You can’t split a payment on Airbnb directly — here’s what you can do instead

You can’t split a payment on Airbnb directly — here’s what you can do instead

Up until 2018, Airbnb offered a feature that was a favorite among users: split rental fees.

With a few extra clicks of your mouse or taps on your phone, you could invite everyone staying at a rental to pay their share of the fee and avoid those awkward conversations about who owed who how much cash or who already sent money through Venmo.

However, you can no longer split payments on Airbnb. So, if you want to split the cost of an Airbnb rental, you have to do it the old-fashioned way — with a few exceptions.

How to split an Airbnb payment

The simplest way to split the cost of an Airbnb is for one person to handle the entire payment via the Airbnb site or app and then have everyone else pay their fair share through Venmo, PayPal, CashApp, Apple Pay, or any other preferred payment app.

Most rentals will also allow you to pay a down payment when booking and then pay the rest in installments, giving you time to collect payments from everyone else staying at the Airbnb.

Most rentals require at least half the fee at the time of booking and the other portion two weeks before the start of the stay. 

If you choose to pay in installments, you can use a different credit card for each payment, which may be a good option if there are just two of you splitting the bill. If you’re renting a long-term Airbnb, you also have the option of using a different payment method for each recurring monthly charge.

If you’re the one to lay down your credit card, you can also collect a large number of points, especially if you use a travel credit card.

The bottom line

Unfortunately, Airbnb doesn’t make it easy to split payments for a reservation if you’re traveling with a group. Your best option is for one person to pay and then use an electronic payment service like Venmo, PayPal, CashApp, or Apple Pay to collect reimbursements from the other travelers.