After being in a slump, the hotel industry is finally seeing an upsurge. Experts are saying the shift is due to several factors such as; the economic recovery, easier and less expensive hotel bookings, changes in demographics, demand for more properties, and international demand. A recent Forbes report shows that hotel owners are making more revenue per room. Occupancy rates are predicted to rise to 64.9 percent for this year, which is the highest rate since 1984. And growth is expected to continue throughout the decade. While the hotel market is rebounding, owners must consider upgrading their payment processing systems to capitalize on this trend.
Dramatic increases in hotel occupation are generally seen in areas that are considered entry points. Each gateway city is experiencing an upswing due to their own unique properties, but a notable commonality between them is tech transformation. According to Forbes, travelers want less interaction with hotel staff but seek more from hotels like faster internet. In gateway cities, travelers may also spend less time indoors and don’t mind smaller rooms. This gives smaller chains a fighting chance against large hotel brands. Still they prefer easy, electronic check in and check out processes along with quick electronic booking. As a result, online travel agencies (OTAs), like Expedia and Priceline.com are rapidly gaining market share with hotel bookings.
President and CEO of LaSalle Hotel Properties, Michael Barnello, notes that more consumers are moving toward styling hotel offerings as opposed to the old-school, one-size-fits-all approach. With this positive trend, many in the hospitality sector have been given access to more debt. Still investors are told to carefully examine potential investments before signing contracts.
Even though the hotel industry is recovering, traditional payment processors still charge hotel merchants higher fees and rates than other mechants. Hotels are considered a high risk venture due to high instances of fraud. Hotels have become extremely susceptible to cyber-attacks. Recent security breaches of major hotel franchises have made even more payment processors nervous. EMB knows how to manage high risk accounts and will charge fair prices for payment processing. The experienced payment processors at eMerchantBroker.com offer premium hotel credit card processing and security.