After a lull at the end of 2024—an otherwise challenging year in which expenses increased faster than revenue for most hotels—we’re back to familiar levels of uncertainty. With average RevPAR last year growing at only 1% and occupancy averaging 63.9%, hospitality venues must seize every opportunity to maximize revenue. In an industry that is fighting for every consumer dollar, venues need to meet consumer demand for speed and flexibility, as well as provide a unified experience throughout the booking and payment process.
However, as concerns around data security proliferate and companies must invest more time and effort in ensuring their own systems, as well as their third-party suppliers’ and vendors’ systems, are securely handling customer information. One of the biggest benefits of digital platforms that are PCI DSS compliant is that they don’t store any payment information. Keeping customers’ data out of their business environments is the optimal way for hospitality companies to protect data from being compromised.
There is growing awareness that legacy payment processes can be inefficient and error-prone—not to mention time-consuming. Secure digital or agentless payments can help mitigate the risk of fraud, reduce payment friction, and free staff to do other tasks that are more central to the venue’s overall hospitality mission.
The Rise of Digital Payment Channels
Aside from online travel agencies (OTAs), direct website bookings, and hotel brand apps, consumers are expanding their reliance on alternative channels as a means for booking and upgrading travel.
The global mobile payment market is projected to grow from $3.8 trillion in 2024 to $27.8 trillion by 2032. AI-powered chatbots are projected to expand from $15.6 billion in 2024 to an estimated $46.6 billion by 2029. In-app payments on U.S. social media platforms are projected to increase from $19.1 billion in 2024 to $94.5 billion by 2030. SMS, QR code, and automated IVR payments are also on the rise.
At the same time, the cost of payment fraud is growing. According to Trustpair’s 2025 Fraud Report, nearly 60% of companies surveyed said the financial impact of payment fraud they experienced in 2024 was over $5M compared to just a quarter who said this the year prior, which is a 136% increase. Twenty percent said the impact was above $25M.
The current payments and fraud landscape demonstrates the need to not only provide a seamless, unified brand experience in digital and agentless channels, but also provide protection to both the hospitality venue and the consumer to mitigate the growing risk of fraud.
The Benefits of Secure Agentless Payment Solutions
Agentless payment channels have arisen to help streamline operations throughout the customer contact center. With the ability to process payments seamlessly across a variety of channels, hospitality venues can offer faster, more convenient payment experiences while maintaining compliance with industry security standards. Here are a few of the major benefits to the venue:
- Reduced Costs: By deflecting calls to automated channels, fewer agents are required to handle payment processing, reducing the cost of overhead. These agents are able to focus on more meaningful, high impact conversations that can ultimately improve overall customer satisfaction and loyalty. Additionally, as most companies pay a per-minute fee for the use of contact center telephony, reducing overall talk time can have a significant impact on telephony costs. For example, in a contact center with 500 agents, deflecting just 3% of live agent payment calls to agentless channels could yield an annual savings of over $250,000.
- Improved Customer Experience: By eliminating wait times and providing a seamless, automated experience, consumers can complete payments faster, easier, and in their preferred channel. Removing friction and frustration from the transacting process creates a positive experience, increases overall satisfaction, and ultimately yields a higher customer lifetime value.
- Increased Operational Efficiency: Unlike agents who are on live customer calls, agentless channels can handle several transactions at the same time. This is particularly beneficial during high volume periods. Reduced dependency on live agents through deflection to automated channels can reduce hold times, speed up the transaction process, and improve overall service efficiency.
- Reduction in Errors and Chargebacks: Automated systems are less prone to human error, which can occur when live agents manually process payments, enter data incorrectly, or miscalculate charges. Automated payments reduce mistakes in billing, leading to fewer chargebacks, reducing operational costs related to investigating issues and issuing refunds.
- Increased Upsell Revenue: Travelers are becoming more familiar with the allure of purchasing stay enhancements such as pre-paid parking, breakfast, and rooms on a higher floor before they embark. In 2023, for example, one major hotel brand reported that its guests chose to spend an additional $22 per night, on average, to personalize their experience (and this amount increased to $41 for the company’s luxury and lifestyle brands). Automation makes it easy for customers to make additional purchases or upgrades, improving the venue’s revenue per guest while reducing the need for staff intervention.
- 24/7 Availability: If something unexpected happens—a cancelled flight, stormy weather, or another type of mishap—having fast, flexible agentless channels available puts hospitality venues in a better position to retain travelers who might otherwise choose another vendor that’s able to fulfill their last-minute transaction on the spot.
Building Loyalty
As the hospitality industry continues to adapt to evolving consumer expectations, secure agentless payment solutions offer a powerful way to increase revenue while maintaining customer loyalty. By embracing agentless payment channels, venues can not only streamline operations and reduce costs but also provide a frictionless, secure experience for guests.
As consumers increasingly demand faster, more flexible payment options, meeting these needs while safeguarding sensitive data can help hospitality businesses stay competitive, build trust, and keep customers coming back for future stays.
About the Author
Greg Armor is the Chief Revenue Officer of Sycurio, and leads Sycurio’s Go-To-Market teams, driving revenue growth, pioneering new markets and fostering strategic partnerships.
