Payment processing for hotels

Payment links before arrival

Stop emailing PDF card authorization forms. Many properties still send one before arrival and ask the guest to write in a card number, and every form that comes back is card data sitting in an inbox or a filing cabinet. A secure payment link replaces it. The guest pays on a page protected by 3DS2, the card is stored as a token, and the deposit and the guarantee are collected without a card number ever reaching your staff.

Kubera works with and integrates to tools such as Canary, Akia and Converge for remote card acceptance as part of the pre arrival check in process. Canary and Akia integrate into property management systems such as Infor, so the deposit lands where the front desk works, on the reservation, before the guest arrives.

Still swiping cards at the front desk?

Many properties still swipe cards through a keyboard emulator into the property system. It works, and it puts the property on the wrong side of card data storage and PCI compliance, and outside the liability shift, so when a guest disputes a charge the chargeback lands on the hotel. The upgrade is integrated chip and PIN (EMV) with end to end encryption: PIN pads at the desk connected to the property management system, so the terminal reads the card, the data is encrypted before it moves, and the charge posts to the folio. That is how a property reduces chargebacks, increases security and reduces its liability for card data theft. It is a change at the desk, and a worthwhile one. Talk to our integration experts.

How a stay actually pays

The deposit arrives through a payment link or a tool such as Canary or Akia. At check in the card is presented with chip and PIN and held on file with a pre authorization. Restaurant, minibar, spa and parking charges post to the folio in the property system as the stay goes on. At checkout the stay is billed against the authorization and the remainder is released. Card present at the desk, card not present before arrival, each priced as itself.

Property management systems

Kubera supports integrations into a wide range of property management systems, such as Oracle OPERA, Agilysys, Infor HMS, StayNTouch, Springer Miller, HotelKey, Ariane, Orion Systems and SevenRooms, and the fit for your property is confirmed during planning.

Chargebacks are won before they happen

The card brands side with the cardholder almost every time, whatever evidence you send, and a signed PDF form protects nobody. The properties that stop losing chargebacks are the ones with integrated chip and PIN at the counter and 3DS2 on every card not present payment, because those move the liability to the card issuing bank. The result is fewer chargebacks, less administrative time, less card data in emails and cabinets, and over time a stronger case for better rates.

The problem is common in Quebec, where system upgrades are rarely sold in French. Kubera deploys and supports in French.

Groups, banquets and the deposits ladder

Event business runs on a ladder of card not present payments: a hold at booking, staged deposits as the date approaches, and a final settlement that can be the largest single transaction the property takes all month. Transactions that size deserve enhanced data handling and deliberate pricing, and banquet heavy properties often find their event ledger is quietly their most expensive volume per dollar. Each rung of that ladder should be collected through a 3DS2 payment link rather than a keyed card, so the largest payments of the month are also the ones with the liability shift behind them.

OTA bookings versus the front door

Commission channels such as Expedia collect the room payment themselves and remit it to the property, so the card you take at check in covers incidentals rather than the stay. Direct bookings ride rails you control and can price. Knowing what each channel truly costs per room night, commission plus payment cost together, is the arithmetic that should steer where you push demand.