If a host's fees for a month are higher than their earnings, the month ends negative.
A negative balance is carried forward and taken off the host's next positive payout.
If the balance stays negative for about 3 months in a row, the months are combined into one amount and the host is invoiced for it.
Once the host pays the invoice, the balance is cleared and will not be deducted from future payouts.
1. Why a month can be negative
Corrections to earlier payouts and miscellaneous charges are taken the same way.
If these costs are more than what the host earned from trips that month, the month's total is negative and no money is sent to the host's bank account.
2. What happens month by month
Negative month | What happens | What the host sees |
1st | The negative amount is carried forward. | Monthly statement email saying no transfer was made and the balance will be deducted from the next payout. |
2nd | The new negative amount is combined with the one carried forward. The total is still carried forward. | Monthly statement showing the combined balance. |
3rd | The months are combined again, and the system now issues an invoice for the full amount. | "Settlement of Outstanding Balance" email with the invoice and a payment link. |
If the host has a positive month at any point before the invoice, the carried-forward balance is simply taken off that payout and no invoice is needed.
3. After the invoice is paid
A paid invoice is never deducted again.
Once the host pays, the balance is marked as settled. Future payouts only include balances that are still open, so the host's next payout is not reduced by the amount they already paid.
4. If the invoice isn't paid
The system tries the payment again.
If the payment fails, the invoice stays open and the charge is retried. The amount is meant to be settled through the invoice, not through future payouts. If a host has an unpaid invoice and earns a positive payout in the same month, check with the tech team before telling the host what will happen. This case hasn't been fully confirmed yet.
5. Why it sometimes takes 4 months instead of 3
Hosts are normally invoiced on their 3rd negative month in a row. Sometimes it happens a month later:
Each month, the system is supposed to combine the new negative amount with the balance already carried forward.
If that monthly step is missed for a host, their negative months stay separate.
The next time the step runs, it combines all the separate months at once, but counts that as a single step.
Because the invoice is triggered by the number of combining steps, the host reaches the invoice point one month later than usual.
The tech team is aware of this and is looking at a fix so the 3-month rule always applies.
6. Common host questions
"My invoice shows one big amount that I don't recognise."
The invoice lists each combined balance as a single line, so several months of fees can appear as one amount. The detailed items are in the host's earlier monthly statements, one per month.
"Why don't I see this amount in this month's breakdown?"
The monthly breakdown only lists that month's items. Balances from earlier months only appear as the combined amount.
"I paid the invoice. Will it come off my next payout too?"
No. A paid invoice is settled and won't be deducted again.
"Why was I invoiced instead of having it taken from my next payout?"
The balance stayed negative for several months in a row, so we issue an invoice to settle it rather than keep carrying it forward.
7. Note on documentation
There's currently no formal written policy for this. The process above is based on how the payout system works today and what the "Settlement of Outstanding Balance" email tells hosts. We recommend adding it to the official payout policy so everyone works from the same reference.