An AIRBNB * HM charge on your card: a stay, a second payment, or someone else’s

Airbnb says its charges “will always start with ‘AIRBNB’ followed by a confirmation code”, and gives AIRBNB HMD2YW - Travel as the example; “if the description isn’t displayed like this, it’s not a direct charge from Airbnb”.¹ On the state cards of Delaware the same lines read AIRBNB * HM or AIRBNB HM and eight more letters or digits.⁹ The code is the one in the reservation: it is under Reservation details in Trips on Airbnb.¹¹

What the state’s card data shows

The State of Delaware publishes every purchase its employees make on state cards. Its data has 182 lines whose name begins AIRBNB, from 6 August 2014 to 24 September 2026. Of these, 157 are AIRBNB * HM (112 lines) or AIRBNB HM (45 lines) and eight characters: 134 charges from 7.87 to 8,890.09, and 23 credits. The form without the asterisk was last seen on 22 July 2024; since then every line has the asterisk. The other 25 are older or have no code: AIRBNB INC, AIRBNB, AIRBNB * INC and one AIRBNB with eight characters that do not start HM.⁹ These are work cards, so the sizes are not those of a family holiday, and the data does not say who stayed where.

The 157 lines carry 109 different codes. 66 codes appear once, as a charge and nothing else. 43 appear on more than one line, and these are the ones people write in about:

Counted over the 109 codes: 22 have two or more charges. In four of them the second charge is the same day or the day after the first; in the other 18 it is 11 to 95 days later. 22 codes have a credit; in 14 of them one credit is exactly the amount of one charge on that code, and in 11 of those it comes within six days.⁹ The data does not say why a code has a second line, and we do not know. Airbnb’s own pages give the reasons below.

Why one stay can be more than one line

• The payment is split. For most reservations the card is charged when the stay is confirmed. With Airbnb’s scheduled payments, part is charged then and the rest on a date printed at checkout, or all of it on a later date, and Airbnb says the split “can’t be changed”. It emails 3 days before each charge; if the second one fails Airbnb asks for it at once, and a reservation whose second payment is not made within 72 hours is cancelled.²³ Two lines that differ by a cent, such as 731.24 and 731.23 above, are what an amount split in two looks like; the data does not say that is what they are.
• A hold turns into the charge. Airbnb says it asks your bank to reserve the full amount at booking and that an accepted request turns into a real charge “up to 24 hours after your booking”. If the request is declined or expires, the hold disappears or shows as a refund, which can take up to 7 business days on the bank’s side. Where the full amount is charged at the request instead, Airbnb says the guest is “refunded immediately and automatically”, though it may take up to 10 calendar days to process.⁴
• The host asks for more money after the stay. Airbnb’s Resolution Center lets a host or guest request money for things like an optional fee or an agreed refund, up to 60 days after check-out. Airbnb’s page says it cannot be used to charge for a change in nights, guests or pets, and that a request shows up in the email on the account or in the Resolution Center. Payments made that way are listed separately from the reservation payments.⁷¹²
• A hotel booked through Airbnb. Airbnb’s page on double charges lists hotel incidentals and resort fees among the reasons a second charge can appear.⁴

What cardholders say they found

These are people’s own accounts on Reddit, not our findings, and we have not heard the other side. The question comes up in a few shapes.¹⁰

• A booking that was meant to be one. A post of 15 October 2026 from a traveller in South Korea says they meant to book one room for AUD 858 and remember clicking “Confirm and Pay” once, and ended with three confirmed bookings of the same property totalling AUD 2,630, all three confirmation emails arriving within a minute. Airbnb says they were three separate bookings. A PayPal case was denied and another was under review; the host later offered a 50% refund.
• A charge from a host that Airbnb support declined to take. A post of 19 October 2026 says a host asked for $20 as “extra services” after a stay, that Airbnb support paid the host as a “goodwill gesture” without charging the guest, and that the host then made a second request for the same thing as “damage”.
• A request eight days after check-out. A post of 13 October 2026 says a host asked for $2,600 for 7 extra guests and a carpet clean, that Airbnb was “not allowing me to request more than $1,393 at a time”, and that the poster declined, after which the host “involved Airbnb”. The poster asks whether the card will be charged anyway; the post has no answer from Airbnb.
• A charge on a card that was not used for a year and a half. A post of 9 October 2026 from Canada says support confirmed the payment did not come from the poster’s own account, would not say who had used the card, and that the amount matched a trip the poster’s brother had taken, though by the poster’s account the card was never on the brother’s account.
• Told that a relative used the card. A post of 9 January 2024 says a $322 charge appeared for a reservation the poster did not make, and that Airbnb replied within a day that it believed a family member or close friend “unintentionally used” the card, and would not refund. A post of 13 December 2023 about a $2,000 stay says the bank reversed the charge at once and that Airbnb replied that “the person who made the charge is a member of your family”, and that a subpoena would be needed for the details.
• One charge or eleven. A post of 21 June 2020 says a 5-night booking of $420.72 showed eleven times on the poster’s account, taking it negative, while Airbnb’s support said it had only the single charge. Airbnb’s page on a second line says an authorization can appear next to the charge.⁴ The post as we read it does not say how it ended.

How to find out which one it is, and get the money back

1. Read the line A line that starts AIRBNB and a code is Airbnb. A line that starts PLAN FEE is from your bank or card company, and Airbnb says to ask them.¹
2. Match the code to a reservation On Airbnb go to Trips, open the reservation and look under Reservation details. Past and cancelled trips have their own lists there. A reservation made on someone else’s account is only in theirs.¹¹ The payments Airbnb has taken on the account since 2018 are under Account settings, Payments, Your payments, and a payment still to come is under Reservation details, Payment info.¹²
3. Ask whether the amount is pending or posted If a booking was declined, cancelled before the charge or never completed, the amount may be a hold, and the bank can say when it goes.⁴
4. If someone else may have used the account Airbnb says to go to its Review your account page: change the password, check recent logins, check that your contact details and payout methods have not been changed, and confirm that every reservation was made by you.⁵
5. If a host is asking for money The request is in your email and in the Resolution Center. Airbnb’s page says issues have to be reported within 72 hours of discovery to be covered by its rebooking and refund policy, and that for a mediation request you have one hour to answer.⁷
6. Expect the refund to take time Airbnb says a refund is started as soon as you cancel and most arrive within 15 days; PayPal 24 hours, major credit cards up to 15 business days.⁸
7. If it is still not yours, call the bank Ask the bank to dispute the charge and send a new card. Pick one road: Airbnb says that once a chargeback is filed it “is no longer able to resolve the dispute with you directly”, the bank can take up to 90 days, and it may take back an amount it has put into your account if the charge is found valid.⁶

Is this a scam?

The name is real: public bodies in one state have paid it every year in the data from 2014 to 2026.⁹ That does not tell you a charge on your card is yours, and several people above describe lines they say they never made. The test is the list of confirmation codes in the account on your card and in the accounts of those who have used it, not the name on the line.

Why this page is on a site about held money

This site records payment companies that hold back money that belongs to someone else. Airbnb says it holds a guest’s payment until 24 hours after check-in before it goes to a host.² Airbnb is not the subject of a record here, but the site does carry two hosts’ accounts of Payoneer accounts that were used for Airbnb payouts. Rooms booked through other sites are on the pages for CCI*HOTEL RES, a flight is DELTA AIR and a number, and a flight or room bought through Expedia is EXPEDIA and an itinerary number. Other lines are in the table of statement names.

Sources

1. Airbnb Help Center, "If a credit card or bank statement mentions an Airbnb plan fee": purchases “will always start with ‘AIRBNB’ followed by a confirmation code”, example AIRBNB HMD2YW - Travel; a line starting PLAN FEE “is a charge from your credit card or bank, not Airbnb”. airbnb.com. Read on 21 October 2026.
2. Airbnb Help Center, "When you’ll pay for your reservation": for most reservations the payment method is charged as soon as the reservation is confirmed; the host is paid 24 hours after check-in for a home; "Pay for your reservation with Airbnb scheduled payments": Pay Part Now, Part Later and Reserve Now, Pay Later; the split “can’t be changed”; an email 3 days before the charge. airbnb.com, airbnb.com. Read on 21 October 2026.
3. Airbnb Help Center, "When you’ll be charged for a reservation using a payment plan": if the second payment fails and is not made within 72 hours the reservation is cancelled and any refund of the first payment follows the cancellation policy. airbnb.com. Read on 21 October 2026.
4. Airbnb Help Center, "When there’s a payment hold or authorization on your payment method": the hold becomes a charge “up to 24 hours after your booking”; release “may take up to 7 business days”; "Why you were charged twice for a reservation": the authorization, the refund of up to 10 calendar days, and hotel incidentals and resort fees. airbnb.com, airbnb.com. Read on 21 October 2026.
5. Airbnb Help Center, "Unauthorized account access": the Review your account page; change the password, review logins, check contact details and payout methods, confirm that reservations were made by you. airbnb.com. Read on 21 October 2026.
6. Airbnb Help Center, "I disputed a charge from Airbnb with my bank, what happens next?": up to 90 days; Airbnb “is no longer able to resolve the dispute with you directly”; any refund comes from the bank; the bank may take back an amount if the charge was valid. airbnb.com. Read on 21 October 2026.
7. Airbnb Help Center, "When to use the Resolution Center": 60 days after check-out; not for changes to nights, guest count or pet count; issues reported within 72 hours of discovery; one hour to respond to a mediation request. airbnb.com. Read on 21 October 2026.
8. Airbnb Help Center, "When you’ll get your refund": a refund is started on cancelling; PayPal 24 hours; major credit cards up to 15 business days; most within 15 days. airbnb.com. Read on 21 October 2026.
9. State of Delaware Open Data, State Employee Credit Card Transactions, fields "merchant", "trans_dt" and "merchandise_amt". Lines whose name begins AIRBNB. Queried and counted on 21 October 2026: 182 lines, of which 157 match AIRBNB (* )HM and eight letters or digits. The codes are not printed here.
10. Reddit posts in r/AirBnB, each the poster’s own account: “Airbnb charged me $2,630 for a booking that should’ve cost $858”, 15 October 2026 (reddit.com); “Host charged me for ‘extra services’ and ‘damage’”, 19 October 2026 (reddit.com); “Host Requests $2600 More Than a Week After Checkout”, 13 October 2026 (reddit.com); “Has Anyone Else Experienced Something Similar with Billing?”, 9 October 2026 (reddit.com); “AirBnB says a family member ‘unintentionally’ used my credit card”, 9 January 2024 (reddit.com); “Someone booked a $2000 stay on my credit card, and airbnb is siding with the thief”, 13 December 2023 (reddit.com); “I was charged $420.72 ELEVEN TIMES!”, 21 June 2020 (reddit.com). Read in a web browser on 21 October 2026; Reddit answers the web archive with a bot-check page, so no archived copies could be made.
11. Airbnb Help Center, "Find your reservation info": the confirmation code is under Reservation details in Trips; a reservation booked on a friend’s or family member’s account is in theirs. airbnb.com. Read on 21 October 2026.
12. Airbnb Help Center, "Where guests can find their payments": payments made to hosts through the Resolution Center “are shown separately from your other payments”; Account settings, Payments, Your payments for payments since 2018; upcoming payments under Reservation details, Payment info. airbnb.com. Read on 21 October 2026.