Total Processing is now part of
Following the launch of our partnership with HotelTime solutions, Total Processing is making its name within the hospitality sector.
With the aim of introducing you to the main benefits of payment automation within hospitality sectors; below is a discussion on the key financial returns of automation within the hotel and restaurant industries worldwide.
In an industry that relies on personability and well, hospitality – hoteliers and servers alike, rely on customer service. However, despite the growing demand across properties and chains globally; efficiency must supersede charm.
Just like their home lives, the tourism industry is not just an experience but an opportunity for guests to further alleviate the day-to-day; not wanting to worry about technology.
Immersing themselves more than ever in a leisure experience that before only existed for smart devices in the home, every element of a stay in a hotel should be seamless and automated. According to the wall street journal, the first 15 minutes of a guest’s stay is crucial and there have been concerted efforts across the sector to avoid annoying guests within this period.
A key motivator in achieving this has been via automation, to not only speed up check-ins (and check-outs) but reduce losses and ultimately, increase the retention of customers long-term.
It is estimated that 73% of manual activities in the hospitality industry have the technical potential for automation.
The fact is, customer dissatisfaction results from a multitude of reasons, and the catalyst can lie within overworked employees and time-wasting. Satisfied customers tell 9 people about their experience whereas dissatisfied customers will tell 16.
Whilst automation is already being tackled in what is known as the ‘internet of things’ by implementing smart devices and self-service in rooms, in order to allow for a frictionless experience, this has only recently expanded into the revenue side of things.
**What is the ‘internet of things’?**
The internet of things allows for increased efficiency and time-saving processes via automation, by connecting previously offline objects to the internet; affording merchants control. As a result, the hotel industry has seen a visible increase in guest satisfaction, employee productivity, and a decrease in labour costs. As hotels are currently hindered by operational downfalls and ageing PMS systems, automation can consolidate existing legacy systems in hotels to efficiently deploy tasks across hotels and properties; connecting different teams from reservations to housekeeping.
Starting with the larger player in hospitality; consolidating payments across legacy systems is a core management tool that surpasses just guest satisfaction.
In the USA, studies have shown that revenue per room rose from 2.7% to 3.5% when measured within the same 12-month period over two consecutive years. An analysis of this data revealed that revenue sales rose for 9 continuous years with similar gains across the hotel sector worldwide.
The integration of automated payments into a PMS system is not only reducing friction but increasing revenue. With more payment options available within integrated payment gateways, consumer demand is more likely to be met.
According to Statista, 51% of guests want mobile payment options at hotels or the ability to transact on a mobile device, versus the more traditionally offered chip and pin devices or MOTO options.
However, only 28% of the hotels are offering it.
Mobile offerings can also build towards a secondary layer of omnichannel services internally within the hotel and increase customer loyalty.
Despite these gains, many hotels still lack the ability to centrally connect with other hotel systems and sources of data. As a main source of operations, connecting to the payment data from all hotel chains and properties from a consolidated PMS system will optimize hotel operations significantly; rendering previous systems obsolete.
Statistics reveal that 81% of small and medium-sized properties and 91% of large full-service properties; that have upgraded their PMS within the past 3 years, have improved the overall performance and financial results of their hotels significantly; whereas 23% of others plan to upgrade within the next 12 months.
Whilst the evolution and expanded infrastructure of PMS systems have employees within the hospitality sectors worried for their roles, it is more likely to adapt them, with 79% of hoteliers believing that user interaction and training is a key to PMS integration and success.
Using Total Processing's payment gateway, intergrating a property management system into our platform can faciliate the conversion of customer payments and retention across multiple hotel properties support across 198 payment methods.
**Sources:**
https://www.napatechnology.com/blog/top-5-hospitality-and-restaurant-automation-trends-of-2019/
https://asksuite.com/blog/hotel-automated-customer-service/
https://hoteltechnologynews.com/2019/03/pros-cons-iot-hospitality-industry/
https://blog.kryonsystems.com/rpa/3-keys-to-improving-hotel-service-quality-with-automation
https://www.hoteliermiddleeast.com/34362-ai-and-automation-to-increase-hotel-revenues-by-10
https://roomkeypms.com/blog/5-payment-processing-challenges-for-independent-hotels/
https://www.oracle.com/a/ocom/docs/dc/guide-hotel-property-oracle.pdf
