What is the meaning of "You won’t be charged yet"

[Jenny291]

I made booking today and charged to my credit card, I do not understand?

[Steve143]

Hello @Jenny291,

For non instant book listings it means that there is another step in the reservation process after you click on "Request to book" before you'll be charged. That step is that the host must accept your booking. They have, I think, 24 hours to do that.

I've never booked an instant book listing so I don't know what the process is after you click on "Book".

There may be another step where you're asked if you wish to confirm the booking.

Either way, your credit card will be charged as soon as the reservation is accepted by the host.

See this article When am I charged for a reservation?

If the reservation is confirmed immediately when you click on "Book" your credit card will be charged then so saying "You won't be charged yet" would not be right in that case.

Steve.

[Will221]

The copy is confusing at best and misleading at worst. I imagine it does wonders for AirBnB's conversion rate however.

[Virginia405]

It does bug me that Airbnb take payment before the booking is confirmed by the host. The refund process is slow (at the bank or Paypal end) if the host decides not to go ahead. That worries me.

[Sarah977]

@Virginia405  That sounds wrong. They shouldn't be charging you at all until the host accepts the Booking Request. If you are talking about an Instant Book, though, you would be charged right away, because the host doesn't need to accept, it's automatic. 

Hosts don't "confirm" bookings- Airbnb does once it's established that all the required verifications are in place and the credit card has been successfully charged. So if you are thinking that when you see "confirmed", that it's something the host has done, it isn't. 

[John4377]

Your payment information is collected when you submit a reservation request. Once the host accepts your request, or if you book a reservation with Instant Book, your payment method will be charged for the entire amount at that time (except in the case of security deposits).

Whether the reservation is two days or two months away, we hold the payment until 24 hours after check-in before giving it to the host. This hold gives both parties time to make sure that everything is as expected.

[Laurel126]

Why does it say, "You won’t be charged yet," when actually you are?  Even before the host accepts the request and it's NOT an instant book.

[Laurel126]

Trying to book something in May (2020), it's not an instant book, but asking for 1/2 the payment even without the host accepting the request.

[Prepping0]

You won't be charged until the host accepts your booking. For more detailed information check out: https://airbnbuniverse.com/airbnb-when-do-you-pay

[Michelle2749]

I have been charged, but the host has not responded or confirmed it still shows pending, but i have a debit on my account

[Elizabeth2090]

I understand why and how it works, but I do think that it's highly misleading to say "You won’t be charged yet" when in reality you are indeed charged right away.

[Sarah977 · Accepted solution]

For a booking Request, you aren't charged until the host clicks on "Accept". They might do that immediately when they receive your request, or it may take them some time to do that, or they might message you first to make sure you have read through the listing info, have entered the correct number of guests, etc. before accepting. 

If you just want to ask the host some questions before committing to a booking, you should send an Inquiry, not a Request. To send an Inquiry, click on "Contact Host" at the bottom of their listing description. An Inquiry doesn't commit you in any way and even if the host pre-approves it, you won't be charged until you take a further step. But the place could get booked by someone else between you sending an Inquiry and the host responding., so there is no guarantee that the dates you are inquiring about will still be available if ad by the time you decide to book.

@Elizabeth2090

[Michelle2749]

I have sent my reservation request. The Status is pending. My account has been charged for the length of the stay. However, I have not received any notification, or update that my reservation has been confirmed, and I am still waiting on the host's response.

[Sarah977]

@Michelle2749  As long as it says pending, that means you won't see "confirmed" and neither will the host.

If the host isn't bothering to answer your message, that's kind of a red flag, but hosts also have lives apart from hosting, so might not be able to answer immediately.

[Rakesh40]

As other have mentioned, AirBnB is charging before a host has confirmed the booking although the copy shows "You won't be charged yet". This is so misleading!!!