New Flywire Research into Hospitality Workflows Provides a Blueprint for Hotel Revenue Growth
Data underscores how integrating the contract & payment workflows unlocks revenue, efficiency and guest satisfaction for hotel leaders
94% of hotel leaders surveyed agree they need a way to streamline payments, with 67% wanting a faster way to capture deposits after contracting
77% of sales teams surveyed lose revenue due to uncollected deposits, but 97% believe digitalization would transform the customer payment experience
BOSTON, Sept. 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Improving the payment processes and integrating payment and contract workflows at hotel properties can directly boost customer experience and be an important factor in maximizing revenues, according to the latest research from Flywire Corporation (Nasdaq: FLYW), a global payments enablement and software company. Flywire’s new report details the extent to which automated payment processes can help hotel staff boost the guest experience, reduce turnover, and ultimately capture more revenue across their locations. And importantly, GMs signaled there’s also room to improve the steps that come before collecting payments, with 95% of those surveyed saying they need a better, more secure way to sign contracts.
In its new report, The blueprint for stronger hotel performance: How leaders can maximize revenue with better workflows and simpler payments, Flywire reveals the results of an independent survey it commissioned of more than 300 General Managers or Event Directors at leading, multinational hospitality brands who have event spaces. The data uncovers how the contract and payment experience impacts guest experience, and why hotel GMs can look to efficient, automated processes to reduce manual errors and maximize revenue.
"Outdated payment systems are costing hotels hard-earned revenue,” said Colin Smyth, SVP and GM of Travel at Flywire. “Our research proves that modernizing payment and workflow processes isn't just about recovering lost revenue—it's about enhancing the guest experience and driving loyalty, which delivers a long-term competitive edge.”
Hotels struggle to reduce chargebacks, which remain a threat to revenue
Fraud continues to rise in hospitality and hotels are enticing targets. Chargebacks are a concern for hotel leaders. 65% of respondents report losing over $2,500 per month to chargebacks, with more than 30% losing over $5,000 per month.
Guests can issue a chargeback anytime and for any reason, regardless of the time and attention staff dedicate to them. And many properties have accepted chargebacks as a routine part of business and given up challenging them because of the time required. 83% say chargebacks are a big problem for their property. 58% have given up fighting chargebacks because of the time it takes to do so.
Chargebacks are taking such a toll on staff that most hotel leaders believe they’re exacerbating the turnover issue; 80% of respondents say turnover would be lower if they could find a better way to handle chargebacks.
With secure digital payments, hotels get built-in protections that help them reduce chargebacks and retain revenue.
Hotel leaders are eager for a more modern way to collect payments and integrate systems
94% of GMs and Event Directors agree they need to streamline their payment processes to eliminate inefficiencies that are hurting their bottom line. That includes employees spending too much time chasing payments (71%), on reconciliation and chargebacks (74%), calculating processing fees (68%), and communicating payment information with other teams (61%).
If better system integrations were in place, staff members could spend less time manually handling payment information, also creating opportunities to decrease payment errors and security risks. 60% of the respondents say their teams are spending more than six hours a week chasing payments. 65% have to manually put customer card information into multiple systems. And when it comes to the pre-payment experience, 67% responded that it takes too much time to get a deposit after sending a contract.
By simplifying and integrating contract and payment processes, hotel staff can significantly speed up turnaround times, reduce errors and reclaim valuable time.
Efficient payments drive positive guest experiences
Hotel GMs and Event Directors understand that complex internal processes impact how employees work with hotel guests. In fact, 8 out of 10 respondents worry they are losing customers and missing deposits as a result of inefficient payment processes. 97% believe digitizing the payment experience would raise their customers’ experience and 95% feel they’d be able to better serve event/meeting customers if they had a better way to handle deposits.
Hotel GMs are eager to see improvements. Some of the improvements they are looking for include secure payments with encryption/ fraud checks (30%), more user-friendly automation (26%), real-time payments/deposits/transactions (24%) and acceptance of various payment methods (12%). As one GM stated: “I value flexibility in my payment methods. Whether it's a credit card, debit card or digital wallet, it's important to be able to choose a payment method based on the situation.”
With a more seamless payment experience, staff can ensure payments are completed and paid in a timely manner – while building customer loyalty with every transaction.
Automating manual payment processes can help GMs recuperate revenue
With a higher risk of delays, customer dissatisfaction, and missed steps in the payment process, properties are experiencing revenue loss for bookings. 77% of property sales teams are losing revenue due to uncollected deposits, 61% regularly have deposits go unpaid because of inefficiencies, and 31% say revenue loss to uncollected deposits is their biggest challenge.
In a typical month, more than half of the respondents say they are losing 3-5% of revenue, with almost 2 in 10 losing 6-10% of revenue.
In contrast, automated processes help hotel staff capture more revenue, eliminate missed payments and ensure every payment comes in correctly and on time.
Greater efficiency can reduce staff turnover and free up more time for high-value work
73% of respondents say that turnover of back-office staff is a problem, decreasing service quality, reducing customer loyalty, and exacerbating revenue losses. While there are many reasons employees may leave a property, frustration from overly manual tasks and lack of focus is one of the likely culprits. Time spent chasing payments could be spent on other aspects of the job, particularly tasks that help customers or allow staff to flex their creativity in how they better serve their guests.
Most hotel leaders agree that if they can reduce turnover, revenue would increase. In fact, half say that the impact would be as much as 6% or higher. By replacing manual tasks with efficient, automated processes, hotels can retain staff and free teams to focus on high-value guest interactions that drive revenue.
Resources
- To experience the full report, please visit: https://flywire.foleon.com/report/flywire-hotel-payments-report/
- To learn more about Flywire’s solutions for hotels, please visit https://www.flywire.com/industries/travel/hotels
About Flywire
Flywire is a global payments enablement and software company. We combine our proprietary global payments network, next-gen payments platform and vertical-specific software to deliver the most important and complex payments for our clients and their customers.
Flywire leverages its vertical-specific software and payments technology to deeply embed within the existing A/R workflows for its clients across the education, healthcare and travel vertical markets, as well as in key B2B industries. Flywire also integrates with leading ERP systems, such as NetSuite, so organizations can optimize the payment experience for their customers while eliminating operational challenges.
Flywire supports more than 4,800* clients with diverse payment methods in more than 140 currencies across more than 240 countries and territories around the world. The company is headquartered in Boston, MA, USA with global offices. For more information, visit www.flywire.com. Follow Flywire on X , LinkedIn and Facebook.
*Not including Flywire’s acquisitions of Invoiced and Sertifi
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding Flywire’s expectations of its travel business. Flywire intends such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as, but not limited to, “believe,” “may,” “will,” “potentially,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” “would,” “project,” “target,” “plan,” “expect,” or the negative of these terms, and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations that involve risks, changes in circumstances, assumptions, and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in Flywire's forward-looking statements include, among others, the factors that are described in the “Risk Factors” and “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of Flywire's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2025, which are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and available on the SEC's website at https://www.sec.gov/. The information in this release is provided only as of the date of this release, and Flywire undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release on account of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.
Contacts
Media:
Sarah King
Media@Flywire.com
Investor Relations:
Masha Kahn
IR@Flywire.com
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