practical epayment applications for travel booking
DESCRIPTION
Payment experts from Wright Express, Expedia and HotelTonight discuss how single-use virtual accounts can help drive efficiencies in the payment and settlement process.Tips – and potential traps to avoid – when evaluating the landscape of electronic payment solutions for travel booking.Presenters:* Jim Pratt, Wright Express, VP, corporate payment solutions* Chris Richter, Expedia, Senior Project Manager, financial operations* Jared Simon, HotelTonight, chief operating officer* Marc DeVallette, Wright Express, product managerTRANSCRIPT
Practical ePayment Applications for Travel Booking
February 23, 2012
Today’s Presenters
Jim PrattVice PresidentWright Express
Chris RichterSr Project ManagerExpedia
Jared SimonC.O.O.HotelTonight
Marc DeValletteProduct ManagerWright Express
Poll no. 1
Agenda
Recent trends in ePayments The case for payment efficiencies in travel booking Single-Use Ghost Accounts: How they work in travel
booking Case study: Expedia Case study: Hotel Tonight Best practices and implementation considerations
Travel Industry and Electronic Payments …
’30s ’00s’70s ’80s ’90s ’10s’60s
UATP
GPCC emerge as default for business travelers
ATC, IATA, SITA, ARC
SWIFT SUGAs
Percent B2B Payments Electronic
*2011 Paystream Advisors** WEX internal estimates
…Ahead of the curve
Travel Booking, Early Adopters
Volumes of transactions
Paying broad, disaggregated supplier base
Global marketplace
Comfort level with new technologies (particularly OTAs)
Card accounts existing role in travel booking
Broad acceptance of cards in the travel supplier market
Recent Trends in ePayments
Web services banking technology: “SaaS” for Payments extends existing functionality of native systems
Payment methods with lower processing costs will continue to lag the rates of new innovation
Mobile and implications for payments
Pre-paid
New payment networks – e.g., Dwolla, PayPal
Single-Use Ghost Accounts
No physical plastic exchanged
Transaction-specific, used just once
Each purchase request evaluated against controls
Append data
Vendors (e.g. hotels) process payment through existing card terminals
Poll no. 2
Control
Float
2-Day Funds
SUGAs in Travel Booking
Travel Agency
Process1. Reserve and pay2. Real-time credit card
request3. Real-time credit card
issuance4. Apply unique card to
reservation5. Traveler stay6. Charge single-use card7. Forward reconciliation
detail
1
5 324
6
Traveler
Hotel
WEX SUGA
System
Auto- Recon-ciliation
7
Case Study: Expedia
Expedia Fast Facts Over 13.8 million annual payments Pay over 42k vendors
Payment Needs Improve control Automate accounting reconciliation with true single use
solution Support growing international transactions
Solutions Leveraged WEX’s Purchase Log with Web Services Proprietary electronic invoicing-ExpediaPay
Case Study: Expedia Results
Implementation First run in 2008; broader
rollout in 2010 ExpediaPay in 2003
Results Improved auto-
reconciliation to 99%+ Redeployed 3 headcount Reduction in overcharges Reduction in paper
payments Significantly improve
vendor relationships
Reduced Overcharges
Reduced Paper
Reduced Manual
Reconciliation
Nearly 700K Annual
Transactions
Case Study: Expedia
Rollout and Other Considerations Differences in dispute rules between MasterCard and Visa;
MasterCard deeper understanding of Travel and Single-use cards
With hotels, talk through ease of doing business and savings
Case Study: HotelTonight
HotelTonight Fast Facts Mobile app launched in 2010 Same-day mobile booking of distressed hotel inventory
Payment Needs Solution that is scalable, and low-cost Eliminate inefficiencies of paper payments Seamless, real-time presentment of payments
Solutions Leveraged Wright Express Purchase Log with Web services
Case Study: HotelTonight
Implementation Very quick implementation, including internal
training Technology team wrote to WEX API in a couple
of days
Results Nearly all payments are electronic Met scalability objectives
Key Learning Implications of single-use for both internal team
and accepting hotel partners
Additional Considerations
Appending data
Advantage over other payment methods
Importance of globalization; issuance, settle in multiple currencies
True single-use
Acceptance
Look for travel-savvy partners, given travel industry nuances
Credit Card preference for ease of use
Communication plan for regular vendors
Consider controls, and setting reservation amounts
Working with Hotel Partners
Travel management companies
Group events and group event vendors
Supplemental travel, e.g. shuttles, charter bus
Opportunities Beyond Hotel
Questions?
Thank You!Jim Pratt
Vice PresidentWright Express
U.S. 1 [email protected]
Webinar replay will be available at www.tnooz.com
Please send questions and comments to Kevin May [email protected]
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