The news: Airbnb forged partnerships with Stripe and Klarna to beef up its payments offering.
- The tie-in with Stripe lets Airbnb customers pay with a linked US bank account, and they don’t have to reenter bank details for future bookings.
- Airbnb’s partnership with Klarna will let users in the US and Canada pay for bookings in four interest-free installments over six weeks. For bookings over $500, guests in the US can apply to pay monthly. More markets will be added throughout the year.
Why it could work: Airbnb is widening the payment options it offers to attract more users and increase spending on the platform.
- A2A payments will grow: We expect digital bank transfer volume to increase 9.1% this year to $97.22 billion, per our forecasts. Enabling this method with Stripe gives Airbnb users more checkout choices and an improved customer experience, both of which should strengthen retention.
- Customers want more flexible payments: 75% of consumers said they are more likely to choose a pay-by-installment option like BNPL to fund travel over the next year due to economic uncertainty, per a 2022 Amadeus survey. That demand can drive higher spending on Airbnb.
What it means: Both Stripe and Klarna can benefit from tapping Airbnb’s huge reach. The site booked 121.1 million nights and experiences in Q1 and generated $20.4 billion in gross booking value, up 19% year over year on the back of strong travel demand.
- Stripe’s latest tie-in highlights the firm’s strategy to partner with the global heavyweights of retail and commerce. It expanded its partnership with Uber and forged ties with Microsoft earlier this month.
- And Airbnb offering BNPL underscores the payment method’s growing popularity: We expect the number of BNPL users in the US will grow 11.7% this year to 88.2 million, per our forecasts.
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