The eight best payment gateways for hotels

Choosing the best payment gateways for hotels is a critical decision in the hospitality sector. The ideal payment gateway not only facilitates seamless transactions for the guest but also provides an enhanced layer of security, an easy-to-use interface, and robust support for various payment methods, including direct debit and card payments. 

The hotel payment gateway you chose could make a huge difference to key metrics like your cash flow, your net income and your customer satisfaction. As well as processing payments, the best payment gateway for hotels will be one which:

• Functions with the maximum number of payment options

• Enables a degree of automation 

• Integrates seamlessly with the software systems your hotel depends upon, including your booking system and property management

• Comes equipped with multi-layer security provision

• Works to simplify the payment process at every stage

• Operates on the basis of being installed once and then running smoothly with minimum interaction 

What follows is a list of options for the best payment gateway for hotels, breaking down the functions offered by each and highlighting what they could offer to a hotel. By reading this list, you should find it easier to make a choice of the best payment gateway for hotels, choosing the option which is best suited for your own hotel and the challenges you’ve faced when processing payments. 

GoCardless

GoCardless offers an impressive, cost-effective solution for hotels looking for a payment gateway that emphasizes bank payments over traditional card transactions. One of the platform's key strengths lies in its user-friendly dashboard that simplifies payment setup, making it convenient for businesses to manage financial operations. Additionally, GoCardless provides excellent visibility on payment statuses, giving hoteliers real-time updates and ensuring smooth cash flow management. What further sets GoCardless apart is their highly responsive and efficient customer support, ready to assist users and solve any issues that might arise. GoCardless represents an innovative and cost-effective payment gateway ideal for the hotel industry.

Mews Payments

Mews Payments takes much of the stress out of processing hotel payments by making the process safer, simpler and more automated. It is designed to process payments with a single click and integrates with existing software such as your booking engine. It supports the following payment methods:

• Visa

• Mastercard

• American Express

• Apple Pay

• Google Pay

• Samsung Pay

• iDEAL

Mews comes with flexibility hard-wired into the platform. Payments can be automated at specific moments in a guest's journey, from taking wire or bank transfer payments before a guest’s arrival to taking a cash payment at the front desk. The security measures built into Mews include 3D Secure authentication, PSD2 compliance and end-to-end encryption. 

The automation built into the system helps reduce manual processing errors that inevitably sneak into any payment processing, with payments being processed with just a click. As a hotelier, you can also track all the payment activity in real-time, updating your inventory following each transaction.    

Adyen 

Ayden is used as a payment platform by leading corporations such as Uber and Facebook and is the ideal choice for a hotel payment gateway because it offers a degree of personalisation. This includes the ability to craft loyalty schemes and the option of offering a wide range of payment methods.  Ayden is built around an end-to-end software structure which connects directly to payment methods such as:

• Visa

• Mastercard

• PayPal

• WeChatPay

• Google Pay

The global nature of the hotel industry is reflected by the fact that Ayden provides dynamic currency conversion and the option for guests to make payments in multiple different currencies.

Shift4

Shift4 is a hotel payment gateway that works with hotel booking engines and point-of-sale systems, integrating seamlessly with existing software to provide the option of contactless payments. In simple terms, it works in a way which removes as much friction as possible from the payment process while at the same time being extremely secure. This security is based on point-to-point encryption and tokenisation, creating a fully PCI compliant system. Shift4 also enables the collection of data which can be used to streamline your business across the board.  

Planet

Planet is a hotel payment gateway that facilitates payments from digital wallets and provides real-time currency conversion, making it a truly international option for hotel owners. It can also manage digital payments and operates in a manner that keeps the payment process as simple as possible from the point of view of your guests. Using Planet removes friction from the process, enabling guests to manage their payments on-site or remotely online. It also has a built-in feature enabling payments to be split. 

PaySimple

The clue is in the name of PaySimple -  it’s designed to make the payment process as simple as possible for service-based and hospitality industries. As a hotel payment gateway, it provides a full service, which takes in online and mobile payments, point-of-sale payments and e-invoicing, and offers dedicated customer support and advanced levels of personalisation.  

Google Pay 

Google Pay is the hotel payment gateway of choice for hotels which want to offer a cutting-edge digital payment solution for their guests. It makes it simple, secure and quick for guests to make payments via their mobile phones using either dedicated apps or online sites. Guests can also make contactless payments on-site with GooglePay and even check in online using mobile devices.  

Apple Pay

Apple Pay provides speed and efficiency for your guests and employees, making the payment process streamlined and efficient. Guests can make payments in person using the contactless features of Apple Pay or online with a single click. Apple Pay payments need to be authenticated using Face ID, Touch ID or a passcode, and hotels are never given the guest's payment card or bank account details. This makes Apple Pay a genuinely secure hotel payment gateway. 

Tenerum

Tenerum is a simple hotel payment gateway that operates on a plug-in-and-go basis through seamless integration with your booking or property management system. End-to-end encryption and tokenisation combine to provide security, and sensitive details are never stored within your payment management system. 

Key takeaways

• The choice of a hotel's payment gateway can significantly impact cash flow, net income, and customer satisfaction. An optimal choice should integrate well with existing software, automate processes, and have robust security measures.

• Contactless payments and online check-ins are facilitated by options such as Google Pay and Apple Pay. These platforms offer speed, efficiency, and heightened security with features like Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode authentication.

• User-friendly payment gateways make the payment process straightforward for service-based and hospitality industries, through features like e-invoicing, advanced levels of personalization, and seamless integration with existing systems.

Case study

SiteMinder, an Australian tech unicorn disrupting the global hotel industry since 2006, aimed to improve efficiency and increase predictability in their business operations. Their search led them to the subscription management platform, Zuora, and later to the global bank debit provider, GoCardless. As the company's global director of billing and collections, Evan Miller, explains, 

This strategic decision to integrate GoCardless with Zuora greatly enhanced SiteMinder's operations. 

This level of automation, coupled with the transparency of bank debit fees, gave SiteMinder the predictability it sought in its cash flow.

Miller also emphasized the significance of understanding customer preferences in different markets when it comes to payments. In Europe, for example, bank debit is extremely prevalent, with 70% of their European customers choosing to pay through GoCardless over credit card. In Australia, 50% of customers prefer this method. This underlines Miller's advice to other expanding businesses: understanding customer payment preferences in new markets is key to developing a successful payment strategy.

We can help

Setting up payment collection is fast and efficient with GoCardless. By automating the payment collection process, GoCardless drastically cuts down the administrative responsibilities of managing and tracking invoices for your team. 

GoCardless makes it quick and easy to get started with no contracts or long-term commitment required. You can set up instant, one-off, or recurring payments in the merchant dashboard in just a few clicks. GoCardless automatically creates and sends all the necessary forms, doing all the heavy lifting for you. You can also connect to GoCardless via over  350 partner apps, such as Xero and Quickbooks.

Discover how GoCardless can automate payment collection, making it easier for you to concentrate on what matters most - your business growth.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most preferred method of payment in hotels?

In the constantly evolving hotel industry, the most preferred method of payment is increasingly the digital payment gateway, GoCardless. With its user-friendly interface and swift Direct Debit services, GoCardless has become a standout in the hospitality sphere, offering superior security, speed, and cost-effectiveness. This platform allows hotels to automate their payment collections, reduce processing times, and minimize errors, thus ensuring seamless financial transactions. Its cross-border transaction capabilities make it a favored choice for global travelers, facilitating payments in their local currencies. Moreover, GoCardless' low transaction fees compared to traditional credit card payments provide an additional advantage. This state-of-the-art payment gateway has grown to be the go-to solution for modern hotels prioritizing efficiency and customer convenience in their payment processing.

What is a payment gateway in the hotel industry?

A payment gateway in the hotel industry is a service that authorizes, processes, and manages online transactions between guests and the hotel. This vital system serves as an intermediary, securing sensitive data by encrypting it and passing payment details securely from the customer to the issuing bank, and the response back to the hotel's website. Payment gateways support various payment methods, including credit/debit card transactions, direct debit, and digital wallets, thus providing versatility to guests. They're integral to hotel operations, facilitating reservations, check-ins, in-house services, and check-outs, ensuring seamless, secure, and efficient financial interactions in the digitized hospitality world.

What is the strongest current trend in payment processing?

The strongest current trend in payment processing, particularly in the hospitality industry, revolves around the increasing adoption of Direct Debit systems. In the era of contactless and digital transactions, Direct Debit stands out due to its unparalleled convenience, enhanced security, and cost-effectiveness. This automated payment method allows hotels to collect payments directly from guests' bank accounts, simplifying the checkout process and reducing administrative burdens. Direct Debit systems also offer increased flexibility, enabling guests to control their payments while still providing hotels with a reliable and timely payment stream. Moreover, with the advancement in fraud protection mechanisms, such as two-factor authentication and end-to-end encryption, Direct Debit provides a secure payment platform, mitigating risks associated with card payments and giving both businesses and guests a safer transaction experience. It's not just a transient shift - the industry is witnessing a substantial move towards the Direct Debit payment model as part of a broader digital transformation.