What do other owners think about the payment plan option?

[Adam458]

The fact that the second payment not being due until 10 days before check in is extreme. No other site that I know has this policy. The other sites at least give owners the freedom to choose how far in advance they would like the guest to be paid in full. 

[Jeff158]

@Adam458 I can't see any advantage in guests paying airbnb sooner, they are not making a bigger commitment as they can still cancel and get it back.

Even the strict cancellation policy gives guests a 50% refund 7 days before check in.

[Adam458]

I see your point. I guess I have an issue with that as well. If a guest cancels before the second payment, this would leave you with 50% of much less however. My peak season is limited. Off peak bookings are less likely to fill in such a short window. 

[Sarah977]

@Adam458  If the guest cancels before making the second payment, that doesn't affect what the host is due. You don't get 50% of what they already paid, you get 50% of the nightly fee. So if they only paid half up front, they lose the entire amount.

[Adam458]

Thank you for clarifying that. I did not know the percentage of down payment required. I am not used to having the freedom to choose the percentages and time frames as with the other sites I use. I do see an advantage in making a blanket policy for all owners to reduce confusion for guests even though I may not like it. 

[Adam458]

I have guests contact me rather frequently wondering how to pay the balance, when to pay, or wanting to go ahead and pay in full. I am not sure why Airbnb does not have an option to pay in full early. Having never used Airbnb on the guest side, I have no idea what is communicated to guests. 

When they rolled out the payment plan some time ago, I was never informed of its inception. I only discovered it when guests started asking about it. It would be nice to know as an owner which guests are paid in full and which are not. 

I always explain to guests when asked that about 10 days before check in their card on file will be billed the balance due. This is how customer service explained it to me. I do not know if this has changed. 

[Gordon0]

Guests are given the option whether they'd like to take up the pay half now option. Not sure what benefit you'd get from knowing who's done what, @Adam458 . What's the problem you have with it?

[Sarah977]

@Adam458  I've never been a guest either, but as far as I'm aware, the information as to when the second payment will be withdrawn is made clear to guests when they book. I think that info is on their transaction/reservation. They just don't bother to look.

As to how they pay it, that's a pretty dumb question on the guest's part. It will get charged to their credit card, just like the first payment was.