I See What You Did There

In today's Launch Ticker newsletter was the entry:

Airbnb introduces Pay Less Up Front, a feature to let users pay 50 percent when they book, and the rest nearer their trip; the company says 40 percent of users chose the option during a testing phase, and that travelers ultimately went for higher-value bookings.

Have JUST FINISHED READING Dollars And Sense, I had to laugh at my newfound understanding of this pricing change.

Ariely and Kreisler talk about the "pain of paying" and describe how paying before, during, or after an experience affects one's enjoyment OF the experience. Paying creates pain, but by separating the payment from the experience, one can reduce the pain somewhat. The "pay 50% now, 50% later" is a way to reduce this pain, resulting in a willingness to spend more money on the higher-priced (not necessarily value, as mentioned in the newsletter) booking.

That I see this happening and understand it more than I did a week ago delights me. And I've been needing some delights as of late.