Guestline launches GuestPay: A new, contact-free payments system for hoteliers
In the new ‘contact-free’ era, hoteliers will need to adapt the way they process and receive payments from guests to ensure they’re minimising contact, meeting guest expectations and protecting their revenue.
Guestline announces the official launch of GuestPay, a simpler payment solution where hoteliers will only have to deal and integrate with one supplier, get their funds quicker and enjoy competitive rates…all whilst providing a secure and reliable payment platform for guests.
The current payment process is often complex and the source of much frustration for hotels – involving multiple providers and applications from the guest’s booking, to payment being credited into the hotel’s bank.
Efficient processing of payments either pre, or post-stay is a vital factor to hoteliers, so cash flow can be managed easily period on period and revenue is tracked accurately. Often the process is fragmented, has multiple windows for potential fraud and has many points of contact.
One payment provider
Guestline has partnered with TrustPayments to provide GuestPay, a single payment solution, that combines the operational and payment systems (payment gateway, merchant acquiring services and chip&pin terminals) into one centralised hub, ensuring a seamless and swift flow between the booking stage and payment into the hotel’s bank.
A single, dedicated omnichannel provider who simplifies the process, negotiates better rates on your behalf and gives you faster access to your funds. GuestPay is here.
Contact-free payments
Paying securely before check-in couldn’t be easier and gives guests peace of mind for a contact-free arrival. GuestPay enables the guest to settle their invoice or deposit payment pre-stay via a secure ‘Paylink’ that’s sent out from the PMS. Again, another automated, contact-free measure that helps hotels secure revenue and save time that’s also safe and convenient for guests.
Andrew Williams, Product Strategy Director at Guestline, explains;
“It’s no big secret, payment processes within the hospitality industry leave a lot to be desired. For too long, we have settled with work arounds, it is now time to say goodbye to complicated and long-winded payment systems that lack visibility and have steep costs.
“Because the properties deal with multiple vendors, they struggle to reconcile payments and quite often don’t have a single view (and audit trail) of card spend for a guest as the details reside in multiple applications. With GuestPay, hoteliers will only deal with one, dedicated omni-channel provider that simplifies the process and gives them faster access to their funds. Through the power of numbers, we have negotiated competitive rates for all 2500+ hotels powered by Guestline so it will save hoteliers money and streamline processes…which ultimately will give them more time to spend with guests.”
Secure payments
Having a secure, fully integrated platform to make payments on is essential for guests and will help hotels reduce abandonment rates if guests feel that the platform is safe – guests take payment details seriously and need to be assured their details are being processed and stored securely.
GuestPay is designed to lower the risk of fraudulent activity and minimise human error which can occur from working with multiple providers and manual processes. It can also help with chargebacks – non secure payments over the phone quite often run the risk of being queried and charged back, or details are taken incorrectly, resulting in additional time spent and lost revenue.
Reduced operational costs
By working with a large community of hoteliers, Guestline can negotiate and offer more competitive rates on the hotelier’s behalf to help them reduce transaction fees and save money. With GuestPay, Guestline has established that a 60 room hotel is saving on average £2,000 per annum.
John Wallace, General Manager at The Churchill Hotel in York, an early adopter of GuestPay, added:
“Since implementing GuestPay, I have saved a significant amount of money for our hotel as well as valuable time. Cashing up is now easier than ever and I’m not losing time trying to balance up. The onboarding team made it really easy for us and having just one portal is brilliant. Guestline support have always been helpful, and now they can look after any payment queries I have too.”
How is the payment landscape changing?
Corporates such as Amazon, Apple, Google and PayPal are becoming more invested in taking control of how their customer payments are handled. As a result, they are beginning to develop their own unique systems for payment processing. This will reduce external costs from the acquirer and give them more control over their own data insights and profitability.
Similarly, GuestPay is designed to allow hoteliers to take back control of their guests booking journey through offering one centralised and integrated system, by merging together Guestline’s existing payment gateway solution (e.g. Direct Booking Manager, Channel Manager, PMS and EPoS) with payment terminals (Pin Entry Device) and acquirer services (who settle the payment).
Sarah Abernethy, Director of Account Management at TrustPayments commented:
“GuestPay will reduce hidden costs being passed on by multiple providers and improve cash flow. By merging all the applications and services and having one dedicated provider, hoteliers will be able to take back control and reap the benefits. Hoteliers will also gain more visibility over the booking-to-payment flow, as guest payment data will all be stored and accessible in the same secure portal.
“We are delighted to be a part of this revolutionary product; it is an extremely exciting time for the industry.”
For more information on this, hoteliers can attend the ‘Guest Payments Simplified’ webinar on 1st October by registering here.
To request a proposal of GuestPay hoteliers can click here or enquire here.