Whether you’re running a boutique hotel or managing a portfolio of long-term lets, your payment needs will be different. Here’s how payments vary across the most common hospitality business types.
What’s important for hotels?
For hotel owners and operators, key priorities include managing multiple payment touchpoints (online, front desk, and restaurant/bar), handling pre-authorisations and deposits securely, offering various payment methods (including international cards and currencies), minimising no-shows, and ensuring quick, error-free check-ins and check-outs.
For hotel groups and franchises, centralised reporting and consistent payment experiences across properties are also vital.
The complexity of hotel payments:
Hotel payments are rarely simple. Guests might book online via your website or an OTA (Online Travel Agency), pay at reception, charge extras to their room, or settle the bill with a payment link after their stay. You’re managing payments across multiple channels, sometimes in multiple currencies. This is why omnichannel payments are essential. If you’re working with platforms like Stardekk or Booking Experts, you’ll also want the option to take direct bookings and payments to maximise revenue.
Relevant payment methods for hotels:
POS terminals: Chip & PIN, contactless, mobile payments for front desk, restaurant, and other on-site sales.
Online card payments: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and other major credit cards for website bookings.
Digital wallets: Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal for smoother online checkouts.
Payment links: Ideal for telephone/email bookings, deposits, extras, no-show charges, or remote billing.
Integrated online checkout: Custom payment flows on your website.
Software systems and integrations for hotels:
Hotels commonly use a PMS alongside a channel manager (e.g., Cubilis by Stardekk) and a booking engine (e.g., Booking Expert). Effective integration between these systems and your payment processor is crucial. With Mollie, hotels can use our integrated SaaS solution to link payment processing directly into their PMS and other systems.
This reduces admin, eliminates manual reconciliation, and creates a faster process. For franchises, Mollie can offer solutions that cater to multi-location management and standardised reporting.
What makes a good payment gateway for hotels?
Clean integration into your PMS and booking software: PSPs like Mollie offer robust APIs and pre-built integrations with various hospitality software.
Support for in-person and online payments: Offering a true omnichannel experience.
Built-in fraud protection tools: Helping you accept more genuine orders safely.
Support for international cards and currencies: Cater to a global clientele.
It should feel like part of your hotel system, not a clunky add-on.
