The idea, the release stated, came from the need to make it easier to pay for lodging when traveling in an “easy and automated” manner.
With the partnership, the number of Booking.com properties that can be paid for with Amadeus Hotel Billback is increased from 20 percent to 80 percent, or the majority of Booking.com’s hotels. The establishments are able to invoice directly through the traveler’s company or travel agency by use of virtual cards.
In addition, the release stated that when business trips are set up via Amadeus, Conferma Pay automatically generates a virtual card number and Booking.com sends that number to the hotel. At the time of the payment, the hotel loads the reservation on the virtual card, reconciling the reservation and payment data.
Amadeus, according to the release, sets up the communication between Conferma Pay and Booking.com, letting the two communicate directly and share information.
Kelly Cleeton, director of Global Business Development with Conferma Pay, said in the release that the integration gives travel management companies (TCMs) “and their corporate customers a new opportunity to use virtual payment for all their hotel reservations. Both the traveler and the agent can benefit from automated reconciliation, minimize the risk of fraud, and experience a simple, secure, frictionless process from purchase to payment.”
Katja Bohnet, director of Hotel Distribution, Hospitality with Amadeus, said the joint developments will provide new benefits for travelers.
“It will allow agents to quickly reconcile any bookings they have paid on behalf of clients, and reduce the manual effort involved in booking and paying for hotels on behalf of corporate customers,” Bohnet said, according to the release.
Booking.com has teamed up with other companies in the past, including business travel pay and billing company AirPlus for a better corporate pay experience. The partnership will include seamless booking-to-payment capabilities and the ability to aggregate transactions into a single invoice.
