...I just booked 4 nights in London for Oct 1 and it charged me just above 50% of the total and then will charge the rest 2 weeks before the trip - no extra fees. They say they'll send a notice about the rest of the charges 3 days before it's to be charged.
Just thought I'd mention because I know sometimes people don't like having to pay what could be a large amount of money months and months before their holiday.
https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/1696/pay-less-upfront-terms
I have often been given this option. It may depend on having a history with Air BnB, but I don’t know.
Interesting. I’ve been using them since 2011. By my last count, I've used them more than 50 times. Even booked with them last year and this was the first I had this option. Maybe they rolled it out in Canada after testing it elsewhere.
I booked an apartment in London last night and it gave me the same option. I've rented a room through Airbnb 5 times since October in town in Kansas where my uncle lives (he has health issues and I'm the geographically closest relative) and I have had the option to split the payment. It may have to do with having a history with Airbnb. Not sure though...
OK, I googled and I see the press release from last January. I guess why I wasn't given that option last year was because we didn't have a stay over $250, as it states. I must have been darn close to that but didn't top it.
Well, for anyone who may be booking longer/more expensive stays. I've been telling people who are Airbnb curious that is is always paid all up front.
Having to pay for a place before you even get there, even with a credit card, has kept me from using Airbnb. I have gone to Europe for 16 of the last 18 years and have always been happy with the arrangements I have made at almost always B&Bs that I find information about elsewhere or have stayed at before hand. I do like the fact that if I book directly with a B&B the host gets the money and does not have to pay a fee to some booking agency.
I actually don't mind paying it ahead, because we pay off our credit cards every month, so it's paid for months ahead and we aren't adding it to all our other travel expenses at the time (like food and attractions and public transport). I can space it out a little more.
@Charlie, I don't believe the owner pays the Airbnb fee. It is added to the price the renter pays. I see that Homeaway/VRBO has adopted that business model. What I do like about Airbnb is that the owner doesn't receive the money until 24 hours after the arrival of the renter. I'm sure there are people who try to scam the system, but I feel more confident that the place will actually exist and there won't be the bait and switch schemes I have occasionally heard of. If I arrive and the place isn't what was represented I can contact Airbnb and get my money refunded. Thankfully I have not had to do that. I have been pretty successful with Homeaway/VRBO in the past (with the exception of one apartment in Paris), but I now favor the Airbnb model.
I have used airbnb a lot and have been given that option. We have used the pay ahead totally most of the time. I agree I like that part of my trip is taken care of. Several times the place has cancelled out on us over the years but airbnb has been great finding us a new location and even paying the difference when we had to opt for a hotel due to lack of accommodations. We are leaving next week for Scotland and Iceland using airbnb so now I am keeping my fingers crossed that I just did not jinxed myself.
We recently stayed at 3 AirBnBs in France and Switzerland, and in all cases were given the payment option mentioned. I have no problem paying in advance for an AirBnB, and have never had a problem in all the times I've used it in Europe, the US, and Canada. I'd be much more reluctant to pay in advance directly to a B&B operator. Interestingly, one of our AirBnB hosts in Switzerland says she loves using AirBnB to list her place. Among the things she mentioned is that it removes the money aspect from the relationship when you arrive.
