By Jove, Choice Hotels International’s got it: a solution to
the virtual card-faxing conundrum that so often causes mayhem at check-in.
Choice’s “enhanced support of virtual card” solution eliminates the need for
travel managers and travel management companies to fax authorization forms to
Choice hotels for reservations made with single-use virtual cards, Choice director
of sales technology and enablement Grant Pearce told BTN.
“We implemented a simple way we can work with our clients
and with a code in the [global distribution system] that indicates that a
reservation is a virtual card reservation,” he explained. Choice began piloting
the solution in January, and it has been “in full run” with several clients
since the end of February. There is no extra charge for the solution.
Here's how it works: During booking, the travel manager or
TMC populates a field with a four-digit code, and the hotel's management system
thus recognizes the card number as a virtual card. “That code in essence says
‘Ah, this is a virtual card,’ ” Pearce explained. “[The rules] alert the front
desk [not to] ask the traveler for a card for room and tax, to charge the card
in the reservation and that Choice has authorized this client so don’t expect a
fax authorization.”
Implementation is also simple, according to Pearce. “Once
our account director has identified that this is something that works for the
client, we can do a couple of test bookings and they’re up and running that
same day.”
The most challenging aspect of the implementation seems to
be the variation in online booking tools. “Sometimes, it takes a bit of work
with the agency to get implemented into the process so that it’s seamless. So
there’s a little bit of work there with some of the OBTs,” he said. “But other
than that, it’s no problem and it’s up and running.”
Why Choice Saw A Need
Choice recognized the momentum and challenges of virtual
card use among its clients, Pearce said. While it was easy for travel managers to
use a single-use virtual card to make a reservation, Choice clients found it
difficult to communicate to the hotel property how to process the product.
“The only way to really do that was by sending a fax
authorization form,” he said. “The fax is not the most effective way to
communicate things, but people muddled through it. We’ve seen organizations
that have staffed faxing teams because they have so many authorizations to fax
for their virtual cards.”
Considering the growing number of virtual card products and
the multiple configurations possible, the lack of a processing standard has
been confusing front desk staffers and leaving some travelers
stranded. The lack of a physical card means travelers don’t have copies of
the card details to show the front desk staff when faxes are lost or misplaced,
which happens often.
Until now, the best solution the industry had devised was to
send multiple faxes leading up to the check-in date. Some suppliers
also have developed apps allowing travelers to call up an
image of the front and back of a virtual card on their smartphones to show
front desk clerks and to send a fax or email on the spot containing the card
details.
Standardizing The
Standard
A recent study by the Global Business Travel Association and
U.S. Bank found that use of single-use virtual
cards rose 7 percentage points from the previous year to 20 percent.
However, only about half (53 percent) of suppliers accept the payment method,
according to the survey. The lack of acceptance and confusion around processing
single-use virtual cards has left some travelers stranded without a room until
a new payment method is sourced.
To remedy the problem, global trade association Hotel
Technology Next Generation released the Virtual
Payment Cards Specification industry standard in May to help hotels
distinguish virtual cards from traditional cards and process them efficiently.
However, because the standard is not mandatory it will take suppliers time to
adopt it.
While developing the Choice product, Pearce was unaware of
HTNG’s similar efforts. His mission was to develop a solution that would work
for Choice “in advance of the industry and those vendors being able to come up
with a standardized product.”
Choice, however, is open to working with HTNG. Pearce said his
company can leverage the work it's done to identify virtual card reservations
at the property level and point of reservation and thus work with HTNG’s
standard.