Last month, when I was touring around western Iowa, South Dakota, and Nebraska for an art project (see above), I came to a problem: I had more time than I expected, and less money. But I hated to just turn around and go home, as planned: This project requires me to visit the farthest-flung corners of Iowa. Another night in Omaha now would mean that when I return to Iowa in the fall, I could avoid another trip out there. But I hadn’t budgeted for what would be a sixth night on the road.
The new solution: Airbnbs and Booking.coms booked by Klarna, Affirm, and the like. Buy now, pay later has come to Hilton.
The reason that I’m a little freaked out by this development is that given the opportunity, I will always stay one more night. Actually — why not two? Or three!! I know it’s time to go home when there’s no more budget available. These plans change that math — now, all we need to do is pay, for example, the first of four installments. For my Airbnb, I didn’t need to pay $134 — just $34. With Affirm, you don’t even need to pay anything for 30 days.
I ended up buying now and paying later for two reservations: With Klarna, I “paid in four” and didn’t pay any additional interest. With Affirm, I booked a hotel in Omaha and paid in three installments (beginning 30 days after my stay), adding $9 in interest fees.
This feels extremely dangerous to someone like me, who has the same loves (traveling, hotel) and the same hatred (budgets).
I’ve used BNPL plans in the past and I actually really like them: Unlike credit cards, the payment policy is fixed (so you’re not paying interest forever), and they’ve given me the opportunity to buy better (so I buy one pair of better-quality shoes over a year than three pairs of poor-quality shoes). But hotels are one of the most fleeting of purchases — you check with your memories and little else. Except now you also have a payment plan.
I do think this is a great alternative if you’re broke and really in a jam. I remember being on a press trip once with basically no money to my name, and I was somehow the only journalist in my group to be denied boarding on a plane from Monterrey back home to NYC. If my parents hadn’t bailed me out, I would have been sleeping at the airport (which for the record, I don’t think is that horrible a thing.) But I’ve been in situations where my wallet’s been stolen, and all I had was a working cell phone connection. I do think it builds a little security into travel for people on a tight budget but who need to get around nonetheless.
Personally: I’m going to do this as little as possible, because otherwise I will be Klarnaing three nights at the Ritz and ignoring the fact that the bill will eventually come due. This post celebrates that I just paid off that Airbnb. I’m glad I did it, but I hope I won’t do it too much in the future.
