Airbnb hospitality and lodging platform expands the "Book First, Pay Later" service to the global market

IT House, February 18 — Airbnb travel and lodging platform announced that it is launching the “Book Now, Pay Later” feature in the global market. This feature allows users to lock in hotel and lodging reservations without immediate payment. If users’ travel plans change later, they can cancel the reservation within the cancellation policy without bearing the full upfront cost.

IT House has learned that last year, Airbnb trialed a similar policy in the U.S. market for some listings with more flexible refund policies. After locking in a reservation, users are only automatically charged closer to the check-in date, reducing the one-time payment burden for travelers and making high-value travel expenses more affordable.

Foreign media TechCrunch stated that Airbnb’s move aims to boost platform user numbers. In fact, during the Q4 2025 earnings call, Airbnb management revealed that the “Book Now, Pay Later” feature had positively contributed to the growth in booked nights for that quarter. Chief Financial Officer Ellie Mertz said that the feature has seen significant adoption among eligible user groups and has also led more users to choose larger properties, especially entire homes with four or more bedrooms, thereby increasing the platform’s daily room rates and helping generate more commissions.

In fact, Airbnb has been exploring such “deferred payment” credit products for years. As early as 2018, the company launched a installment booking plan allowing users to pay 20% or 50% of the total cost as a deposit, with the remaining amount paid later. In 2023, Airbnb also partnered with fintech company Klarna to support users in paying for their stay in four installments over six weeks.