There are many guests and some hosts who do not understand how payments work on Airbnb.
When you make a payment on Airbnb, all monies are held by Airbnb and is not released to the host until 24 hours after the guest has checked in to the listing. This is in case of a fraud listing but also so Airbnb can take care of the guest in case they need to enact the Guest Refund Policy (https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/544/guest-refund-policy).
Short Term Reservations (1-27 nights)
For all reservations that are 27 nights or less, your payment method is charged for the total cost of the reservation once the reservation becomes a confirmed booking. This payment is not released to the host until 24 hours after you check in to make sure everything goes smoothly. You will need to pay the entire amount using only one payment method and you cannot currently split payment methods.
Long Term Reservations (28+ nights)
For all reservations that are 28 nights and over, these are considered long term reservations. Long term reservations, you’ll be charged a first month down payment when the reservation is confirmed and then the rest of the nights will be charged on a monthly basis. You can find this information in the following links:
https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/92
https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/884
Security Deposits
Many people think that the security deposit is added to the total of the reservation, and this is NOT the case.
Airbnb does not charge the deposit UNLESS the host makes a claim within 48 hours of the guest checking out. Here is an article indicating this: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/140
So essentially, if a guest complains they did not get their security deposit back, there is no security deposit to refund as they were never charged one. If they insist, send them to www.airbnb.com/trips then click "View Receipt" and they will see that there is no charge for security deposit.
Split Payments
A common question that many guests ask is, "Can I split my payment by paying half now, and half later" or, "Can I pay using two credit cards" or "Can I make a deposit"?
Unfortunately at this time, you cannot split payments and Airbnb does not take deposits. The total booking amount needs to be taken out of one payment method. Please check out this article for more information:
https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/444
One way around this is asking the host if they would allow you to book half of your dates now and pay and block off the other half so payment can be made later. When ready to pay for the second half, the host would unblock the dates and then you can book and pay for the second half. This would however require a trusting host.
Can I pay half now and half later?
The answer to this is yes and no. Recently, some people are being offered to pay half now and the rest later but this is if they meet certain criteria and it is not made public. You can however find the terms of this here: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1696/pay-less-upfront-terms
Brazil Payments
Also, in Brazil, they do allow guests to pay in installments. You can find more information here but I have also used Google Translate and you can see the information below. (https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Ajuda/Reserva/m-p/99129#M2974)
David
Superhost Ambassador ~ Host Club Community Leader ~ Community Expert ~ Experienced Co-Host