The ultimate guide to buy now, pay later (BNPL) for hotels

The payment industry has evolved significantly over the past few years, bringing forth innovative ways for consumers to pay. These new payment methods are built to reduce friction and increase convenience, helping businesses earn more without any added risk. 

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) is one of the fastest-growing forms of payment and a must for hoteliers looking to enhance the guest experience, increase total booking value, extend booking windows, and improve profit margins.

Whether you’re considering pay-later options as part of your payment offerings or exploring ways to drive more revenue at your property, you’ve come to the right place. This article explores the benefits of BNPL and how hotels can get started.

7 benefits of BNPL for hotels 

With the global BNPL market expected to reach an annual growth rate of 26% by 2030, this financing option continues to grow in popularity among travelers and hoteliers alike – and for good reason.

Let’s look at seven key benefits of offering book now, pay later at your property, including a mix of financial, operational, and guest experience benefits.

1. Improves conversion rates

Hotels that offer BNPL have the opportunity to increase conversion rates, especially with Gen Z travelers. A recent study showed that 40% of Gen Z shoppers used a BNPL solution in the past 90 days as a way to make bigger purchases without impacting their day-to-day budgets.

Presenting the option to break down expensive purchases, like a hotel stay, is an enticing proposition for travelers. Having BNPL as a payment option on your booking engine or pay-by-link can help persuade travelers to book direct, knowing they can budget accordingly over a set period. 

2. Increases booking value

A BNPL with your property might be all the convincing your potential guests need to book an extra night or two with you or splurge on luxury add-ons that were once out of budget. Affirm reports that travel providers using BNPL see a +48% increase in average booking value. 

BNPL also affords travelers the opportunity to plan their dream getaway by better managing their budget without having to sacrifice their wishlist. This is especially true during high season when room rates, flights, and activities are traditionally pricier. Without BNPL, travelers may choose a lower room category or forego a night or two altogether. 

3. Boosts property revenue

The proof is in the payment method when implementing your next BNPL for your hotel. Merchants saw a 14% increase in revenue for payment sessions where BNPL was an eligible payment method. How does this translate for your property? 

Your guests are not only more likely to complete their transaction with your hotel, but they’re also more likely to spend more of their hard-earned cash on your property. This provides a huge boost to your additional offerings, like upselling on hotel room types and property upgrades, as well as ancillary services like spa treatments and on-site activities.

4. Extends booking windows 

Another benefit of enabling your property with BNPL is longer booking windows for your visiting guests, making it easier to forecast future demand and manage room inventory and availability. 

Implementing a BNPL provider with various payment timeframes allows you to oversee present and future occupancy rates while granting your guests ample time to pay for their stay. 

5. Improves margins 

By offering monthly installment payments directly through your website, you give your guests greater control over how they pay. In many instances, they opt for BNPL over payment upon check-in for hotel stays. In doing so, you receive payment upfront from the BNPL provider and experience lower fees and commission rates than you would having guests book via OTAs. 

This means more revenue to invest back into your business. It also makes purchases more attractive to consumers, reducing the need for costly discounts or promotions, especially during low season. 

6. Enhances the guest experience 

By offering your guests’ desired payment methods, you boost your overall guest experience and tap into a demographic of travelers accustomed to convenience when booking their accommodation. 

Offering different payment methods helps your guests book their dream vacation package with you, increasing travel accessibility while also improving your profit margins by allowing them to add on special perks. 

7. Increases distribution channels 

By incorporating a BNPL strategy, you instantly gain access to a previously untapped audience of potential guests across a broader range of distribution channels. This is especially the case for Gen Z and millennials, who flock to merchants with BNPL offerings as an alternative payment method to credit cards that doesn’t impact their credit score. 

Affirm offers merchants and hoteliers access to its premium network of over 12.7 million shoppers who utilize BNPL as a hassle-free means to manage their cash flow and take advantage of interest-free transactions. 

From digital marketing channels like apps and websites to email marketing and social media, your property is suddenly positioned in front of a brand new audience of potential guests when you partner with a BNPL provider. 

How BNPL works 

Next, let’s look at how a BNPL works and how it fits with your property. When selecting and implementing buy now, pay later, keep in mind that it’s ultimately about what works best for your hotel and your guests. 

Choosing a provider 

To start using BNPL as part of your payment offerings, you’ll first need to choose your provider. Select a BNPL provider with ample experience in the hospitality industry, especially one skilled in higher-value purchases over longer periods of time. You’ll also want to choose a BNPL partner with a vast network of shopping and distribution channels.

A trustworthy and transparent BNPL partner will handle underwriting the customer, collecting payment, and taking on the risk of any associated payment issues, refunds, chargebacks, or fraud. This enhances your property’s reputation among your guests while offering precious time for you and your finance teams to get back to business.

As part of your provider agreement, you’ll likely be asked to accept a standard processing fee and transaction fee that come from your guests’ booking. The processing fee will depend on business factors like the size of your hotel and your risk profile but should be much lower than OTA commissions. 

Setting up BNPL 

Once you’ve settled on your buy now, pay later provider, you’ll want to set it up as a payment option. You’ll likely want to offer BNPL on your booking engine or via a pay by link, as this gives your travelers the choice to select BNPL when it’s time to check out online with you.

Be sure to highlight BNPL as one of your payment methods throughout critical touch points on your website and other marketing channels (like email nurtures and social media) to increase conversion rates.

How BNPL works for travelers

Once satisfied with their booking, guests will see different payment options based on their cart size, credit check, and the finance program selected by your hotel, including your BNPL offering.

If your guest selects BNPL at the time of booking, they’ll be taken to your BNPL provider page, where they’ll be asked to enter a few key pieces of information. Returning users BNPL will be able to sign in to their account using their phone number. From there, your guests receive real-time information on their payment options, including term length and payment schedule.  

One of the key benefits for travelers in using BNPL is that there are no fees, compounding interest charges, or credit impacts, making it an attractive alternative to credit cards. 

How properties get paid

Upon successful processing of the guests’ payment by the BNPL provider, properties receive a full payout for the transaction amount, minus a small processing and transaction fee, within one to three business days from the date of the purchase. 

As a lodging operator, this means no waiting until guest arrival to receive full earnings, significantly reducing the risk associated with guest payments. In addition, the BNPL provider helps take on payment challenges such as chargebacks and fraud. 

Getting started with BNPL

Offering various payment options, ideally, BNPL payment plans with no fees or compounding interest to your guests, builds guest loyalty and earns their trust. In return, you increase average booking value, lead times, and guest satisfaction. 

At Cloudbeds, we’re committed to providing new and innovative payment methods to help hotels earn more revenue and improve the guest experience. That’s why we’re proud to partner with Affirm, one of the leading BNPL providers.

Available for Cloudbeds Payment customers in the US and Canada, hoteliers can now utilize BNPL as a payment method through our payment processing integration with Affirm.