• Airbnb and Expedia Are Raking in Profits by Holding Customer Cash   

Excerpt from Desert News

Pay-now, stay-later model has an awesome rewards program. But it’s not for you

Track down that deluxe hotel room or sweet rental house with the saltwater pool, confirm your length of stay and then, regardless of how far away your actual travel is happening, get that credit card. If you want to play, it’s time to pay, even though your online booker won’t be transferring those funds until you show up with your bags.

Turns out, that IRS-style policy of paying up front for liabilities that don’t come until later has become a cash cow for the online booking business and that’s thanks in large part to interest rates that are now the highest in decades.

Putting your money to work, but not for you

On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal dropped a report offering some insight into how Airbnb and Expedia leverage the customer cash that’s in their control between the time you book and the time you stay.

How much money are we talking about?

In the third quarter of 2022, Airbnb collected $58.5 million in interest income on its own cash as well as its customers’ cash, a whopping uptick from the $3 million it made over the same period in 2021, per the Journal report. The company doesn’t parse what portion of that fund is customer cash versus its own money but according to its most recent fiscal reporting, customer funds account for about 30% of its assets.

Airbnb held $7.5 billion in funds on behalf of customers as of June 30 and $4.8 billion at the end of September, according to its earnings reports to a Journal analysis. But it also noted the company’s terms of service agreement makes clear that Airbnb can invest customer money and keep the interest.

In a statement shared with the Journal, an Airbnb spokesman said its payments system “is secure and simple for guests to use and ensures timely payment for hosts.”

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