Not Taking Online Reservations? Consider This.

Some business owners in the hospitality industry worry that any time credit card information is entered online, it’s going to get hacked.

“They get scared immediately,” Russ Rybolt, payment processing advisor at i3 Commerce Technology, points out.

So Russ wants to set the record straight and explain why online reservations are not only more secure, they’re also more efficient.

Secure Customer Cardholder Data with Online Reservations

If your employees aren’t taking reservations online, they’re likely writing the reservations – and credit card information – down on paper. Not only is this method less secure, it adds additional work to your PCI-compliance measures.

By taking online reservations, your employee no longer sees customer cardholder data. Instead, the customer enters the information – and they’re the only one who sees it.

In cases where customers still prefer to call in reservations, your business is protected. This is because the data is entered into a secure web-based solution and the card number is truncated as soon as it’s typed. “It ensures PCI-compliance,” Russ explains. “And that usually eases people’s minds.”

Reduce Your Workload

When you give your customers the opportunity to reserve online – whether you run a campground or a bed and breakfast – you free up your employees’ time.

Additional ways online booking saves time:

• Automatically ensure that bookings will only be received when space is available
• Send automated email confirmations and reminders to your guests
• Keep customer data in a centralized space so you can market to previous customers

Plus, people love the convenience of being able to book at their leisure. If a potential customer calls to book by phone and no one answers, they’ll move onto someone else.

Get Better Credit Card Rates

Customer-initiated payments ensure qualification for better credit card rates because there’s less room for error. The customer entering that card information is more likely to enter it correctly. Otherwise, if the address mismatches, your fee goes up on that transaction.

Additionally, with online reservations, cards are approved or declined automatically. “With traditional booking methods, staff members take information over the phone and then hang up. They don’t know if it’s a valid card,” Russ says.

Take Online Reservations at Your Business:

Contact i3 Commerce Technology online or call 1-800-621-8931.