Simplifying payments for business travel: this is not the only concern for American Express or AirPlus. The Hilton Group is proud to be the first hotelier in the world to use virtual payment. This is a step forward for travellers and companies, but above all for their agencies. In addition to thousands of corporate customers, more than 400 TMCs will benefit from an automated process to secure B2B payments and simplify expense reconciliation.
The American hotelier has teamed up with the leading provider of virtual card technology Conferma to integrate this means of payment, via an API. As a result, the unique virtual card number generated by Conferma to guarantee a reservation will now be shared directly with the management system of thousands of Hilton hotels worldwide where this technology is implemented, guaranteeing their teams instant access to payment information.
While payment by virtual card was already possible in the past, it required the hotel to receive payment details by e-mail or fax. Not without a few hiccups when the traveller went to reception, as the establishments were not always familiar with the subtleties of the virtual card. According to Carmen Stinson, managing director of the American agency National Corporate Housing, this meant that her travel agents had to " chasing or resubmitting credit card authorisation forms" plus the time-consuming work of reconciliation afterwards.
According to Frank Passanante, Hilton's Global Head of Sales and Human Resources, this new solution will make it possible to " further enhance our service, starting with an effortless check-in process, ensuring that our corporate customers feel valued and cared for from the moment they arrive" . " A fluid experience "This is the main advantage of this automated technology, according to Sébastien Bardin, Vice President Product Management at American Express Global Business Travel, which " offers business travellers even more choice for simplified, convenient and secure virtual payment options" .
