Airbnb has announced a new feature called “Reserve Now, Pay Later” for U.S. users, allowing travelers to book accommodations without paying upfront. The feature applies to listings with either a flexible or moderate cancellation policy. Flexible policies permit cancellations up to 24 hours before check-in, while moderate policies allow free cancellations up to five days before arrival.
Under the new system, users must pay the full booking amount before the cancellation window closes. Airbnb will send reminders to ensure payment is completed before the deadline. This addition builds on Airbnb’s previous payment experiments, including the 2018 “Pay part now, part later” option and a 2023 partnership with Klarna, enabling installment payments.
According to an Airbnb-commissioned survey with Focaldata, 55% of respondents said they preferred flexible payment options, and 42% reported missing out on stays while sorting out payment logistics with fellow travelers.
What Does This Mean for Business Travel?
For business travel, the impact is less about traveler experience and more about cash flow, approvals, and operational control:
- Cash-flow relief & budget control: Being able to hold a booking without paying up front helps SMEs avoid tying up cash until plans are firm. You can keep funds available until the free-cancellation deadline.
- Smoother internal approvals: Coordinators can secure inventory while waiting on visa confirmations, manager sign-off, POs, or event greenlights – reducing the risk of losing a good property.
- Lower exposure to change costs: If plans shift before the cancellation window closes, the reservation can be released without refunds or expense reversals.
- Group & project planning: Useful for event crews or rotating project teams when headcount is still moving. You can tentatively reserve multiple stays, then pay only for finalized needs.
- Operational guardrails required: Missed pay-by deadlines will auto-cancel. Build reminders into calendars/Slack/email, align deadlines with approval SLAs, and define who is accountable for triggering payment.
- Accounting & policy clarity: Decide when a “commitment” occurs (at payment or at booking). Note potential FX exposure if currency shifts between booking and payment. Clarify whether off-platform holds are permitted or must run through approved channels.
Airbnb & Business Travel: A Mixed Relationship
While the payment flexibility is attractive, Airbnb in managed travel remains complicated:
- Duty of care & consistency: Listings vary widely in safety, security, and reliability. Unlike vetted hotel programs via TMCs, it’s harder to guarantee standards, accessibility, or 24/7 onsite support.
- Risk management & compliance: Fragmented suppliers and limited SLAs can hinder emergency response, incident tracking, and policy compliance.
- Control & reporting: Hotel bookings through a TMC offer negotiated rates, central billing, and consolidated data. Airbnb bookings may create leakage and reduce visibility for finance and analytics.
- When it can make sense: Long stays (e.g., 7+ nights), remote locations with limited hotels, or teams needing kitchens/workspace – with explicit pre‑approval and clear guardrails.
Key Takeaways for Travel Managers
- Pros: The new pay‑later option can ease cash flow, protect availability during approvals, and reduce refund admin when plans change.
- Guardrails: Set payment-deadline alerts, align with cancellation windows, require pre‑approval, and route bookings through approved channels wherever possible.
- Default stance: For most managed programs, hotels booked via TMCs remain the control-friendly default. Treat Airbnb as an exception use case with duty‑of‑care checks and reporting coverage.
- Policy & accounting: Define when financial commitment occurs, how to handle FX changes, and how unpaid holds are tracked/aged.
- Airbnb’s “Reserve Now, Pay Later” offers more financial flexibility, helping businesses and travelers avoid upfront payment commitments.
- This flexibility should be balanced against compliance, safety, and expense-control concerns before being considered in an official travel program.
- Duty of care and risk management remain the primary barriers to integrating Airbnb into managed business travel, even as employee demand for choice and flexibility grows.
Airbnb’s latest feature highlights the tension between consumer-driven innovation and the structured needs of corporate travel. For travel managers, it’s a reminder to stay alert to new traveler expectations while keeping compliance and safety front of mind.