Haitian Entrepreneur Giscard Borgard Launches Hold My Seat Now, a Pay-Over-Time Travel Startup Projected Valued at $1 Million

For Giscard Borgard, the idea behind his new travel startup didn’t come from a business plan. It came from a flight he never took.

Borgard is the founder of “Hold My Seat Now”, an Atlanta-based startup that officially launched on September 4, 2026, out of Midtown Atlanta. The company lets travelers lock in a flight and spread the cost of the ticket across several payments instead of paying the full fare upfront.

In an interview, Borgard traced the idea back to a trip he still hasn’t managed to take.

“Bali was just one of many experiences that inspired the idea,” he said. “I often reference Bali because it remains one of my dream destinations. Even after traveling to more than 75 countries, it still bothers me that I have not made it there after all these years.”

When the Price Moves Faster Than the Paycheck

Borgard described a problem familiar to frequent travelers: finding an affordable flight, but not having the funds ready the moment it’s time to book.

“For people who love to travel like I do, one of the biggest challenges has always been matching our finances with constantly changing airline prices,” he said. “You may find the perfect flight at a great price, but financially, you are not always ready to pay the full amount at that moment. By the time you are ready, the price may have increased significantly, leaving you with the choice of paying more, changing your plans, or not traveling at all.”

That gap between “I found the deal” and “I can afford the deal” became the founding problem Hold My Seat Now set out to solve.

“The idea for Hold My Seat Now came from the frustration of a frequent traveler who was simply tired of watching affordable flights become expensive while waiting to have enough money to book them,” Borgard said. “I wanted to create a practical solution that could help ease that burden by giving travelers the opportunity to book earlier and spread out their payments, especially in today’s economy when every dollar matters.”

He summed up the company’s mission in a single line: “Finding the right flight should not mean losing it simply because your paycheck and the airline’s price do not arrive at the right time.”

How It Works

According to the company’s platform and Borgard’s own description of the model, Hold My Seat Now does not act as a lender. Travelers search for a flight directly on the platform, choose a payment schedule tied to their travel date, and pay a service fee plus a first installment at booking. The company then purchases the ticket immediately on the traveler’s behalf, securing the fare before the price can climb, with the rest of the balance split into weekly, biweekly, or monthly installments. There are no credit checks, no interest charges, and no late fees, according to the company.

The service currently draws on more than 120 airlines to source fares, and the company has said it hopes to eventually build more direct relationships with carriers so its payment model could one day be offered right at checkout on airline websites.

Hold My Seat Now says it’s aiming at students, young professionals, families, and frequent travelers, a group that, in the U.S., includes large segments of the Haitian diaspora who regularly travel back and forth to see family. But Borgard has been clear the company doesn’t see itself as a niche player. It wants to serve travelers anywhere who would rather plan ahead than pay for a trip in one lump sum.

What Comes Next

With the launch behind it, the company says its next phase is about growth: expanding its user base, adding airline partnerships and destinations, and building relationships with content creators, travel agencies, and industry players who can help spread the word.

Borgard’s ambitions extend beyond a single market. The long-term goal, as he describes it, is to change the basic sequence of how people travel, separating the moment someone books a trip from the moment they’ve saved the full amount to pay for it.

Asked what he hopes customers feel the first time they use the service, Borgard didn’t hesitate: “Why is it that I didn’t have this option before?”

For now, Hold My Seat Now is a $1 million startup out of Atlanta with a straightforward pitch and a founder whose own stalled trip to Bali still bothers him, even as he builds a company meant to make sure other travelers don’t have to give up on theirs.