Airbnb Improves Booking With ‘Pay Less Up Front’ Option

Airbnb announced that guests who book a stay through the site can now opt to pay for a portion of their trip at the time of booking instead of paying for the entire stay upfront.

Previously, Airbnb guests had to pay for 100 percent of the trip at the time of booking. With the introduction of Pay Less Up Front, guests can now pay for just a portion of the trip at the time of booking, usually a 50 percent deposit. They can then pay the remainder closer to their check-in date.

“The new feature extends our commitment to providing flexible payment options to more guests, and greater opportunities for hosts,” said a company statement.

During testing of Pay Less Up Front, the company found that given the choice of paying less up front, 40 percent of guests chose to take advantage of the opportunity. Even better: They then opted for higher-value bookings on the whole.

Airbnb points out that this new feature also benefits its hosts, who won’t lose out on bookings because cash flow-sensitive guests cannot pay the entire amount of their stay up front.

The company’s testing also shows that the new feature encourages bookings further in advance: Compared with ordinary bookings, the Pay Less Up Front option led to reservations with nearly double the lead time, helping hosts to secure and manage bookings more easily.

The new payment option is now available across all platforms: iOS, Android, mobile-web and desktop. To qualify for Pay Less Up Front, the total stay must be $250 or more, and must be booked at least 14 days from the check-in date.

Airbnb has been working on making payments easier for its guests. In November, it announced that users now have the ability to split payments with their fellow travelers. Instead of one person having to foot the entire bill and wait for friends and family to pay them back, up to 16 travelers can divide the cost of the trip.