The hospitality industry is the third most targeted industry for fraud behind financial services and retail. Every year businesses lose millions to fraudsters who book rooms and then never show up, or who use stolen credit cards to make reservations. On top of this, the digital fraud attack rate also increased by a staggering 20% between 2021 and 2022 as most economies reopened again. (Source: 2022 LexisNexis Risk Solutions Cybercrime Report)
As an all-in-one property management solution NightsBridge goes out of its way to offer clients a variety of features to help them protect themselves from fraud. One of these features is our integration with Booking.com’s Invalid Credit Card Reporting.
What is Invalid Card Reporting?
Invalid Credit Card Reporting allows properties to quickly and easily report invalid credit cards to Booking.com. Once the card is reported, Booking.com gives the guest 24 hours to provide updated credit card details. If the guest does not provide updated details, the booking is cancelled and the property is not charged a commission.
Why did NightsBridge decide to implement this feature?
When our Support Team noticed a worrying increase in failed card transactions we started looking for solutions on behalf of our clients. With some extra development work we were able to use existing Booking.com functionality to pull this feature into our property management system. This makes it even easier for our clients to mark a card as invalid without having to log into the Booking.com extranet as additional step.
What is the impact of implementing Invalid Card Reporting?
NightsBridge implemented the Invalid Card Reporting feature in October 2022, and currently have 900 unique properties making use of it. We’ve seen an average year-on-year increase in bookings of between 20% and 40% and find that our clients are more comfortable in accepting Booking.com bookings because of it.
Rainer of Zur Alten Mine: “I really like the Invalid Card reporting feature. It makes it easier for us to monitor payment as we just have to click on one button in NightsBridge, find the booking and mark it as invalid. In this way we can filter bad credit cards and save time daily.”
Candice of Marion Taylor Properties: “This feature has definitely made life a lot easier for me. It’s so easy to log on from my phone and mark a card invalid when I am not at the office or over a weekend. When I see a booking come in with an unsuccessful payment, I log on from my phone and mark it invalid straight away.”
Maralize of Ama Zulu Guesthouse and Safaris: “We’re so relieved to make use of the Booking.com Invalid Credit Card feature. Previously we had to keep a room blocked whether payment was received or not, but now we can cancel bookings within 2 days of reporting if the credit card details are not updated. This helps us to manage and confirm bookings a lot better.”
What are the benefits of using Invalid Credit Card Reporting?
There are many benefits to using Invalid Credit Card Reporting. These include:
- Reduced fraud: Invalid Credit Card Reporting can help to reduce fraud by allowing properties to quickly and easily report invalid credit cards to Booking.com. This can save properties a lot of money, as they will not be charged a commission for fraudulent bookings.
- Increased bookings and occupancy rates: Properties that use Invalid Credit Card Reporting have seen an increase in both bookings and occupancy rates. This is most likely because possible fraud is caught faster, which means rooms can be freed up much quicker for legitimate bookings. The feature also helps to improve the reputation of a property through reducing the number of fraudulent bookings.
As property owner or manager linked to Booking.com it is therefore very valuable to use Invalid Credit Card Reporting. NightsBridge clients love the convenience of having it built in right where they need to use it. Does your property management system offer you the same?