Steven Dow – hospitality senior vice-president for UK, Ireland and North America at payment and technology solutions firm Planet – said the sector was “still very far behind” when it comes to integrated payment solutions.

“Hospitality businesses don’t move quickly because they’re nervous,” he told the Travel Technology Initiative’s spring conference on Thursday (23 March). “There’s the whole GDPR finance compliance, the data security, it’s all very stressful.”

According to Dow, businesses should nevertheless lean on the new technology because of the benefits it can bring. 

By adopting integrated payment services, travel and hospitality firms could streamline processes and improve customer experience. 

Using a digital payment system in a hotel or resort could make the difference between a customer having to queue at reception to get their keys and them having all the information already on their credit card.

“You should be able to come to a completely humanless environment,” Dow added. “Open the door, but using the card you might have paid with two months back on the internet, stay, leave without no one seeing you.”