By Dean Farley, Global Business Development Manager – Travel & Hospitality – GSV @ Worldline
The hospitality and travel sector has experienced one of the largest hits from the pandemic and although the pent-up demand for travel is likely to kick in as vaccinations continue to be rolled out, the ‘staycation’ trend, along with hygiene and social distancing will remain for years to come.
Therefore, the hospitality sector needs to be doing everything it can to streamline and drive efficiencies, and payments play a significant role.
Increased digitalisation of the tourism and hospitality industry
Tourism and hospitality is already a highly digitised industry, with the vast majority of bookings now completed online. Additionally, the pandemic has accelerated the use of digital check-ins via kiosks or mobile apps and alternative payment methods (APMs), as they benefit from providing a hygienic, contact-free and efficient service.
Digitalisation does not stop there, however. An individual leaves hundreds of data points during their time in a hotel, and these can be utilised to make changes, large or small, that drive profits. A modern payments system is again integral here, as it gives the ability to link data from other sections of the business directly to the company’s bottom line.
Adopting an omnichannel approach to accelerate customer experiences
Following the trends that have emerged during the pandemic, there is a growing need for merchants to create a new, omnichannel experience to better leverage customer experiences and create a single point of contact for all payment and integration services. The latest payments solutions on the market today offer a range of cloud-based payment capabilities, seamlessly integrated into the hotel’s property management system (PMS). And thanks to tokenisation, such technology responds to all omnichannel requirements of a hotel, ultimately creating a unique customer experience for their guests.
Travel and hospitality have already taken great strides in digitisation, and while the next few years will continue to provide challenges, they should be building upon the structures that are already there, particularly around payments, to ensure that they keep up with the wave of digitisation sweeping other industries.
To learn more, visit: www.worldline.com/hospitality-suite
