Revolutionize your hotel transactions with modern payment links

Hotels around the world have long been highly dependent on outdated systems for requesting and processing payments. Fraud-prone credit card authorization forms, which have been the status quo for decades, not only lose hotels time, money and accuracy but also cause frustration for guests who have become accustomed to more simplified payments across other industries. 

While customer data autofill, one-step checkout and digital wallets including Apple Pay and Google Pay have become the norm from fashion e-commerce to grocery delivery sites, hotels have lagged behind, particularly when it comes to payments on their own channels.

Hotels that have devoted countless resources to developing unforgettable in-person experiences – as well as an eye-catching online brand image – hit a stumbling block when it comes to payments, distracting their guests from the world they have otherwise created.

“The hotel industry, while an epitome of luxury and sophistication, has often been perceived as old-fashioned when it comes to payment processes compared to other progressive industries. For hotels to be competitive today, seamless payments must be prioritized,” said Candice Berger, director of sales and marketing at The C Collection.

Hotels frequently don’t accept the payment methods travelers have become accustomed to using across other industries. Whether a lack of support for international payment methods or an inability to accept digital wallet payments, hotels are some of the most frequent culprits for dissatisfied customers when it comes to payments.

In fact, some 40% of guests state that they have experienced problems when attempting to pay for a hotel stay recently, and 66% expect the hotel to already have their payment method saved on file. 68% also claim that they would increase summer travel spend if a buy now, pay later option was provided.

With outdated transaction methods and high-risk credit card authorization forms having led the charge for years, hotels and guests are craving options that make secure, simple and flexible payments readily available.

Hoteliers around the world have felt the dissonance between the experience they provide on-property and the payment process required of guests. As Sean Murphy, vice president and managing director of Hotel Esencia, said of this long-standing problem, “Nine years ago, we were using a fax machine to send credit card authorization forms. The process was inconvenient for everyone involved, and certainly didn’t speak to a true luxury experience!”

Hotel payment security risks

Fraud-prone credit card authorization forms have long been hotels’ go-to method of requesting payment from guests. Not only are these forms lengthy to complete and built on antiquated payment processes, they also pose a high risk to hotels, as the majority are not compliant with Payment Card Industry (PCI) or European 3D Secure standards. 

With fines for failing to comply with PCI requirements soaring as high as $100,000, the risks of using low-security credit card authorization forms and requesting payment information through other time-consuming, manual methods are high. In fact, more than 2 billion U.S. consumer records have been impacted by privacy breaches since 2005, while e-commerce losses due to fraud amount to $48 billion in 2023 alone.

Dedicated to strengthening payment account security worldwide, PCI DSS is a collection of security standards that regulate and uphold secure credit card transactions. In Europe, 3DS requires the bank to assess each transaction and occasionally requests an additional guest authentication step. This process not only reduces the likelihood of fraud, but also shifts fraud liability from the hotel to the card issuer.

In order to ensure guest privacy and prevent fraud, hotels must embrace payment technologies that are compliant with PCI and 3DS regulations. Consumer trust is key in data handling, with only one-third of customers believing that companies use their data responsibly and 56% counting online privacy as “extremely important.”

By offering secure payment methods such as digital wallets and ensuring PCI compliance through privacy-first payment technology instead of traditional credit card authorization forms, hotels can ensure their guests’ data is not subject to security breaches and fraud.

Transaction-free hotel arrival experiences

In addition to offering a seamless payment experience online and end-to-end guest security, in the coming years, hotels will benefit greatly from offering a transaction-free arrival experience on-property.

The industry is rife with friction points when it comes to payment, both online and in-person, and guests become increasingly frustrated as they come up against more and more roadblocks. Upon booking and paying, the ideal experience should be smooth, but guests are often greeted with clunky, multi-step payment processes that act as blockers between them and their hotel stay.

While hotels have typically already requested payment information online by the time guests arrive on-property, guests are still almost always asked to present their credit card in-person as well, either upon arrival or to pay when they leave. The latter tends to generate high levels of anxiety among guests, according to a report by Amadeus, due to incidental charges that have accumulated throughout their stay.

When guests arrive on-property, the focus should simply be on welcoming them to the hotel and showing them to their room so their adventure can begin, rather than requesting credit card details that have already been entered online.

By harnessing modern payment technology, hotels can avoid repeatedly asking guests for payment information, enabling seamless, invisible transactions that do not impede on the in-person experience or guest security.

Selfbook co-founder and CEO Khalid Meniri shares a story of an in-person experience that would have been flawless had it not been interrupted by a transaction: “As any immigrant knows, it’s really hard to see your parents consistently, and my mom lives in Algeria. A few years ago, before the pandemic, I booked a stay in Marrakech, at La Mamounia, which is a wonderful place. Their welcome experience is truly hospitable, and they greet you with traditional dates and milk. That’s where I met with my mom after not seeing her for eight years. We reunited and were crying and hugging in the lobby – the most beautiful lobby I’ve ever seen – and then, the front desk manager came to us with a folder to ask for my credit card, and the moment was shattered immediately. Ironically, I had already paid as it was a pre-purchased stay and they had my credit card on file. That’s where it became an obsession – how can we eliminate this transaction-heavy welcome?”

Providing a truly frictionless guest experience from start to finish is key to preserving the magic of a hotel stay and eliminating unnecessary stress and frustration. With the sophisticated payment technology that is on the market today, hotels should make creating experiences that are seamless from end to end their top priority.

The expectations of payment ease, transparency and security are being met across other industries, and hotels now have the power to eliminate roadblocks including in-person payment requests, fraud-prone credit card authorization forms and limited support for varied payment methods.