Latest news with #cancellationpolicy
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Airbnb will allow US users book stays without paying upfront
Airbnb has launched a new feature called 'Reserve Now, Pay Later' that lets users in the U.S. reserve a property without paying upfront, potentially allowing people to cancel their bookings with less hassle if their plans change. The feature is applicable to properties that have a 'flexible' or 'moderate' cancellation policy. Flexible policies let users cancel their reservation up to 24 hours before they check-in, while moderate policies allow for no-fee cancellations until five days before check-in. Users will need to pay the full amount for their booking before the listing's free cancellation period ends. Airbnb will send users a reminder to pay before that date. The company is not new to the buy-now, pay-later arena. In 2018, it launched a 'Pay part now, part later' product that allowed users to pay either 20% or 50% in the first tranche and the rest later. In 2023, the company teamed up with Klarna to let users pay for their stays in four installments over six weeks. Citing a survey it conducted with Focaldata, Airbnb said 55% of those surveyed preferred a flexible payment option while booking a stay, with 42% saying they missed out on properties while trying to figure out payment logistics with other travelers. Sign in to access your portfolio
TechCrunch
2 days ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Airbnb will allow US users book stays without paying upfront
Airbnb has launched a new feature called 'Reserve Now, Pay Later' that lets users in the U.S. reserve a property without paying upfront, potentially allowing people to cancel their bookings with less hassle if their plans change. The feature is applicable to properties that have a 'flexible' or 'moderate' cancellation policy. Flexible policies let users cancel their reservation up to 24 hours before they check-in, while moderate policies allow for no-fee cancellations until five days before check-in. Users will need to pay the full amount for their booking before the listing's free cancellation period ends. Airbnb will send users a reminder to pay before that date. Image Credit: Airbnb The company is not new to the buy-now, pay-later arena. In 2018, it launched a 'Pay part now, part later' product that allowed users to pay either 20% or 50% in the first tranche and the rest later. In 2023, the company teamed up with Klarna to let users pay for their stays in four installments over six weeks. Citing a survey it conducted with Focaldata, Airbnb said 55% of those surveyed preferred a flexible payment option while booking a stay, with 42% saying they missed out on properties while trying to figure out payment logistics with other travelers.
Skift
2 days ago
- Business
- Skift
Airbnb's New No-Upfront Payment Option: Reserve Now, Pay Later
Some Airbnb guests in the U.S. can now book domestic stays without having to pay anything up-front. Airbnb calls the feature Reserve Now, Pay Later. Hosts set their own cancellation policies. When a host's policy is flexible — meaning guests can cancel up to 24 hours before the stay begins — their payments aren't due until "shortly before" the free-cancellation period ends, Airbnb announced Thursday. Other U.S. guests who reserve an apartment or home with a moderate cancellation policy, which is cancellable for a full refund until five days before the stay, would only have to pay a little earlier than five days before arrival. In one example Airbnb provided, though, the payment was due nine days before the stay. When guests seek to book an Airbnb with a f
Skift
10-07-2025
- Business
- Skift
Airbnb to Introduce More Guest-Friendly Cancellation Policies
Airbnb guests will welcome these policy changes, for sure. Many hosts, on the other hand, undoubtably will think that Airbnb's policies are once again leaning too heavily against their interests. Airbnb is introducing a series of new cancellation policies October 1 that are more guest-friendly than in the past and may get pushback from some hosts. Among the new policies: Transition to Firm Cancellation Policy Airbnb is migrating hosts that have so-called Strict cancellation policies to Firm policies, which are more flexible for guests. The Strict policy gave guests the ability to cancel within 48 hours after a booking to receive a full refund. After that grace period guests got partial or no refunds. The new Firm policies enable guests to cancel and get full refunds until 30 days before check-in. They get 50% refunds if they cancel between seven and 30 days before check-in. Hosts were no longer able to select Strict cancellation policies for new listings after July 1, 2025. They can opt-out of the change for existing listings. Hosts were informed of all the changes several weeks ago. Limited Cancellation Policy A new Limited cancellation policy allows guests to cancel their reservations up to 14 days before check-in and they are eligible for full refunds. 24-Hour Cancellation Grace Period For stays of fewer than 28 nights, guests will be able to cancel up to 24 hours after a reservation is confirmed and get a full refund as long as that confirmation took place at least seven days before check-in. Why Airbnb Made the Change 'We are updating our cancellation policies to be more flexible because over 40 percent of guests say free cancellation is one of their top needs when choosing to book a stay, and globally, hosts who have moved from a Strict to Firm cancellation policy earn 10 percent more money, on average," Airbnb said in a statement. "The majority of global hosts have the option to opt out of the migration.' In another move, Airbnb is testing a new feature, Reserve Now, Pay Later, which enables some guests in the U.S. and Canada to make a reservation without paying anything at the time of booking. If it's an eligible booking, guests will see the option during checkout. Reaction Amber Carpenter, vice president of product and growth strategy at Wheelhouse, an enterprise revenue management platform, thinks the new policy will pay off for hosts in the long term. "Airbnb's latest policy updates reflect a broader industry shift toward guest-first experiences, starting at booking and rooted in trust and flexibility," Carpenter said. "Rather than resisting this trend, individual hosts and property managers have an opportunity to elevate the guest journey through diverse marketing efforts — including strong direct booking channels — and thoughtful revenue strategies. When trust leads, financial performance follows." Hospitality executive William Graf posted on LinkedIn about the demise of the Strict policies (although hosts will be able to keep them for existing listings.) "No point in confirming a $50k Christmas to New Years booking on Airbnb if the guest can cancel without penalty 30 days out," Graf wrote. "Why take this lever away? Why not let guests vote with the wallets?"
RNZ News
10-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Diners warned to ‘read the fine print' when making restaurant bookings
SkyCity is reviewing how its restaurants display their cancellation policies to ensure customers are clearly aware of fees. Photo: RNZ / Ziming Li The Restaurant Association warns diners to "read the fine print" when making reservations after reports have emerged that some customers in the country's largest city are being charged a fee for cancelling bookings. Auckland resident Jessie Chen made a reservation through Google at SkyCity's Huami for five people to have lunch on 4 July. On the afternoon of 3 July, she fell sick and cancelled the booking in a phone call to the restaurant. A day later, Chen was surprised to find that Huami had deducted $250 from her credit card, which had been saved on Google. "I was like, 'I didn't end up eating at Huami, why was there a deduction of more than $200?' It's so strange," she said. Chen phoned Huami for an explanation and was told the restaurant charged $50 per person to cancel a booking if the cancellation was made less than 24 hours prior to the reservation time. She claimed not to have noticed any information relating to cancellation charges when making the booking. She also claimed the staff member she spoke to when cancelling the booking didn't flag any charges either. "Had they told me about the fee, I would have probably asked the other four people to go ahead with the meal ... or I could have asked others to help order some takeaway," Chen said. "I wouldn't let this money be deducted like this." Restaurant Huami in Auckland CBD. Photo: RNZ / Ziming Li A SkyCity spokesperson said customers must click through terms and conditions that set out cancellation policy details at Huami when making a booking for five or more people via Google. "Before the booking is finalised you must tick cancellation policy box," the spokesperson said. The spokesperson said the cancellation policy clearly stated that "you will be subject to a cancellation fee of $50 per person which will be charged to the credit card details provided at the time of booking for any no shows or cancellations made less than 24 hours prior to your reservation time". "However, given the diner made every effort to cancel the booking in advance due to sickness, as a gesture of goodwill and without any admission of liability, we will refund the diner's $250 cancellation fee," the spokesperson said. "We are also reviewing how we display our cancellation policy to ensure customers are clearly aware of this fee." MASU by Nic Watt in Auckland CBD Photo: RNZ / Ziming Li Another diner, Cici Guo, made a reservation to have dinner at SkyCity's MASU by Nic Watt in September last year. She made a booking for two people via Google at noon for dinner on the same day but cancelled the booking 15 minutes later after her friend suggested another place. Guo was upset when she discovered the restaurant had deducted $100 from her card. She claimed not to have noticed any information relating to cancellation charges when making the booking but did find the policy outlined on the restaurant's website later. "I was mad," Guo said. "If I had seen this clause earlier or if I had known it was like this, I would have gone there to eat, right?" She called for the cancellation fee policy to be displayed more prominently. The SkyCity spokesperson didn't make further comments on Guo's case. Sahar Lone, communications and campaigns manager at Consumer New Zealand Photo: Supplied Sahar Lone, communications and campaigns manager of Consumer New Zealand, said restaurants were entitled to charge a fee for cancellations or "no shows". "However, any cancellation terms must be reasonable and must be clearly disclosed to customers when they make the booking," she said. Lone said Chen "ideally ... would have received a courtesy reminder when cancelling by phone". Lone said businesses should also "provide a mechanism for people to edit or cancel their bookings in a timely way". "Making a booking with a restaurant creates a contract which places obligations on both parties," Lone said. "If you don't turn up, the restaurant can legitimately claim you have broken the contract and caused it to lose business. "If you realise in advance, you won't be able to make it, let the business or service provider know. They're unlikely to charge if you tell them within a reasonable timeframe." Marisa Bidois, chief executive at Restaurant Association of New Zealand Photo: Supplied Marisa Bidois, chief executive of the Restaurant Association of New Zealand, said it was not uncommon for restaurants, particularly higher-end venues or those handling large group bookings, to charge cancellation fees. Bidois said cancellation policies should be clearly communicated at the time of booking, whether online or over the phone. Cancelling at late notice often meant there was little opportunity for restaurants to fill the empty seats and recover costs. "Fees are typically only charged when the restaurant has incurred costs in preparation for the booking, such as ordering premium or perishable ingredients," she said. Many restaurants were compassionate and could waive or reduce fees depending on circumstances, so it was worth a polite conversation, but people needed to remember that there were often costs associated with cancellations for the business, Bidois said. "Restaurants work on very tight margins, and last-minute cancellations or no shows can have a significant financial impact," she said. "We encourage diners to always read the fine print when booking and, where possible, give as much notice as they can if their plans change."
