Best Payment Gateway for Hotel Businesses

No-one can deny that the global hospitality industry has bounced back strongly from the devastating impact of the Covid-19 lockdowns.

The World Travel & Tourism Council has revealed that the sector contributed 9.1% to global GDP during 2023 – an impressive 23.2% increase over the previous year.

And although isn’t quite back to pre-coronavirus 2019 levels just yet, it’s hoped that the recovery will gather pace over the next couple of years.

While this is obviously welcome news for the industry, the uptick in returning domestic and international visitors presents its own challenges.

Here we examine these issues, examine the easiest ways for guests to make a hotel reservation and look at the most effective hospitality payment solutions available.

The growing importance of hotels

There are 682,329 global hotels & resorts businesses in 2024, according to a study by IBISWorld. This represents a modest 2% increase over the previous year.

However, the number of companies operating in this sector has grown 2%-a-year on average for the five years from 2019 to 2024. This means it’s pointing in the right direction.

Of course, not every player in this industry is a major player with sites across the world and thousands of rooms available for holidaymakers and business travellers.

For example, the smaller bed and breakfast industry in the US is expected to grow 3.8% a year from 2021 to 2028, according to Worldmetrics.

Its study found there were 17,000 bed and breakfast establishments in the US and the industry contributes more than $3 billion a year to the country’s economy.

Challenges faced by hotels

Unfortunately, running a hotel is no easy task. In fact, the hospitality industry is often seen as one of the most stressful environments for workers.

That may help explain why a shortage of skilled labour and increased staff costs are among the challenges faced by executives, according to Deloitte’s European Hotel Industry Update.

Rising costs, higher interest rates, demand fluctuations, the inability to raise prices, generative AI and technology disruptions were also cited as key risks.

“Managing inflationary pressures, maintaining profitability and increasing cash flow are the immediate priorities for most hotel industry executives over the next 12 months,” it stated.

One of the most significant of these challenges – and something that can impact on profitability – is putting in place effective hotel payment solutions.

Let’s now take a closer look at the best payment gateway for hotel usage and the potential issues when it comes to integration with hotel management systems.

The benefits of payments processing software

So, why should hotels consider hospitality payment processing systems? What are the potential benefits to businesses and visitors of having one in place?

Firstly, secure hotel transaction processing is regarded as crucially important for anyone looking to book a stay, especially if it’s a lengthy visit costing a considerable amount of money.

Here are some of the key positives of such systems:

• Swift authorization and processing of a guest’s payment.
• Comfort of knowing sensitive information is being kept safe.
• Reassurance of complying with the local rules and regulations.
• Increased guest satisfaction – and the possibility of repeat visits.
• Effective integration with existing management software.
• Access to useful data that can be critical for future business development.

How to choose the right management software

There’s lots to consider when you’re running a hotel. Are the bedrooms a decent size? Is the establishment decorated in an attractive fashion? Does every surface sparkle?

How are the grounds? Are they neat and tidy or in need of attention? Do visitors have the right blend of facilities available to them?

However, an often-overlooked aspect of the entire process is how a guest can pay for both their stay and any other services during their visit.

The whole process needs to be as stress-free as humanly possible, from the time the room is first booked until checking out.

Problems, confusion, delays or errors in payment processing will not only deter them from making future bookings but also result in damning reviews on sites such as TripAdvisor.

We will now look at the best payment gateway for hotels.

What do hotels need?

Of course, the management software in place at many major hotels needs to be far more than just purely a ​​hotel booking tool.

There are a number of key characteristics that would be useful for any hotel booking payment gateway to possess.

These include:

• Integration abilities: must need the capability of plugging into existing hotel management systems.
• Easy reconciliation: the ability to view all settlements, ideally in a single set of reports, so everything can be monitored.
• Stress-free service: guests need to do everything – from booking to checking out – efficiently.

What is the best payment gateway for hotels?

The good news is there’s no shortage of options for those deciding what is the best payment gateway for hotel travel.

Of course, choosing the right management software is not always straightforward. There’s plenty of issues to consider.

For example, a payment system needs to mesh seamlessly with a hotel’s online room reservation software. This ensures everything works smoothly.

How about international travellers? If you have many of these arriving each year then you’ll need a system that can cope with a variety of multi-currency payment options.

Here are key factors to consider when trying to find out which is the best payment gateway for hotels.

• Security and compliance

Does the gateway comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard?

• International compatibility

Can it be used in your region? This is key for those with hotels in different geographical locations.

• What payment methods are allowed?

Are there restrictions as to what payment methods can be used with the gateway?

• Is integration possible?

As we’ve already discussed, can the gateway be integrated easily with the existing software?

• Costs involved

How much will the gateway costs affect the business?

• Is customer support available?

What happens if it doesn’t work as expected? Can you contact someone 24 hours-a-day?

Bottom line

Time must be taken to choose between the various hospitality payment solutions and decide on the ideal hotel booking payment gateway for an individual establishment.

Remember, the choice made is likely to have a significant impact on the company’s cash flow and net income, as well as levels of customer satisfaction and the possibility of repeat business.

Take your time to ensure the gateway has the right combination of qualities and characteristics that you need to have in order to maintain and grow your business.