otel industry is a ever blooming business. Travel and tourism keeps on growing every year. Travellers always look for the perfect accommodation. Due to very high demand in accommodation, the competition is also high in this business. In the crowded travel spots, you can see hotels at each and every locality. High competition is a major challenge in this sector. To reap the high profits, new or existing competitors could significantly reduce rates or provide greater conveniences, services or amenities, or significantly expand, improve or introduce new facilities in the markets.

The increase in mobile traffic and the importance of metasearch engines, the emergence of voice searches and the need to respond to an always-connected user are the main hotel industry challenges for 2019. These are some of the conclusions drawn from the event organized by Roiback, specialist and leader in the management of the direct channel of hotel sales, together with Google and Palladium Hotel Group, during FITUR (the International Tourism Fair held in Madrid, Spain).

The event has brought together 150 participants among hoteliers, decision-makers, and media. Paola Amoruso, Head of Channel Sales in Spain and Portugal of Google, has analyzed the current consumer, defining him as “super curious, very demanding and impatient”. In a context where, every day, the active buyer does 1.5 searches about its next trip, Amoruso highlighted the importance of understanding that digital buyers are always active and connected and that do not depend on seasons: “they search all the time, so hotels should always be there to not lose sales.”

Amoruso also defined mobile as the “device on the go” and highlighted that only 1 of each 4 users continue their reservation with a company or a brand that has a slow mobile site or app, moreover, over 50% of travelers have a negative perception of a brand if they have a slow mobile site or app. On this matter, Rebeca González, Managing Director of Roiback, explained that the mobile channel is one of the biggest challenge hotels face: “Mobile traffic has grown exponentially in recent years, reaching over 50% of the total traffic on hotels websites. 30% of Roiback’s total bookings are made through the mobile channel with an impressive annual growth year after year and the trend is to keep rising over the next few years. Those hotels that do not have an optimal mobile solution will see their sales and profitability negatively affected this year.”

González also underlined that 2019 is foreseen to be “an uncertain year, with a possible weakening of the demand”. Another of the main keys of hotel distribution and which allows competing with the OTAs to optimize the direct channel are loyalty programs: “Hotels have a huge challenge to catch the direct customer. Currently, there is a fierce fight on the part of big hotel chains and OTAs to ‘take over’ the clients. This means that for the other chains and independent hotels is key and a strategic factor to have a loyalty program.”

In the hospitality industry, delivering a seamless, personal and innovative guest experience is crucial. Each hotel has many opportunities to engage its customers and provide a delightful experience, and innovative hoteliers are creating multiple guest service improvements by leveraging their payment solutions in new and effective ways.

Hospitality businesses around the world have implemented innovative payment technologies at every point of interaction. From cashless payment options in vending machines, to being able to pay for drinks on a wireless or mobile point of sale (mPOS) device while poolside, hotels are seamlessly integrating payment technologies throughout their business to create a more seamless customer experience.

The right partner for your hotel merchant account can help you save time on operational tasks and money as well. Your payment processing should be as smooth and fresh as clean linens. For example, with a POS solution built expressly for hotels you can:

• Quickly access your complete reservation log, as well as view individual guest’s reservation history at your hotel—without having to fumble through paper records
• Track and manage inventory for your hotel, including the supplies for your office, restaurant, snack bar, housekeeping, and more
• Pull reporting that details peak reservation times at your hotel, as well as data on which associates are booking the most reservations

How does a secure payment processing solution help the Hotel industry?

In today’s rapidly advancing technological structure, online shopping, online booking and registration, and online payment are what is coming to be the expected payment processing solution for all industries, especially hospitality. No longer should guests have to come to your hotel, pay for their room, spa service or other amenities in person. All those features should be readily available on your website for their convenience. The biggest benefit to an E-Commerce payment processing solution is that it is fully customizable and can integrate into your everyday operations. A guest can easily log onto your hotel’s website, choose a room that they desire, choose a package for a service that they desire, and securely and efficiently pay directly online through your E-Commerce payment processing solution. This not only will increase efficiency on your end, as all transactions will be tracked online through a clear and effective reporting system, but the guests feel comfortable and hassle free, as they simply check into the hotel with their confirmation number and personal information. A great way to reduce line-ups at your front desk, and allowing you more time to focus on catering to the needs of those staying at your hotel.

Payment processing for the hotel industry has become increasingly complex with the advance of technology and rising demand from customers in today’s digital world. The growth of mobile, new entrants and need to accept international payment brands have pressure hotels to assess and revamp their payment systems. However, the entire stream of payment processing is too difficult to be handled as one big process. The HEDNA Global Hospitality Payment Working Group decided to develop three smaller issue focused groups to identify key payment pain points, potential solutions and future best practices. The three focused groups include:

• Guest-centric payments, which looks at how hotel guests pay for their services and the major hurdles that hotels face in optimizing their payment solutions
• B2B payments, which focuses on how hotels receive payments from their trading partners (e.g. travel agencies)
• Commissions, which concentrates on the commission model. Priority has been given to smoothing the commission process for business travel bookings made through the Global Distribution System (GDS)

Overall, the findings from the Working Group suggest that payments have been an extremely important topic for hoteliers because it can impact both sides of their P&L (e.g. not only cost of acceptance but also revenue).

Not all the challenges in the hotel industry are unique, but many are common in hospitality as well as in other industries. A question of security is not a new one. Threats of digital data theft, virus attack, and confidential data leaks are a big matter of concern for hoteliers globally.
Understanding the scenario, you must go for a payment gateway that has enabled high-security features preventing hotel data leaks. This way you create credibility for your hotel to bring in more guests to your hotel.

Did you know that a major factor in guest satisfaction occurs at the front desk?  Customers expect fast and reliable service during their check in and out. Authorizing and charging your customers’ credit cards should be a simple process. Take these payment processing solutions to your benefit. Guests will be ecstatic at the type of experience you are providing them, your staff will be equally excited with the ability to streamline your operations, and your accounting department will thank you for reducing your annual audit costs, as well as chargebacks that directly affect your hotel’s bottom line.Our platform provides a reliable solution for the hospitality industry to accept payments.  We help you securely accept all payment types, improve cash flow, minimize your collections risk, and better serve your customers, all while helping protect cardholder data and mitigate the risk of a security breach.  We provide full authorization, processing, settlement and support for your Visa®, MasterCard®, American Express®, Discover® Network, JCB, China UnionPay and Diner’s Club International® credit and debit card transactions.The choice is yours, make the right one.

Customers have come to expect convenient, reliable and secure payment choices in hospitality environments like restaurants, bars and hotels. A seamless pay experience forms an integral part of customer service in venue based settings. The unique requirements of the hospitality industry demand robust, wireless payment solutions that can withstand daily knocks, spills and constant handling. Solutions that provide total payment flexibility for end-to-end customised systems.Your hotel or travel business needs a quick, efficient and secure way of processing credit card payments. With IPayTotal, you can accept payments via mobile credit card readers on smart devices, tablet point-of-sale systems, or accept payments through your website with online payment services and more.

Appeal to More Customers IPayTotal offers payment products that help you appeal to more customers because of our wide variety of processing options. Increase sales by offering customers the ability to pay using their preferred payment method.

• Accept credit cards, signature and PIN debit, checks, and gift cards
• Transact and fund in multiple currencies using Dynamic Currency Conversion (YEN, Canadian Dollar, British PS, Euro, AUS Dollar)
• The process through multiple channels: online, point-of-sale, mobile, mail order, telephone order
• Accept and transact payments using secure payment methods within your online checkout portal

Automate Payment Reconciliation and Manage Chargebacks Automate your payment reconciliation and manage chargebacks efficiently for less back-office and manual work. Get a consolidated online portal for viewing transactions, funding, statements, and chargebacks with MerchantConnect.

• Eliminate the need to match up batches and deposits
• Quickly and easily access payment information while still protecting cardholder and account data
• View the chargeback list and be proactive about protecting your business
• Simplify PCI compliance and strengthen payment security
  

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  From elegant hotel chains offering hundreds of rooms around the world to local hotel or B&B chains, your brand’s needs are unique, and your payment processing should reflect that. We build custom plans for each business we work with and adapt with you as you grow. It becomes our mission to save you money, and we’ll always keep an eye out for ways to pass savings onto you.