If you’re feeling the January blues and in need of a holiday, then AirBnb’s latest feature could be the answer you (and your bank account) were looking for.
In a bid to capture customers struggling to accommodate travel in their monthly budget, the brand has launched a ‘Pay Less Up Front’ option, where you can stagger payments on your rental.
Although AirBnb often offers cheaper alternatives to standard hotels, the brand cited research that found as many as 1 in 10 Brits are forced into their overdraft and another 34% to rack up debts on credit cards to get away on holiday.
In response to this they wanted to give customers options. So rather than paying 100% of your balance when you book (as was previously the case) you now only need to pay 50% upfront and the rest before arrival.
AirBnb said in a statement that they hoped this would also encourage users to pick pricier accommodation. So not entirely out the goodness of their hearts.
Although it seems like a win win situation, there are some requirements, firstly that you are spending over $250 (approximately £181) and have booked 14 days in advance of arrival. Not so good for the disorganised cheapskates among us.
But in test trials of the feature AirBnb found that 40% of customer would opt for Pay Less Up Front when it was on offer, so maybe it’s got a successful future ahead.
This isn’t the first payment feature AirBnb have introduced in recent months, back in November they introduced group payments (similar to Uber split fare) where you can send part of your bill to a friend.
The idea was to allow groups (of up to 16 people) to book accomodation and divide the cost within 72 hours of booking. Rather than relying on that one organised friend to foot the bill and chase everyone up for months.
This could be the perfect excuse you need to go stay in that Danish Lego House. Last month it was announced that a property in Billund, Denmark, constructed from more than 25 million Lego bricks was available to rent.