Guests Pay You Directly
Guests pay by card on your booking page, straight into your own Stripe or Paystack account. Airflow never holds your money. You can also take M-Pesa, bank transfer or cash and record it against the booking.
How it works
Connect your own Stripe or Paystack account in your portal. When a guest books on your booking page or widget, they pay at a Stripe or Paystack checkout and the money goes to your account. Airflow never holds it. Stripe takes cards. Paystack takes cards and M-Pesa, for hosts in Kenya and other African markets.
You choose the payment options each listing offers: pay in full, a deposit with the balance due before arrival, or pay on arrival. When a guest pays a deposit, Airflow emails them a reminder for the balance and they pay it from their guest portal.
You can also be paid outside the checkout. Add your bank, M-Pesa or PayPal details and guests are shown them when they book. When the money arrives, you mark the payment as received on the booking. The same goes for cash, and for bookings you add yourself.
Airflow charges commission on bookings guests make on your booking page, your widget or the Airflow marketplace. On card payments it is taken out of the payment as it is made. On M-Pesa, bank transfer and other manual payments it is billed to the card on your Airflow account. Bookings from other channels carry no commission. Nor does a booking you add yourself that is already paid; if the guest then pays it through Airflow, your booking-page rate applies. Rates, and the payment methods each plan includes, are on the pricing page.
Key capabilities
- Paid straight to you: Card payments go into your own Stripe or Paystack account. Airflow never holds your money
- Cards and M-Pesa: Stripe for cards, Paystack for cards and M-Pesa
- Deposits and balances: Take a deposit at booking. The guest pays the balance from their guest portal, with reminder emails
- Pay on arrival: Let guests book now and pay you when they arrive
- Manual payments: Show your bank, M-Pesa or PayPal details at booking and record what you receive against the booking
- Card details stay with the processor: Guests enter their card on the Stripe or Paystack checkout page, not on Airflow
Key benefits
Why Payment Processing matters
Checkout on Your Booking Page
Guests book and pay by card on your own booking page, or on the booking widget on your website.
Card Details Stay with the Processor
Stripe and Paystack take the card details on their own checkout page. You never handle them.
Deposit, Full Payment or Pay on Arrival
Choose the options each listing offers. Airflow tracks what has been paid and what is still due on every booking.
FAQ
Common questions about Payment Processing
Do I need my own Stripe or Paystack account?
To take card payments, yes. You connect your own Stripe or Paystack account and guest payments go straight into it. You can also record M-Pesa, bank transfer and cash payments by hand; see the pricing page for the payment methods each plan includes.
What payment methods can guests use?
Cards through Stripe. Cards and M-Pesa through Paystack. You can also show your bank, M-Pesa or PayPal details so guests pay you directly, and mark the payment as received when it arrives.
What payment options can I offer guests?
Full payment at booking, a deposit with the balance due before arrival, or pay on arrival. Airflow tracks each payment against the booking and reminds the guest when a balance is due.
Does Airflow ever hold my money?
No. Card payments go from the guest to your own Stripe or Paystack account. On card payments Airflow's commission is taken out as the payment is made. On manual payments it is billed to the card on your Airflow account. See the pricing page for the rates.
More from Connections & Integrations
Related features
Guides & insights
From the blog
No-Shows and Guests Who Never Pay
Abandoned checkouts, offers that expire, and the stay nobody turned up for. What each one should do to your calendar, your books and your task allowance.
What should happen when a guest never pays or never arrives? →
Nobody Should Manage a Night Cap by Hand
Counting nights against a letting limit every month, for every property, forever, is a job that fails quietly. What it takes to hand it over safely — and what should still need your say-so.
Can a night cap be managed automatically? →
Which Nights Should You Give Up?
If a night cap means closing part of your year, the question is not how many nights but which ones. Rank the year by your own rate card and the answer changes by thousands.
Which nights should I close to stay under a night cap? →Questions this answers
- How do I connect Airbnb to accounting software?Airbnb connects natively to QuickBooks only. For Xero, Sage and FreshBooks, or for more than one channel, you need a bridge: three kinds exist.
- How do I manage Airbnb and direct bookings in one place?Put both in one calendar: Airbnb bookings arrive from their confirmation emails, direct bookings are taken on your own page, and calendar links block the dates each way.
- How do I get direct bookings without leaving Airbnb?Keep your Airbnb listing and add a booking page of your own beside it. Calendar links stop the two selling the same night, and each guest books where they found you.
- How do I accept payments directly from holiday-rental guests?Open a card account in your own name, take a deposit at booking and the balance before arrival, and tie every payment to its booking.
Ready to use Payment Processing?
Start free today. A card is needed at sign-up.
Start free trial See plans and pricing