Airbnb will allow American users stays without paying in advance

Airbnb has launched a new feature entitled “Reserve now, Pay later” which allows users of the United States to reserve a property without paying in advance, potentially allowing people to cancel their reservations with fewer workers if their plans change.

The functionality is applicable to properties which have a “flexible” or “moderate” cancellation policy. Flexible policies allow users to cancel their reservation up to 24 hours before recording it, while moderate policies allow cancellations at no cost up to five days before recording.

Users will have to pay the total amount for their booking before the end of the free cancellation period on the list. Airbnb will send users a reminder to pay before this date.

The company is not new in the Buy-Now arena, Pay-Later. In 2018, he launched a “paid part now, left later” product This allowed users to pay 20% or 50% in the first tranche and the rest later. In 2023, the company joined Klarna to leave Users pay their stays in four payments over six weeks.

Citing a survey that he conducted with Focaldata, Airbnb said that 55% of those questioned preferred a flexible payment option when booking a stay, 42% saying that they had lacked properties while trying to understand payment logistics with other travelers.