Airbnb Payment Options: Guide for Hosts

Renting out your home or apartment on Airbnb and other rental listing sites is an increasingly popular way to earn passive income and grow a successful short-term rental business. But if you are thinking about becoming an Airbnb host, most probably, you’ll have a lot of questions, and one of them is, “How do Airbnb hosts get paid?”

In this blog, we take a look at Airbnb payment options available for hosts. Read on to find the necessary information about the Airbnb payout process and learn the basics about when and how you’ll receive payments.

You may also want to check out our article, where you can find answers to other Airbnb FAQ that many potential hosts have.

How Does Airbnb Payment Work for Hosts?

First, you should keep in mind that Airbnb strictly forbids cash payments or any types of payment that get past the platform. At the same time, Airbnb makes it easy for hosts to receive payments or what they refer to as payouts via the platform.

• After you create an attractive listing for your rental property and are ready to accept guests, you need to select your payout method in your account settings.

• Airbnb guests are charged the full fee when they book your rental property.

• Airbnb sends your payout about 24 hours after a guest checks into your place.

And what if you have multiple listings with check-ins on the same day? Then all the payments will be combined into a single payout.

Being a host at multiple Airbnb properties involves a lot of work, so you may most likely want to hire a co-host and a cleaning team to help ensure that your Airbnb is always guest-ready. Then assigning tasks to the team will be easier if you use rental management software like Hospitable.com. With Hospitable, you’ll be able to set rules, and the system will do everything automatically.

Airbnb Payment Methods

To receive payments on Airbnb, you must select your payout method in your account’s Payments & Payouts section. Airbnb payment options available for you will depend on where you’re based because payout methods differ by country. They include

• Bank transfer/ACH/direct deposit

• International wire

• PayPal

• Western Union

• Payoneer Prepaid Debit Card

• Alipay (available only for hosts in mainland China)

Here is what you should do to add a payment method to your account. You need to go to Payments & Payouts and then payouts. Click Add payout method. After that, choose your billing country, and you’ll see Airbnb payout methods available. Select the method you want to use, add the requested billing info, and click Next. You may add several payout methods. Then you can specify which of them you want to be your default.

You’ll have to wait until your payout method is verified. Once that happens, its status will change to Ready. Depending on your selected payout method, the verification process can take 2 to 7 business days.

Airbnb Payout: How Much Will You Get Paid?

So how can you calculate your Airbnb payout? That’s simple. Just add any optional extra charges (like your extra guest fee or cleaning fee) to your nightly rate. It’s your subtotal. Then subtract the Host service fee—most Airbnb hosts pay a service fee of 3%, which is calculated from a booking subtotal.

Your earnings will depend on the prices you set and will vary depending on the length of a guest’s stay and any discounts you apply. Running an Airbnb can be very profitable if you are willing to do the job of attracting guests and providing them with the best experience.

And you’ll have more time to focus on marketing your STR business if you automate routine tasks using vacation rental management software like Hospitable. Our tool can help you automate almost all aspects of managing your business.

When Does Airbnb Payout Arrive in Your Account?

Typically, Airbnb will send you the money you earn from hosting 24 hours after your guest’s scheduled check-in time. But the exact time when the funds arrive in your account will depend on the specific payout method you’ve selected.

When you host a longer stay (28 nights or more), you’ll receive your payout in monthly installments, starting 24 hours after your guest arrives. And if you set a minimum payment amount, Airbnb won’t release your payout until that amount is met.

Once your funds have been sent, a Payout line item will appear for that guest’s reservation. Besides, you can always check the status of your payout in your Transaction History.

Bottom Line

Airbnb gives hosts an opportunity to choose from several Airbnb payment options when setting their payout method. The payout method you select will determine how long it will take for your money to arrive in your account. It’s also possible to have several payment methods. Then you need to specify which one you prefer to be your default.