The importance of integrated payment solutions for the hospitality industry

By Dean Farley, Global Business Development Manager – Travel & Hospitality – GSV at Worldline

Hospitality merchants looking to bounce back from the damaging effects of the pandemic to their industry must swiftly invest in new payments infrastructure available to them. This will help them increase revenue and keep pace with their rivals following a rapid, necessary shift towards contactless, and in many cases virtual, payments.

Omnichannel capabilities

Indeed, within the hospitality industry, all payments must be completely integrated with all the systems that are being used, which is particularly true for bookings, to deliver the most efficient service to the customer. The whole omnichannel experience needs to be both integrated and undertaken with payment management systems.

The acquisition of omnichannel capabilities is an example of an integrated system that merchants must adopt. When you begin a booking online, for instance, a hospitality merchant with omnichannel capacity will allow you to finish the process when you reach the hotel desk, or the place where you are staying. Throughout a payment experience, the hotel should recognise the customer and their details at every step, wherever they are coming from, to ensure they have a seamless journey without having to duplicate information.

Thinking ahead: functionality

So, payment capabilities must transcend online, in store, mobile and DCC (dynamic currency conversion). More and more customers are requesting to get DCC functionality, which allows, for example, a British customer travelling in Japan to have the price of their hotel room displayed in their local currency (GBP). This functionality is another integral type of payment infrastructure which hospitality merchants should adopt.

Decline of OTAs

As the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic recede, it has become apparent that consumers are increasingly concerned about where they want to go, place less trust in online travel agencies (OTAs) and search for places based upon their specific needs. Indeed, consumers are getting more digitally savvy and increasingly able to conduct their own research, such as the location of their hotel etc, by themselves. Consumers are increasingly more likely to remove the OTA element from a booking and contact a hotel directly.

Customer retention

The big players in the hospitality industry need to be aware of this and adapt to these new requirements in order to set themselves apart from their competitors. Efficient integrated systems, which recognise customers as they arrive at the hotel desk and their card details from a previous visit, will encourage customers to return and boost long-term guest retention.

Regardless of the challenges, the payment experience must be seamless and have digitalisation at the heart of it. Consumers don’t want to think about money when they are abroad, and this becomes diminished where the acquisition of omnichannel capabilities and the provision of payment capabilities are ensured.