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Integrated payments within your hotel have several advantages that go beyond ease of use and simpler functionality for guests and staff. In this series, we unpack what integrated payments through your hospitality software ecosystem means for three key areas for every hotel: guests, revenue and security. First up, the guest experience.
For hotels, the guest experience is at the core of their offering. A happy guest will show loyalty through a positive review, recommendations to friends and family – and crucially, increased spend during their stay. Put simply: a happy guest equals revenue in a multitude of ways.
It’s no surprise then that 77% of hoteliers state that driving guest loyalty through technology is a priority.
One big way is through integrated payments. In fact, guest experience and integrated payments go hand in hand as more is expected and required in today’s ultra-competitive space. Where frictionless technology and experiences have become the norm in daily life, integrated payments provide a smooth and effortless guest journey from booking through to check out.
Learn more about Planet’s Integrated Payments
What is the guest experience?
The guest experience includes the entire journey from the moment a guest makes a booking through to their check out and beyond. This includes the bare basics as well as possible additions like spa treatments, room service and excursions.
What is a good guest experience?
Consistently slick, effortless and optimised interactions that provide maximum efficiency and personalisation - regardless of what channel they are on.
What are integrated payments?
Integrated payments means that all payment processing - no matter where within the hotel or online - connects to your hospitality software ecosystem, particularly your PMS and booking engine. It means faster and easier payments for staff and guests.
Why are integrated payments and guest experience so closely linked?
When hotels have integrated payments, instead of standalone systems, your guests can
enjoy their experience and stay on their own terms with less friction or more ease. For example, how one guest wants to pay can differ to another depending on their own preferences for currency, and if it’s via an app or in person – and this can all be done with an integrated payments system.
Integrated payments also enables less time consuming activities for the guest, with the added benefit of having their payment card stored within the PMS for any additional payments during their stay.
It also reduces the manual workload for your front desk team meaning less waiting for guests and errors in card payments.
Today’s guests’ expectations
Who is travelling?
Research shows that while 79% of Gen-Z and millennials see travel as a budget priority, it’s millennials who are travelling the most out of all generations.
On average, millennials take 35 vacation days a year. Gen-Z follows with 29 days and then Gen-X with 26 days. Meanwhile, baby boomers today are travelling more than ever before.
Each cohort has different priorities and non-negotiables for their trips. But their commonality is that a seamless travel experience is central to their decision making, from ease of booking and throughout their holiday.
Fully digital
As a result of the pandemic, the shift to digital and contact-light interactions in daily life has accelerated. This has transferred to the travel industry, particularly as more health and safety measures were required.
Today, more travellers have come to expect a more digitally native experience. They expect hotels to use technology to its fullest for a frictionless stay and to allow them to experience travel as they want.
Most, if not every, element should have the option to be executed through their mobile phones. This could include:
● Contactless check-in via their initial booking on the hotel’s app.
● Smartphones used as their room key.
● A hotel app to control room temperature and lights.
● Booking spa treatments or room service online.
In addition, as more of the world moves to a cashless and online society, there is a larger expectation that a single device or action will unlock the rest of an experience. For example, an online form only needs to be completed once.
For hoteliers, this means having a unified approach with one interface that guests need to use minimally throughout their stay.
Personalisation and value
As building up a library of experiences is their main driver for trips, holiday makers today often look for something more unique to them during their time off. Some want packages designed for comfort and others want to explore on their own terms.
In any case, with the changing trends of travel and awareness of data sharing, a personal touch that speaks to their existing or aspirational lifestyle is expected.
To add, the current economic climate is pushing all travellers to place a sharper focus on value. So while travel has become a greater priority for many, more are seeking out special offers and deals that align with their travel expectations.
A cohesive guest experience with integrated payments
For your guests, integrated payments allows them to fully enjoy and simply focus on their stay by making their end-to-end journey easier and stress-free.
How integrated payments create a seamless online experience
When it comes to finding and making room reservations, the vast majority is done online today including taking payment. And whether it’s paying in full or securing the room to pay later, credit card details are required.
Having integrated payments allows guests to pay securely and interact with the hotel in their preferred way. For example, Pay By Link sends a unique link to complete the payment via email or Whatsapp, which the guest can choose from. This link can be sent from reservations made over the phone or even for ad-hoc room reservations and post-reservation via Booking.com, too, allowing maximum flexibility to cater to your guest’s needs and preferences.
Additionally, integrated payments provide multiple payment options, including Klarna and local currency payments. This increases the conversion rate for hoteliers as the guest experience is immediately made simple and more familiar, meaning their decision to book is an easy one.
Altogether, integrated payments create a smooth guest experience from the moment guests engage and book with your hotel.
How integrated payments enhance the front desk experience
Embracing integrated payments means empowering more contactless options. A recent global survey by Planet found that nearly 60% of guests crave a skip-the-line check-in experience showing this to be an important option to include.
Contactless experiences mean guests can:
● Check-in in-app: Guests can use your mobile app to register and receive their digital room key, eliminating front desk wait times.
● Use self-service kiosks: Business travellers or those seeking a quick and efficient experience can breeze through self-service kiosks for both check-in and check-out, with keys dispensed digitally.
How CABINN connected payments and technology to reduce queues
However, it’s important to note that a personalised touch remains crucial for some guests, especially for luxury ones. Luxury hotels can leverage integrated payments to elevate the experience by focusing on guest interaction rather than transactions at the front desk.
Additionally, integrated payments makes the act of payment much more familiar and easy for every guest.
● Hassle-free spending: Guests simply charge any additional goods and services to their tab and the total is then brought together on the PMS and paid on checkout – either automatically through a pre-authorised card or in-person.
● Flexible payment options: A variety of payment methods, including popular options like AliPay for certain demographics, give international guests a familiar and convenient experience.
● Localised payment experience: With local currency and language options available, guests can feel more confident about paying their final bill.
How tokenisation works towards a better guest experience
The use of tokenisation within integrated payments means that once the guest’s card is captured at check-in, every additional service or drink is added to the guest’s folio during stay can be charged without the guest having to reproduce their card.
A guest’s unique token keeps track of all the goods and services enjoyed while the payment data is linked to the hotel’s CRM or PMS for easy final payment on checkout.
What does it mean for loyalty?
Integrated payments also makes it easier for your guests to stay loyal. By leveraging the payments data gathered through from the token, relevant loyalty campaigns can be created and directed to guests most interested - either during or after their stay.
A smooth stay with Planet’s Integrated Payments
With Planet’s integrated payments within the various hotel software (PMS, POS, booking engine) utilising tokenization, guests only need to share their payment method once. For example, upon check-in, guests can opt to register a card to their reservation with a single swipe.
The benefits of integrated payments
● Easy and fast check-in and check-out for guests.
● Concerns of sharing payment data more than once are alleviated.
● Future or repeat purchases are completed quickly and easily.
● Localised payments are available by currency, language and method.
So, if a guest wants breakfast in their room, spa treatments, or drinks at the bar, they can simply state their room number, and staff will arrange all the details at the end of their stay.
Additionally, Planet’s integrated payments with the PMS and other hospitality software allow this simplicity to carry through from in-person to online transactions and back again. The same token can be used with your various systems connected to Planet’s payments platform, so there’s no confusion.
How Planet’s integrated payments help tailor experiences
Planet’s integrated payments produce data that can be leveraged to make a guest’s stay or future stay more personalised.
While a guest’s personal identifiable information (PII) may not be that useful on its own for a hotelier, how they choose to spend their money is. Planet’s real-time insights give hoteliers the opportunity to offer promotions via their app or in-person that the guest has already shown interest in.
Data can be extracted from the hotel’s CRM to develop marketing campaigns for future stays. To encourage loyalty, special offers on a similar stay or specific updates to the hotel, like a new spa treatment, can be mentioned.
Final words
For hotels, getting the guest experience right is absolutely key. Integrating payments into the hotel PMS and wider tech stack facilitates a better experience.
With an end-to-end journey that allows the guest to enjoy minimal repeat payment actions and payments in their preferred currency and method, they are free to enjoy their stay and experience their travel exactly as they want. Also with more travellers expecting that interactions and actions should have the option to be done online and in their own time, integrated payments and tokenization provides this autonomy and ease.
Importantly too, with a single interface used throughout their experience and one presentation of payment method, the consistency and seamless nature builds trust for the guest. And trust builds loyalty and increases revenue.
Planet helps hotels to implement a smooth guest experience, understanding that personalisation and meeting them where they are is the key to a positive review.
Learn more about Planet’s Integrated Payment Solution
Stay tuned. Next up in the series: What do integrated payments mean for revenue?
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