How to increase direct bookings with an optimised online payment system

To increase direct bookings from your booking engine, you need to offer customers a reliable and efficient online payment system.

Let’s take the example of a traveler who, when visiting the property’s website, plans to book a stay. If customers do not find secure payment options on the booking webpage, they may decide to book from an OTA. Or they might even be dissuaded and change property completely.

A previous study has shown that the abandonment rate of hotel websites was around 85%. There are certainly many reasons, but the lack of confidence in making the payment is one of them.

It is therefore essential to equip your booking engine with a payment system capable of ensuring secure transactions and limiting your abandonment rate.

Key elements of an online payment system

We have identified the main characteristics that an online payment system must have.

1. Secure transactions.

For an online payment gateway, security comes first. An efficient platform must protect sensitive payment information from fraud.

2. High-quality integrations and a wide choice of payment methods.

A payment gateway must offer integration with the most-used payment methods. This way, your customers are sure to find their preferred method, no matter where they come from.

3. Payment page optimized for conversion.

The page where the customer confirms the payment must absolutely be responsive. A suboptimal web experience generates a sense of poor quality and discourages visitors from making a purchase. Today, this is even more true considering that more and more people book on-the-go directly from mobile.

4. Many integrated languages.

To offer your future guest the best booking experience, your checkout page must be in their language. So, a great payment system must offer translations into as many languages ​​as possible.

5. Ability to manage different currencies.

Finally, if you want to sell on an international scale, you need to have a gateway that can handle the main currencies of the world.

A solution adapted to these needs

Worldline’s payment gateway – Worldline is a global leader in secure payments that acquired Ingenico in 2020 – has all these features and many more.

Bringing together our joint expertise, Worldline and RoomCloud allow merchants in the hospitality sector to offer their guests a reliable and efficient way to finalize their reservation.

Worldline helps European merchants to grow and optimize their business through online payments. They do so by helping them to take advantage of new opportunities and ways of selling online. Their goal is to help you develop your business by: