Case Study · 2025
← Back to WorkPay-in-Full Pricing
A new checkout option that lets guests pay everything upfront at a discount. Converting price-sensitive browsers into confirmed bookings and generating +$ 1M in month one.
Renting our product is expensive. Average order value hovers around $ 1,800. The standard payment model splits this into a deposit at booking and a balance due later. But analysis showed a segment of guests who wanted simplicity: one payment, done, don't think about it again.
The hypothesis was straightforward: offer a small discount (3–5%) for paying the full amount upfront. Guests get a price break and peace of mind. We get immediate cash flow instead of chasing balances. Hosts get faster payouts.
The challenge wasn't the concept it was the complexity. Our checkout already handles deposits, insurance add-ons, damage protection, service fees, and cancellation policies. Introducing a third payment path meant untangling all of those interactions.
Mapping every edge case: deposits, insurance, cancellation refunds, host payouts, and service fee recalculation
Decision 1
Show the savings, not the math
Early prototypes showed the full pricing breakdown: original total, discount percentage, new total. Guest testing revealed this felt like a negotiation. The final design shows the discounted price as the primary number with a simple "You save $ X" line. One number, one benefit.
Decision 2
Default to split, upsell full
We debated defaulting to pay-in-full. Data showed that a higher-looking upfront price increased cart abandonment for budget guests. The final approach: default to the familiar split payment, with the full-pay option surfaced as a highlighted alternative with the discount visible.
Decision 3
Cancel gracefully
The hardest edge case: what happens when a pay-in-full booking gets cancelled? The guest paid a discounted rate, but the refund policy is based on the original rate. I worked with legal and engineering to design a refund flow that's fair to both sides — refunding the actual amount paid, proportional to the cancellation policy.
Decision 4
Host-side transparency
Hosts see that a guest chose pay-in-full, and their payout timeline reflects the immediate payment. This was a deliberate choice to build trust — hosts know the guest is financially committed, which reduces cancellation anxiety.
Results
$ 1.2M in 30 days.
+$ 1M
Incremental revenue in the first month from pay-in-full bookings
+$ 3M
Projected Q1 revenue based on adoption rate
40%
Of eligible bookings chose pay-in-full in the first month
0
Payment-related support tickets in the first 30 days