Skift Take
Hotels optimally would love if more of their customers paid at the property, instead of guests prepaying to online travel agencies, so they should take any increased burden from Expedia's new program in stride.
A recently launched Expedia program that enables travelers to pay for their hotel stays at the front desk at the end of their stays could cost hoteliers millions of dollars a year in the form of higher credit card and royalty fees, according to a recent report.
Traditionally, Expedia clients have paid in advance on the online travel agency’s website.
But Expedia’s Traveler Preference Program, which debuted this summer, lets the client pay at the end of a stay, which could result in about $20 million in collective annual profits being moved from hoteliers to Expedia, according to a report distributed last week by Providence, R.I.-based Hotel Asset Value Enhancement, which manages more than $2 billion worth of hotel assets.
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