Airbnb expands its ‘Reserve Now, Pay Later’ globally

Airbnb said on Tuesday that it is rolling out its “Reserve Now, Pay Later” feature globally — a tool that allows users to lock in a booking without paying immediately. The option also gives travellers more flexibility, since they can cancel if plans change without having money tied up up front.

The company first introduced the feature in the U.S. last year for domestic travel. Airbnb said listings with a “flexible” or “moderate” cancellation policy are eligible for this upfront reservation option. With Reserve Now, Pay Later, guests are charged closer to their check-in date rather than at the timeofe booking. The feature mirrors the “buy now, pay later” approach common in e-commerce, making higher-cost travel more manageable by spreading payments over time. Airbnb said that since launch, the feature has seen 70% adoption across eligible bookings.

During its Q4 2025 earnings call, Airbnb said the product helped increase nights booked during the quarter.

“Reserve Now, Pay Later saw significant adoption among eligible guests in Q4. It’s also led to longer booking lead times and a mix shift towards larger entire homes, especially those with four or more bedrooms, contributing to the increase in average daily rate,” Airbnb CFO Ellie Mertz said during the call.

Mertz also noted that Airbnb’s overall cancellation rate increased from 16% to 17% in the quarter, and that cancellations were higher among users who used the upfront booking option. However, she said the impact was “not hugely material relative to the broader cancellations on the platform.”

Last year, Airbnb surveyed U.S. travellers alongside Focaldata, a London-based market research and polling firm. Among respondents, 60% said a flexible payment option is important when booking a holiday, and 55% said they would use a flexible payment option.

Airbnb has been testing pay-later products for years. In 2018, the company introduced a product that let users book by paying 20% or 50% of the total cost upfront, with the remainder due later. In 2023, Airbnb partnered with fintech company Klarna to allow users to pay for stays in four instalments over six weeks.