Airbnb Introduces Group Payments

The days of pestering your friends for their share of an Airbnb charge are over, the popular travel app announced via blog post Tuesday.

Airbnb will roll out a seamless, global split payments feature on its booking platform after finding in a recent survey that the capability was in high demand, the blog post said. Trip organizers will be able to reserve their desired accommodation for up to 72 hours in an “awaiting payment” state as others in the group to log on to Airbnb and pay their portion.

Airbnb says the demand for more dynamic payments capabilities was clear. “One of the top requests [for new features] was group payments. We heard consumers loud and clear, and with the launch of split payments, we’re delivering on that promise,” the company said in the blog post.

Airbnb says their recent survey found that 43 percent of American travelers have lost $1,000 or more in group trip repayments, and that 38 percent of American travelers have experienced not receiving all the money owed from a trip. Group organizers often must front costs $500 or more, and almost a third have fronted $1000 or more. More than a quarter – 29 percent – said they had fought with a friend over group trip money collections.

The addition of the split payments technology will help Airbnb improve its user experience and grow its community, the company said.

The move comes after ETA member PayPal introduced a group payments feature called Money Pools earlier this month.

Read the full blog post and survey methodology here.