Payment pending - or cancel penalty free?

[Adam122]

I just learnt something today. I never knew this existed as I've never had a guest make a booking without paying, but now I'm curious as to how this seems to work.

I only noticed by accident that I had a message, and a booking "Awaiting payment"

"<guest> has 67 hours to complete payment, or their reservation will be cancelled, penalty-free. The guest has been notified and no action is needed from you"

So I found Airbnb didn't send me a notification of this - which is strange in itself - but moreover, where I come from, it's very uncommon to be able to have sellers hold their products without making a full payment, a deposit, or at least leaving a credit card number for no-show. And for good reasons. Now aside from the big international hotel booking sites, the same usually applies to accommodation providers where at least 1 night is deducted. It seems here, I could have my place blocked from being booked for 3 days, and then at the end the guest has no penalty for preventing my further bookings. Whereas if I cancelled the attempt, wouldn't I be penalised?

And without a notification of such, I might even have unscrupulous trolls blocking nights 3 days from now, without me ever knowing why they didn't end up being booked!

I know it's far-fetched, but have I got that right? And if so, why would Airbnb have such a policy that caters to ease-of-booking at the expense of potentially missing other paid bookings.

I have a feeling this has something to do with Instant Book - but when I started my understanding was that was more so that guests didn't need my approval. I still expected them to pay for the booking on confirmation...

[Linda108]

Let me see if I have a correct understanding of the issue here, @Adam122.  You object to the process in which there is a period of time allowed for the guest payment system to be authorized which results in your listing being blocked while the payment is sorted out.  right?  I am unclear as to what yyou are suggesting as a solution.  Would you want to leave the dates unblocked while the payment is confirmd?  Tha way a different guest could swoop in and book the dates and you would not miss out on the business. right?

Perhaps there are complications in the international credit systems that require more than 24 hours to resolve.  I don't mind the current process because I enjoy international guests that might be affected.

[Adam122]

@Linda108 What I generally expect is for Airbnb to have implemented the same processes that the majority of other online systems have, but I chalk this up to another one that seems lacking. At the end of the day, this is my product to sell, and if I like I should be able to insist that it only gets sold or held for those customers who can pay for it at the time. Now with modern internet payment gateways, major credit cards and Paypal very easily meet that condition. I know I can turn off 'Instant book', but that's a sledgehammer approach to solving it.

A car dealer wouldn't hold a car for a few days while you send them a cheque. They'd need a confirmed exchange of payment that is traceable back to a payment provider at the instant of selling, otherwise there is risk to the seller. At the very least I'm surprised there is no penalty to the buyer, for if you compare with other online systems, e.g. ebay, you get when you buy an item a screen along the lines of,

"You are making a legally binding commitment to buying this item" - so while the funds mightn't reach the seller instantly, the purchase has been made and you are legally obliged to pay for it. If Airbnb are happy to vouch for this guest (where I wasn't given the choice), then it ought to be their problem should the funds never arrive in their account.

As it happens it's been 50 hours now and no payment... I may have had a confirmed booking in that time.

[Constance27]

I have just encountered this same issue. Based on his home location, he is in the US, and even if he were not, credit card purchases are made all the time in real time overseas. I am wondering if his credit card did not clear, and if he is getting a chance to reconcile?

===

Waiting for ____ to complete payment

_____ has 72 hours to complete payment, or their reservation will be canceled, penalty-free. The guest has been notified and no action is needed from you.

===

I didn't even discover it until I went to respond to and to pre-approve an inquiry that came in an hour before his booking. When I went to pre-approve I was alerted that the dates were not available. I clicked through to find that message above.

The other person now really wants to book but she cannot. I cannot send her a special offer to snatch this up in the moment his expires, and I cannot cancel his. I seem to be discouraged from contacting him, too.  This happened on Tuesday night, and I have to wait until Friday night for something to happen. 

Adding to it all, I've heard absolutely no communication from the person who booked the room (whose payment is not complete) which is strange. This definitely presents some risk for me to have to wait this long on a weekend that is in high demand.

We will see what happens. 

[Malou1]

May I know what should I do to resolve an issue like this. I accepted a booking a long term 30 days reservation I have an instant book setting. The guest is supposed to arrive tomorrow but until now the status is pending and awaiting for payment. I am lossing potential bookings because the dates are blocked in the calendar. Can any one help me. Thanks

[Matthew285]

Is this related to the new thing where the payment can be split among a bunch of people?

I remember discussion of split payments allowing up to 72 hours.

Otherwise, if there is just one person paying, I thought for sure you had to pay in full at the time of booking.