Purpose
1. Automate the process of pre-authorizing guests’ credit cards prior to arrival at love hotels for payment guarantee and fraud minimization.
2. Automatedly confirm that payment cards are valid and have sufficient funds, reducing check-in delays and no-shows.
3. Automate communication of failed pre-authorizations to both guests and hotel staff for quick remediation.
4. Enable end-to-end workflow automation from reservation capture to billing, ensuring seamless revenue protection.
Trigger Conditions
1. Reservation is created or modified in the PMS or booking platform.
2. Scheduled time window before guest’s scheduled arrival (e.g., 24 or 48 hours prior).
3. Manual staff request or API call to automate card validity check.
4. Bulk automated pre-arrival automation for groups or high-traffic periods.
Platform Variants
1. Stripe
• Feature/Setting: PaymentIntents API; set up an authorization-only flow with capture delayed until check-in; configure webhook for authorization result.
2. PayPal
• Feature/Setting: Authorizations API; use /v2/payments/authorizations endpoint via automation trigger on booking event.
3. Square
• Feature/Setting: CreatePayment endpoint with autocomplete=false; automate webhook captures status.
4. Adyen
• Feature/Setting: /payments API with additionalData.authorisationType=PreAuth, automate webhook reporting.
5. Worldpay
• Feature/Setting: Pre-auth transaction type in their API, automate response handling and notifications.
6. Braintree
• Feature/Setting: Transaction.sale() with options: { submitForSettlement: false }, automate monitoring for failures.
7. Hotelogix PMS
• Feature/Setting: Reservation webhook, automate call to connected payment gateway for pre-auth; handle errors via callback.
8. Maestro PMS
• Feature/Setting: Automate credit card verification on reservation status change using built-in automation or external API trigger.
9. Opera PMS (Oracle)
• Feature/Setting: OPERA Web Self Service’s credit-card interface API, automate on pre-arrival status update.
10. Cloudbeds
• Feature/Setting: Automated Payment Processing settings; trigger pre-authorization via connected payment method API.
11. Sabre SynXis
• Feature/Setting: Automate use of Payment Gateway integration API, activating pre-auth trigger per guest.
12. Revinate Booking Suite
• Feature/Setting: Use Automated Guest Journey trigger to automate card pre-auth on reservation confirmation.
13. Booking.com
• Feature/Setting: Use Booking API to automate trigger to payment partner and update reservation status.
14. Agoda YCS
• Feature/Setting: Automate pre-arrival card check using YCS booking webhooks with proprietary payment service.
15. Landbot
• Feature/Setting: Automate user interaction flow capturing card data and triggering payment gateway API for pre-auth.
16. Twilio SMS
• Feature/Setting: Automate notification to guest on pre-auth status using Programmable SMS API webhook.
17. SendGrid
• Feature/Setting: Automate email alerts for failed or successful pre-auth using SMTP API or Transactional Email API.
18. Zapier
• Feature/Setting: Automate trigger-action integration between PMS and payment service using built-in Stripe, Braintree, or Gmail actions.
19. Microsoft Power Automate
• Feature/Setting: Automated flows to connect PMS, payment gateway, email, or SMS services for holistic automation.
20. Pipedream
• Feature/Setting: Automate card pre-auth workflows using payment APIs and notify via multiple channels.
Benefits
1. Automates guarantee of payment before guest arrival, minimizing revenue leakage.
2. Automatedly reduces front-desk and staff workload by removing manual card checks.
3. Increases guest satisfaction through proactive problem-solving and streamlined check-in.
4. Automation decreases fraudulent bookings and ensures rooms are reserved for genuine guests.
5. Automating notifications ensures rapid response to payment problems, protecting occupancy rates and cash flow.
Payment & Billing Automation