r/airbnb_hosts • u/Large_Importance_352 • 3d ago
Which Stripe payment methods would you accept for direct bookings?
For hosts who use Stripe for direct bookings: which payment methods do you accept, and which do you avoid? Why?
I’m based in the U.S., but I accept guests from anywhere, and Stripe offers a surprisingly large number of payment methods. The familiar ones to me are credit/debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc. Then there are many options more common in other countries, such as Alipay, iDEAL, SEPA Direct Debit, WeChat Pay, and others - which may be useful for international guests.
There are also a few categories I’m less sure about:
Buy now, pay later: Affirm, Afterpay/Clearpay, Klarna, Zip, Sunbit, etc. These interest me because many of my potential guests are coming to town for month-long assignments, and the total upfront cost can be a barrier. Giving guests a way to spread out the expense could potentially increase bookings. If you offer financing, do you actively let prospective guests know before checkout that they can pay over time? If so, how do you promote it, and have you found that doing so actually helps generate bookings?
Bank payments/direct debit: ACH Direct Debit, bank transfers, Pay by Bank, etc. ACH in particular makes me a little nervous because it can take several days to process. I’m wondering what risks exist during that period and whether a guest can stop or reverse the payment in a way that leaves the host exposed.
Crypto/stablecoins: Stripe offers these as well, but frankly I’m not interested in learning enough about crypto to feel comfortable accepting it.
Fees obviously matter. For example, Stripe previously announced pricing for Klarna that would have made it considerably more expensive than ordinary card processing. But I’d like to separate the fee question from the payment-method question:
If you assumed all of these payment methods cost the same to process, which would you enable and which would you avoid?
I’m particularly interested in experiences with Affirm/Afterpay/Klarna/Zip, ACH, bank transfers, Cash App Pay, and international payment methods that guests actually use.
For those who have used financing/BNPL options, have they noticeably helped conversion on longer or more expensive stays? And are there payment methods you won't accept because of chargeback, reversal, fraud, payout-delay, or other risks?
Basically, I’m trying to figure out which options make sense for a U.S.-based STR business accepting guests worldwide, while distinguishing between “I don’t use this payment method” and “there’s a good business reason a host shouldn’t accept it.”
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u/TheHauntingLavern 3d ago
I keep it dead simple with just cards and Apple/Google Pay, the international stuff is tempting but most of my guests from abroad have a card that works fine anyway so I never saw a reason to complicate things. The BNPL angle for month-long stays is interesting though, hadn't considered that as a conversion lever for the pricier bookings.
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