Hotel providers continually strive to offer more seamless and secure experiences to their guests and cybersecurity undoubtedly plays a big part in this. Here we take a look at why Germain Hotels has made Canary Technologies’ digital credit card authorisation solution the standard across all its properties, as well as how Jumeirah Hotel Group is using biometrics to create an identity-centric journey for its guests while ensuring privacy and security remain paramount.
Canary Technologies, which is modernising the hotel tech stack with the first mobile web end-to-end Guest Management System and its award-winning Digital Authorizations solution, has announced that Germain Hotels has made Canary’s Digital Authorizations software the standard across all of its 18 properties.
Germain Hotels is a family-run business that owns and operates Le Germain Hotels, Alt Hotels and Escad Hotels across Canada. Ranked as one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies, Germain Hotels is renowned for the impeccable warmth, hospitality and style it brings to its properties.
With Canary’s Digital Authorizations solution, Germain Hotels properties will be able to send third-party guests a unique link so they can enter their credit card information through a PCI-compliant and secure online interface, instead of filling out paper or PDF credit card authorisation forms. Each hotel will also have access to Canary’s comprehensive anti-fraud software and dashboard to keep track of each guest’s digital authorisation online.
Canary’s Digital Authorizations solution is fully compliant with Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards that all businesses must adhere to if they capture, process, transmit, or store credit or debit card information. Since most paper credit card authorisation forms are not PCI-compliant, Canary’s Digital Authorizations product gives Germain Hotels a more secure solution that provides a better, more streamlined overall guest experience.
Canary’s Digital Authorizations also helps merchants avoid the errors and fraud often associated with the process of collecting credit card information on paper forms: hotels using Digital Authorizations have reported up to 90% decreases in chargebacks.
“PCI compliance and fraud reductions were a driver for this technology implementation, but as always, our top priority is the guest experience,” said Charles Bureau, Vice President of IT at Germain Hotels. “Canary has deep experience and a great reputation in this area and our evaluation found that the company provides a solid solution with measurable impact. That’s why we’re implementing Canary across all of our properties.”
“Digitising credit-card authorisations is a relatively easy way to improve payment security and reduce chargebacks and fraud,” said Canary VP of Sales, DJ Singh. “Guests don’t miss those paper forms and hotels see immediate ROI. We look forward to working with Germain Hotels to improve security and efficiency while enhancing the guest experience.”
In addition to Digital Authorizations, Canary offers an array of products that cater to the specific needs of the hotel industry. Its roster of products also includes Contactless Check-in, which allows guests to check-in virtually without exchanging credit cards, IDs or registration forms; Contactless Checkout, which allows hotels to understand when guests will leave their hotel and boost their reviews; Guest Messages, which allows guests and staff to easily communicate via text message; Upsells, which allows hotels to generate >US$100k+ annually in upsell revenue; and Digital Contracts, which increases staff efficiency and bookings. These industry-leading solutions are helping forward-thinking hotels improve their business processes and bottom line while enhancing customer service for their valued guests.
Another hotel organisation improving its security capabilities for its guests is world-famous Jumeirah Hotel Group. The organisation is set to meet evolving customer expectations in the check-in/check-out process by deploying biometrics as the basis to track tailored stay requirements, for payments and for onboarding guests.
Biometrics technology is becoming increasingly utilised across the IT industry for identification and access control purposes. As a global luxury hospitality company and member of Dubai Holding, Jumeirah Hotel has announced a strategic partnership with Incode Technologies, an industry-leader in identity verification and authentication for global enterprises, to transform hospitality expectations and further innovate the guest experience using biometric technology.
Designed to provide a seamless experience from the moment a guest steps foot in a Jumeirah hotel or resort, the partnership with Incode will tackle this challenge head-on through enhanced digital and biometric technology. In accordance with best practices to ensure privacy and security, the system uses their identity to customise and create truly personalised experiences, on and off property.
“Time is precious for our guests and so we constantly look at ways in which to make their experience as seamless as possible so they can maximise their time with loved ones,” said Pedro Deakin, Senior Vice President of Brand and Design at Jumeirah Group. “With our new partnership with Incode, we will leverage the system’s personal recognition capabilities and connectivity so that our in-house systems can intuitively tailor the guest experience based on purchasing behaviour and stored personal preferences, building trust and strengthening connections.”
The two companies share a vision to disrupt today’s hospitality experience, where generic and disjointed experiences remain pervasive. Highlights of the partnership include:
- Transparent guest identification: In a matter of seconds, even before arrival, the industry’s only fully automated identity verification engine validates the identity of a guest and associates him or her with a Jumeirah One account. This allows guests to identify themselves at their convenience and immediately introduces a magical, personalised experience upon arrival.
- Automated digital ID creation: A digital profile of each guest is automatically created from existing IDs and payment sources. The guest’s identity becomes the foundation for customising every interaction, on and off property.
- Seamlessly integrated experience: Once onboarded, guests use their most unique attribute – their faces – to fully manage their respective journeys. From booking on Jumeirah.com, to accessing a digital key and ordering amenities and room service, the identity-centric journey translates into the industry’s most transparent experience; all while ensuring that privacy and security remain paramount.
- Contactless payments: Using biometrics, guests pay for any service across their respective property without the need for a physical payment card.
“We are honoured to have the opportunity to partner with Jumeirah Group to pave the way for a new generation of highly curated and personalised services,” said Ricardo Amper, Founder and CEO of Incode. “Together, we have created an experience that brings a ‘wow’ factor, creating ‘aha’ moments across every touchpoint in the guest journey. By remodelling and removing friction across these experiences, we are building trust and creating delight between hotels and their customers.”
