Despegar advanced $3 million to hotels and aims to raise payments to $30–50 million — The Rio Times
In Colombia, Renan Pinto, the chief financial officer of the Latin American online travel booking platform Despegar, said that the company had advanced $3 million to hotels for confirmed future bookings. Despegar aims to increase the volume of such advances to $30–50 million by March 2027, The Rio Times reports.
Payments for future bookings
The Despegar Pago service transfers funds to hotels within 48 hours for confirmed bookings whose guests have not yet stayed. Hotels usually receive payment after 30–45 days.
According to Pinto, a hotel can select the required bookings in its account on the platform, after which the funds are transferred to the specified bank account. The service was launched around four months before the interview published on October 31, 2026.
In its third month of operation, Despegar Pago's volume of advances reached $1 million, and at the time of the interview it stood at $3 million, Pinto said. The cost of the advance payment is determined separately for each hotel, taking into account its cash flows and seasonality, but specific rates or fees were not disclosed.
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Operations in Latin American countries
According to Pinto, Despegar Pago is available in all countries where the platform operates, including Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, and Brazil. Argentina is the company's largest market and was the first country where the product was launched, while Chile has the highest share of the platform's hotels using the service.
The chief financial officer also noted that Despegar's business in Latin America is growing by around 20% per year, and by 40% in Colombia. Colombia accounts for about one-tenth of the company's business.
Platform owner
Dutch technology group Prosus completed its acquisition of Despegar on May 15, 2025. The company valued the deal at $1.7 billion. Despegar was founded in Argentina in 1999, and its shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in 2017.
