Over the last year, Airbnb has been making big changes to the way guests pay for the bookings. With so many options to choose from, the question is when do you pay for Airbnb Bookings?
You have three main options when you pay for Airbnb bookings. First, the most common is paying upfront at the time you make the booking. Second, Airbnb’s new Pay Less Upfront where you only pay half now and then half later. And lastly, split payments for when you are travelling with friends.
I have put together this guide to help answer any questions you may have about when do you pay for Airbnb bookings. I have also answered many other frequently asked questions about the Airbnb payments.
As a host, I’ve heard all the main questions over the years, so this article will be of use to all travellers.
Airbnb Pay Less upfront
The one flaw when booking an Airbnb is that you have to pay for your entire booking when hitting confirm. If you trip is 6 months away or 2 days away, you still have to pay the full amount upfront.
Airbnb have introduced their Pay Less Upfront option when booking any trip over $250.
The option will pop up when you get to the payment section of the booking page. It will give you the option of either paying the full amount, or 50%. A very handy feature.
Your trip must be more than 14 days out at the time of booking, which does cut out those last minute weekends away. But not having to pay for your whole trip months in advance is a great bonus. Thumbs up Airbnb.
Split payments with guests
The split payments option is another handy feature. Airbnb has designed the concept to make it easier to travel with friends and gives you the option to “split the bill”, so to speak.
How many times have you travelled with friends and they have forgotten to pay you back? Or you ended up paying more than half? This is now a thing of the past with Airbnb.
To split the payment, the person making the booking pays their share first. This will secure the listing for you. Next, you send out a link or share the trip with your friends and they can go and pay their share.
Now we all have that one friend who conveniently forgets to pay. If that friend doesn’t pay before the deadline, Airbnb will cancel the trip. Everyone will have their money sent back and you will have to start again. Alternatively, you can log in and pay their share for them. Think split bills or split Uber fares.
Paying upfront
Paying up front is the most common way to pay for Airbnb bookings. Once you find a listing you like and click through to the payment screen, paying up front is the default option.
First you will have to accept all the house rules and Airbnb’s terms of service. Then you will confirm the amount of guests that will be staying in the property.
Finally, you select your method of payment. In this case you are paying upfront, and Airbnb take the funds from your account. From here, they will hold the funds until the day of your trip where they release the funds to the host.
If you book your trip at the last minute or it is less than 14 days way, paying upfront will be your only payment option.
Airbnb Booking Price Breakdown
Once you choose a listing and enter in the dates and how many guests you will have staying. Airbnb will show you the total price with a breakdown of the costs.
For extra information of the costs involved, hover over the ? symbol next to each fee.
I have written a detailed guide on how does the Airbnb price breakdown work which I would encourage you to read. As a result, I will only cover the topic briefly in this article.
There are two types of costs, firstly the costs that the host will set
- Nightly price – This is the nightly rate which is set by the host.
- Cleaning fee – This will cover the cost of a cleaner and is a one time payment.
- Extra guest fees – Usually, a host will charge an extra fee if you have more than 2 guests. So always remember to enter the right amount of guests as your price can change.
The cost that Airbnb set and is non negotiable
- Airbnb service fee – This is a fee that all guests pay for using the Airbnb service.
What is a Cleaning Fee?
So what is a cleaning fee and why do you have to pay it when booking an Airbnb? A cleaning fee is a one off payment to the host that helps cover cleaning expenses for the listing.
Guests are often confused about the meaning of a cleaning fee. Does it mean you are paying for a cleaner to come in during your stay like a hotel? I’m afraid not, it is just Airbnb’s way of being transparent of the costs involved in running an listing.
Some hosts won’t have a cleaning fee listed and just integrate the cost into the nightly rate similar to hotel pricing.
This is an important topic to understand. In fact, a common question I often hear asked is how much should I charge for my Airbnb cleaning fee? So I have written a detailed guide on cleaning fees.
What Is An Airbnb Guest Service Fee?
Airbnb charge a guest service fee for every booking. But what is this fee exactly?
To help explain, think of a guest service fee as placing an ad in a newspaper, it is a lot easier to understand. You have to pay the newspaper for their service of advertising what you are selling or buying.
So, as a guest, you will pay Airbnb a fee for advertising listings to you. Its not a bad trade off considering the only other option is overpriced hotels.
This fee also goes towards funding their 24/7 customer support team. Paying support staff to work around the clock would not come cheap.
The fee ranges from about 3% to 20% of the booking total. While I’m not sure how they calculate this fee, their website explains some of the criteria. Length of stay, reservation subtotal and characteristics of the listing are all factors. The fee will also get lower as the price of the booking gets higher.
Can you pay for Airbnb with a debit card?
Yes, you can pay for Airbnb bookings with a debit card. But only if you can process the transaction as credit.
There is a simple way to see if your debit card can process a payment as credit. It will usually have a VISA or Mastercard symbol in the top corner.
As payment methods vary from country to country, Airbnb will show you what payment methods you can use on the checkout page. So you will know if you can use your debit card before you book.
Can you pay cash for Airbnb bookings?
Not officially no. There are strict rules about how guests pay for Airbnb bookings, especially when paying with cash. This may be because they lose out on their service fee, but it is also a safety and privacy issue as well.
As you can’t officially pay for a trip with cash but do it anyway, you will void Airbnb’s terms of service and run the risk of having your account suspended.
There are ways around this though. Say you book a trip where you will be staying regularly, for work or school. You could book the first trip through Airbnb and get to know the area and the host. Then speak with the host for subsequent bookings where you dont have to go via Airbnb.
Just make sure that the host as adequate insurance that will protect you if something should happen while on the property.
You may even be able to negotiate a better deal as the you or the host won’t have to pay the service fees.
Can you pay for Airbnb with PayPal?
Paypal is an option for payment in selected countries only. Airbnb dont disclose which countries these are, but at checkout the paypal option will show if it is available.
If you do decide to pay with PayPal, your funds will only go through once you have confirmed your booking. By choosing a listing that uses instant book, your payment will be instant. If you are only requesting to book, the payment will only go through once the host accepts your booking.
Sometimes a host may refuse your booking, or a booking request can expire. If that happens, your money will go back into your PayPal account.
How Does the Security Deposit Work With Airbnb?
A security deposit is entirely dependent on the host. Some hosts require you pay an amount up to $5,000, whereas others don’t request a deposit at all.
If the listing you book requires a security deposit, you don’t pay it when you make the booking.
The security deposit is only charged if the host makes a claim on the deposit. If something should happen during your stay, the host has 14 days to make a claim.
First, the host will try to resolve the issue with the guest. Finally, if that fails, they will involve Airbnb and they will issue the security deposit to the host.
Now we know how to pay for Airbnb bookings!
So now you know where your money is going and how soon it will get there. You can take advantage of Airbnb’s Pay Less Upfront option, share payments with your friends or pay for your trip in one go.
You also know you can’t pay with cash, but PayPal, Debit and Credit Cards are good to go. And you can see exactly how much you are spending by looking at the price breakdown before you confirm your booking.
So now you can get out there, book some trips and enjoy your break with a peace of mind!