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Home → News → 2013 Articles → Can online payments work for lodges?
9.24. Can online payments work for lodges?
Online Credit Card Payments
In the past lodges have shied away from online payments citing concerns from "my customer will not understand complex travel logistics", to concerns like "online payments will take away the personal contact with my customer", and even "online bookings will create an unrealistic travel expectation".
These concerns are valid and should be addressed. In fact they are already being addressed by pioneer lodges and travel sites like Expedia and Agoda. These businesses consider lodge stock sales as a feasible market and they are addressing sales challenges through packages, site content and seriously (seriously!) rigid booking terms and conditions.
If a customer can look, book and pay for a holiday to a lodge on a travel site, what's stopping you from offering the same service on your own site? Answer that question and you may find it's easy to put plans in place to direct your online customer to book on your own site.
Implementing online payments on your site caters for the customer who understands logistics, or a customer who is prepared to find out details after they have committed to the sale. It caters for the repeat guest, international guest, business guest and the impromptu buyer. Your online shopper has an inherent trust in web content and your brand, they have researched you on Tripadvisor, Facebook and other social media platforms. By the time they are prepared to enter their credit card details, they have concluded that you meet their expectations and they trust that you will fill in any gaps for them.
Ignoring online payments may mean you alienate a potentially lucrative market from your business. Why? Because these online customers prefer to shop at a time that suits them, on a device that suits them and they prefer instant (and electronic) response to their quoting and purchasing needs. This customer interprets your personal attention from your e-content such as, your social media posts and your web site content. They expect that you will fill in any gaps for them, even after their transaction is completed online. And if you don't cater to their shopping preference - they will likely close your web page and find someone in your area who does.
Offering credit card transactions is a necessary service for this customer because it provides them with a convenient, effective time-saving method of processing payment, in a secure environment.
To find out specifics about how ResRequest can help you with online payments, take a look at our ResRequest online payments starter pack.
By: Jill Bennett-Howes
September 2013
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