Fastpayhotels partners SiteMinder to meet prepaid room demand

Alex Gisbert’s new trade-only supplier Fastpayhotels has partnered with cloud platform SiteMinder “to meet demand for prepaid rooms”.

Alex Gisbert’s new trade-only supplier Fastpayhotels has partnered with cloud platform SiteMinder “to meet demand for prepaid rooms”.

The firms claim the partnership makes Fastpayhotels the only channel available through SiteMinder’s Channel Manager that provides hotels payment at time of booking for their rooms, up to 390 days in advance of stays and with no refunds for cancellations.

Gisbert, former Lowcost Travel Group chief operating officer, said: “The global demand for Fastpayhotels is rapidly growing and we want to leverage the global supply provided by SiteMinder’s Channel Manager to fulfil that demand.

“The role of travel agents today is at risk as hotels look to move away from slow-paying bedbanks, booking websites that display incorrect rates because they can’t be updated in real-time, and the inability to access the lowest room rates.

“Fastpayhotels removes these challenges and we are thrilled SiteMinder’s more than 20,000 hotel customers can now experience the benefits at commission levels below 14%.”

Since its launch into the market earlier this year, Fastpayhotels has been adopted by more than 280 travel operators and more than 4,000 hotels in 21 countries, including Spain, where it attracted local investors and is based in Palma.

Fastpayhotels’ model centres around prepaid, non-refundable rates which Fastpayhotels says contribute to 40% of reservations made through travel agents.

Dai Williams, managing director EMEA at SiteMinder, said: “The dynamics within the travel market have changed, and the hotel distribution and wholesale model is evolving.

“Fastpayhotels is an exciting channel with low costs that means listed hotels can improve their online revenue and profitability. SiteMinder is pleased to offer Fastpayhotels as a direct connect for its hotel customers.”