Imagine you’re a hotel guest that is on a hotel website looking to book a room. When you come to their booking page, you realize that you need to key in a lot of your details to make a booking. Even worse, when you click to send a booking, you are not directed to the payment page!
Although we’d like to think that the above scenario is unlikely to happen, you’d be surprised that there are still many hotels that do not adopt an online payment solution. Oftentimes, the guests will not proceed to make a booking if there is no option to make payment online because for them, the hotel lacks credibility. Here we discuss some of the importance of integrating an online payment solution in your hotel website.
1) Increase in Sales
When you implement an online payment solution for your hotel you can accept payment from different channels at the same time, therefore increasing your room sales. Not just that, you can also provide different payment methods for your guests. It can be online banking, credit card, e-wallet payment, or PayPal. More payment methods equal more sales for you!
2) Guests are willing to give credit/ debit card information online
Gone are the days when guests and online shoppers were scared to provide their payment details and their card information to online payment solutions. With the level of online security adopted by PMS providers and online payment gateways, guests are now confident to provide their card information online, therefore increasing online bookings for hoteliers.
3) Integration with the PMS
Online payment solution is usually integrated with Property Management System (PMS). This integration makes it easy for your hotel guests to pay immediately during the room selection of your hotel, therefore increasing your direct booking. This integration has made the room booking experience easy and faster. You can even define your payment methods offered in PMS.
4) Seamless Payments
The experience a guest has when booking your hotel room will determine if he or she will visit your hotel again. One of the touchpoints in this experience usually occurs during the payment process. Guests prefer paying with their accustomed payment method and also with their own local currency. A good PMS with an online payment solution integration can handle guest payment seamlessly, therefore saving you time and giving your guests peace of mind.
5) It is more secure
Lastly and most importantly, online payment solution providers now take the extra mile to secure their payment gateways from attackers. These security measures being implemented by these online payment providers have made online bookings more secure and in return, have increased the confidence of travellers. With the increase in technology comes the risk of data theft. Therefore, it is important to integrate an online payment solution with maximum security.
Check out the YouTube video below to further understand how implementing a secure payment gateway can help to boost your hotel bookings and revenues. In this video, we provide also a list of payment gateway providers that you may consider using for collecting online payments from your guests.
What's next?
Here's the thing. Before you can collect payment from your guest online, you will need to consider installing a Booking Engine on your booking channel, for example, your hotel website and Facebook page. Consider opting for the Booking Engine that integrates with an online payment gateway and your guests can also choose to pay from various payment methods including online banking, credit card, debit card or e-wallet.
Softinn's Booking Engine offers a user-friendly, seamless booking experience for your guests, resulting in increased direct booking revenue, reduced commission payments to OTAs, and strengthened guest relationships. Here are some key features:
- Mobile-friendly and easy to integrate: Seamlessly integrated into your hotel's website or social media channels, making it easier for guests to make direct bookings from any device, anywhere.
- Multiple payment gateway options: Access to multiple payment gateways. Hotels also have the option to collect payment by their own payment gateway or to let Softinn handle the payment on their behalf.
- Complete control over the Extranet: Complete control over your Extranet, including the ability to invite multiple users to manage and monitor your properties within a single account.
- Customizable promotion codes: Create unique promotion codes to attract more bookings and increase your revenue.
- Self-cancellation system: Eliminates the need for guests to contact your hotel to cancel or receive a refund, as Softinn's self-cancellation system allows guests to manage cancelled bookings online.
Here I have also listed other Hotel Booking Engines that you may explore. Feel free to explore them and leave us some comments if that helps.
Now, I hope you have a clear understanding of why online payment solution is important for your hotel business. It is now your turn to proceed with the next step.
