Gina Gradley
Payment Security is Key
Managing transactions at multiple properties in a busy tourist city like Amsterdam is no easy task. Always wary of fraud and risky payments, XO Hotels was ready to upgrade security around their payments process to ensure a stress-free guest experience. The chain decided to integrate Pay Per Link with their Amadeus IDPMS system to eliminate risk while handling customers’ sensitive data.
“Thanks to Pay Per Link it’s possible to exclude credit card authorization forms from the booking process. Instead of a manual transaction that can be retrieved by the cardholder for a long time after the transaction date, we now receive a secure payment that we can confirm to the cardholder a few minutes after the payment has been made.”
Angelina Motzo, Director of Sales, Marketing and Reservations
Why Pay Per Link?
After implementing Pay Per Link from Worldline, additional benefits were realized immediately by XO Hotels staff. Motzo says, “Not only does Pay Per Link replace manual transactions and authorization forms, it also replaces time-consuming foreign payments. Now, 2 years after the first Pay Per Link payment, 75% of online reservations are paid within 24 hours. When a guest makes a reservation, he or she receives a confirmation email with a payment link and the payment is immediately logged in our IDPMS system.”
In addition to the time savings, collecting payments soon after a reservation has been made has increased revenue for XO Hotels. “It ensures that we, as a hotel, have a guarantee that our guests will be staying with us and are not shopping around. As a result, our revenue department saw the number of last-minute cancellations drop by an average of 25%,” says Motzo. This process also benefits guests as pre-paid reservations enable a quick check-in and check-out so they have more time to enjoy their stay. “We’ve noticed our payment timelines shift significantly,” adds Motzo. “Previously, just 5% of our bookings were pre-paid before arrival, but that has grown exponentially to 50%! Now, only 6% of bookings are paid for post-arrival – exactly the opposite of just a few years ago!”
“We couldn’t operate without Pay Per Link! It’s been so helpful in eliminating manual transactions and authorization forms. We now have speed both at reception and in receiving payments.”
Angelina Motzo, Director of Sales, Marketing and Reservations
