In a bid to streamline hotel payments for companies and resolve hotel bill back issues, Barclaycard Business and hotel booking solution provider, Conferma, have signed a partnership to provide a centralised online billing solution. The move will benefit buyers, intermediaries and travel suppliers by cutting down on administrative tasks and cost.
As part of the deal, Barclaycard Business has exclusive rights as the only card provider for the centralised solution during the next 12 months.
Working with travel management companies (TMCs) and hotel booking agencies (HBAs), the tool gives Barclaycard Business clients greater access to hotel booking data, including separating out room nights from other costs to give detailed analysis of the total spend.
The solution works by combining the booking information from the TMC/HBA with the actual amount charged to the client”s Barclaycard Business account. Optional details on hotel folio data are also available, such as name of traveller, date and length of stay (as opposed to the date the card is charged), cost of amenities (meals, drinks, laundry) and bespoke customer references.
”The increased demand for hotel folio data from our customers has meant that Barclaycard Business and Conferma have an exciting proposition to meet customer needs,” said director of commercial cards, Denise Leleux.
”By streamlining the hotel bill back process all stakeholders will benefit. Businesses will be able to centralise their hotel spend and TMCs and HBAs can benefit from a more streamlined process and reduced financial exposure. And of course hotels will benefit from swifter settlement. It is a win-win solution.”
In a statement, Barclaycard Business also revealed that ”in the future this technology could see the hotel settlement solution be extended in the meeting management space.”