Amex, MasterCard Expand E-Folio Partnerships

San Diego--American Express and MasterCard International, through separate initiatives announced here this week at the National Business Travel Association’s 37th annual convention, continued to broaden the number of properties from which they send transactional hotel data to corporate clients. Amex announced the addition of 2,300 Hilton Hotels Corp. properties to its roster of folio-enabled hotels and MasterCard said it is expanding established folio partnerships with Marriott International to add the Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites and TownePlace Suites brands, and with Carlson Hotels Worldwide to include its Country Inns & Suites brand to the e-folio program.

Through such agreements, American Express and MasterCard both said the total number of properties that have enabled the enhanced credit card data stands at around 8,000. Both of the corporate payment providers said that number represents about 40 percent hotel transactions processed through their respective cards.

Meanwhile, Visa U.S.A., which was at the forefront of folio initiatives several years ago, said it is in the midst of solidifying a new deal with a major hotel company to transmit folio data. Diners Club is the only major corporate card supplier yet to announce a hotel folio initiative, but chairman and CEO M.V. Rajamannar this week said that through its acceptance alliance with MasterCard established in 2004 the payment supplier can—and will—leverage MasterCard's hotel folio data initiatives to transmit to corporate clients.

Despite the recent surge in electronic folio activity, Dave Hillman, a consultant with Consulting Strategies, said the number of hotels that participate in such e-folio agreements will plateau and most likely will not surpass 75 percent. In the meantime, however, the major payment suppliers said they will continue to foster relationships with hotel companies to transmit data to corporate customers.