she knows that the economy is HORRIBLE here in Florida (10% unemployment) and we have a good solid group of boarders....everyone pays, so its just a matter of when.
Instead of thinking of it as a loss of profit, think of it this way: In a down economy, would you rather have a boarder who pays a discounted rate, on time, or would you rather have empty stalls? The first thing that draws people in to anything is how much it costs. If it ends up costing less the more you use it, then people will be more likely to buy it, use that service, etc.
My BO has also arranged a "board forgiveness" program. She takes off 50 dollars every 6 months, so we save 100 dollars a year on board. All you have to do is give her 30 days notice that you want to do that. Also, she's pretty lenient about late board paying. I once gave her the check for September on the 17th of September.....however, she knows that the economy is HORRIBLE here in Florida (10% unemployment) and we have a good solid group of boarders....everyone pays, so its just a matter of when.
starline- i see your point. i agree, it is nice to give the good boarders some sort of reward or incentive. good boarders can be hard to find. our barn just charges interest for late payment. and our secretary will call and hound you if non-payment continues. (that in itself would be incentive enough for me...)
(that in itself would be incentive enough for me...)
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I wish I had a secretary!! I hate sending those "Are you going to pay me anytime soon" emails.. lol
I consider myself a smaller facility (25 horses) and we are still building so the budget is tight. It definitely hurts when people are really late on board.. I charge 10% interest when they are 5 days late on board and they still pay late.. or they just drop a check off for the exact amount even if its 15 days late. I will also put anyone to work if they want to work off board... which is not very common in my area (close to the border = cheap labor) and is considered a privilege..
About 1/2 of my boarders still pay late./
I consider myself a smaller facility (25 horses) and we are still building so the budget is tight. It definitely hurts when people are really late on board.. I charge 10% interest when they are 5 days late on board and they still pay late.. or they just drop a check off for the exact amount even if its 15 days late. I will also put anyone to work if they want to work off board... which is not very common in my area (close to the border = cheap labor) and is considered a privilege..
About 1/2 of my boarders still pay late.
/HALF of your boarders pay late?!?! WOW. Um, yeah. That is definitely a problem! Do you know if it's because finances are tough or because people are unorganized? We get both. Can you arrange direct deposit or is that expensive to set up? That would make it easier for those who just forget to pay. Or could you do some sort of incentive like, pay a year of post dated checks and get $100 off or something? Do you have any kind of "barn meetings"? You might want to find a time to sit everyone down and bring up the importance of paying on time. When grain/gas skyrocketed in price people were upset when we raised board $25 a month. We had a meeting, the barn owner broke down each of his expenses and what that board was paying for. People didn't realize IT COSTS US $600 A DAY TO STAY OPEN. And no one's gettin' rich around here! They were much much more understanding after that. In fact, one boarder suggested raising board a little more! :lol:
We do not offer a discount. As was mentioned - costs are the same. But also - if the person with the 2-3 or more horses leaves - you have that many spots to fill. In our case - we quarantine new horses. Quarantine requires a lot of time and during the time - the horse is costing us $. Square bales vs round bales, water by hand vs the auto water, has to be done last - or have to disinfect to handle anyone else, etc.
Our late fee is also $25 PER HORSE if it is not paid by the close of business the day board is due. We do offer our boarders can set their payment date to make it easier on their budget.
Our late fee is also $25 PER HORSE if it is not paid by the close of business the day board is due. We do offer our boarders can set their payment date to make it easier on their budget.
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I thought about that so I wouldnt be late. But, I was studying with an attorney/CPA for my CPA a few months ago. He told me it dosent matter when the checks are dated, a bank can cash them upon receiving them.
I would love to board were I got a discount for multiple horses. I think $50 is pretty reasonable. I pay 150 per horse at the moment, I think thats probably what it costs the BM to feed them and pay for rent, so Im not expecting any discount right now.
Although each horse costs the same, you are retaining a larger amount of $, if you can keep two boarders with two horses each, as apposed to two boarders with one horse each. I always try to keep my two horses together if I can.
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I send out a monthly newsletter to let people know whats going on around the barn. A month or two ago, I addressed this issue and let them know that I couldn't afford to pay for the farrier if they didn't pay and if they didn't pay their horse would have to wait till next time. (I include farrier in my board)... That helped some.
I think its just an issue of people forgetting.. There are one or two that probably scrape by. I let one girl work off her board and she didn't communicate well (not returning txt or phone calls) and when she didn't show up I told her it wasn't working out... She is also supposed to be leaving for school soon so who knows if I'm going to get paid at all.
Thats another issue I'm going to post about...
I think its just an issue of people forgetting.. There are one or two that probably scrape by. I let one girl work off her board and she didn't communicate well (not returning txt or phone calls) and when she didn't show up I told her it wasn't working out... She is also supposed to be leaving for school soon so who knows if I'm going to get paid at all.
Thats another issue I'm going to post about...
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