Wyndham Hotels & Resorts unveiled a portfolio-wide mobile tipping solution for its U.S. and Canadian franchisees. The program, created and run by Béné, a firm that offers cashless tipping, allows customers to tip hotel staff members electronically using their preferred mobile device. It is now accessible to Wyndham franchisees across all brands. It is launched at a time when more consumers favor digital payments, which are currently used by 82 per cent of American adults, according to consultancy company McKinsey.
The epidemic significantly boosted the desire for digital payment options among guests. Scott Strickland, chief technology officer of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, predicted that this trend would only persist in the upcoming years. The next natural step was to discover a system that enables customers to recognize housekeepers, wait staff, and other frontline team members similarly after previously enabling our franchisees to take digital, contactless payment for stays at their hotels. This platform accomplishes that and costs franchisees practically nothing.
After a hotel chooses to participate and is set up on the Béné platform, visitors may identify the team member of their choice by scanning a QR code during their stay and selecting how much to tip.
Each team member has a unique QR code, and tips are deposited daily directly into their bank accounts or into the property account to be divided with regular payroll.
Several payment methods are accepted on the platform, including credit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Paytm. Franchisees are only accountable for marketing materials, which they may acquire directly from Béné or produce themselves. Platform costs are covered by customers through a small transaction charge, much like other digital payment providers.
Strickland added, “The beauty of this solution is its simplicity and how easy it is for our franchisees to allow their guests to make the switch from cash to digital. There’s no app to download and no software to install. It’s entirely web-based, which means so long as guests have a phone and an internet connection, they’re able to tip and show their appreciation.”
The promotion of mobile tipping by Wyndham coincides with the company’s support of International Housekeepers & Environmental Services Week. This is a worldwide initiative sponsored by The Indoor Environmental Healthcare and Hospitality Association (IHEA) to honor the contributions of housekeepers and other janitorial staff.
Every year, during the second week of September, the Wyndham leadership and its franchisees celebrate housekeepers in hotels worldwide by paying personal visits and presenting awards and prizes.
“At the heart of every great hotel is a great team of housekeepers,” said Scott LePage, president Americas, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. “This week is all about celebrating them and all that they do for both guests as well as our industry. While we invite everyone to join us in showing their thanks this week, our greater hope is that through initiatives like mobile tipping, we can empower guests by making it easier for them to show their appreciation with every stay, no matter the time of year.”
Mobile tipping is the latest initiative as part of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’ multi-year digital transformation. The business has made digital investments over the last three years to improve the guest experience while providing resources and operational efficiencies for its franchisees.
Road Trip Planner, a new feature that lets users plot, plan, and book their road trips through the Wyndham mobile app, was introduced earlier this year. More recently, RevIQ, a cloud-based, mobile-first revenue management system, was unveiled.
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