When there’s a payment hold or authorization on your payment method

A payment hold, also known as a payment authorization, is a pending charge on your payment method. Airbnb uses a payment hold for the full amount of the reservation at the time of booking to ensure that you have the funds or credit available to cover a payment.

How payment holds work

When you book a reservation, we share the payment amount with your bank, credit card company, or other payment provider. We place a payment hold on your payment method to reserve this amount for Airbnb. If your reservation is accepted, the authorization will turn into a real charge up to 24 hours after your booking and the amount will be deducted from your payment account.

Removing a payment hold

The payment hold is removed once a payment charge goes through. If you cancel a reservation after booking and the actual payment has not occurred yet, Airbnb will remove the hold at the time of cancellation.

You might not notice when a payment hold is removed because it often happens behind the scenes. A payment hold may be replaced by the actual payment charge or it may be removed entirely when a reservation is canceled.

If your request is declined or expires, the authorization will disappear or appear as a refund in your payment account. Depending on the processing time of your payment provider, the release of the authorization may take up to 7 business days to reflect on their end.

Expediting removal of a payment hold

Contact your payment provider if you have questions about how quickly a payment hold can be removed. An earlier release isn’t promised, but they may be able to help.