Where’s the dang Cloud PMS at?

About the Author:

Josh Wise is the VP of Business Development at RezStream.  He doesn’t like talking about himself but thought it would be entertaining to write this anyways. 

We’re happy to announce we have our first property using RezStream Cloud in a live environment!  Phew, that felt good to say.  We have a total of 64 pre-order clients we’ll be on-boarding over the next several weeks.  Once those clients are successfully up and running, we’ll be able to open the doors for everyone else.  We understand our timing could have been better for some of you in relation to your busy season. If you’re converting from RezStream Professional then all of your data migrates to the Cloud.  We hope all of you will at least entertain a trial version of the Cloud PMS over the next several months to see if it can help streamline your staff’s efficiency.  Automatic emails are one feature alone that can save your staff several steps when communicating with guests.

One thing I want to talk to you guys about is where we stand with credit card processing.  In working with hundreds of properties over the last seven years I know this can be a sticky subject.  I also have properties tell me all the time it seems like every credit card processing company in the country has called them promising the best rates and service.  Historically RezStream has partnered with vendors to give our clients options, last time I checked that’s a good thing.  We’ve continued that tradition so you aren’t pigeon holed into a decision we think is best for you, “me no likey when companies do that.” 

Allow me to introduce you to Shift4.  They are the largest independent payment gateway in the industry and they work with dozens of hospitality reservation software companies.  Do yourself a favor and watch this entertaining video to understand how credit card processing works and the benefits of Shift4. 

 

 

Now that you have that knowledge, let me share with you the options you have related to processing credit cards when using the RezStream Cloud PMS. 

Option 1: Non-Integrated Processing

This option means you only need the Cloud PMS, you do not utilize the Cloud Booking Engine and you do not want to process your credit cards within the Cloud PMS.  You will continue to take cash or check payments only and/or you will continue to utilize the 3rd party terminal to process your credit cards.  In this scenario there are no additional steps needed, once you get setup with the Cloud PMS you are ready to rock and roll!

Option 2: Utilizing the Cloud Booking Engine with Non-Integrated Processing

If you wish to utilize the Cloud Booking Engine but do not want to process your credit cards within the RezStream Cloud PMS this is the option for you.  In order to meet PCI requirements RezStream must securely gather and store the credit card information entered by your guest during the online booking process.  We've inserted the highest form of security known as tokenization.  This technology means that the Cloud Booking Engine never touches the credit card nor do we store it.  That means that hackers can never steal your guests’ credit card information because you never have it.  In order to “reveal” the guests credit card information, you will log into our partners Shift4’s 4Word account to reveal that card information.  Then you can process it through your 3rd party terminal.  The Cloud PMS will provide you four security words that you will enter into your secure account to reveal that card information.  The setup is simple and the process for revealing the card information takes a matter of seconds.

Option 3: Integrated Processing

This option means that you may or may not use the Cloud Booking Engine; either way you will process all credit card transactions within the Cloud PMS.  In order to do this you’ll need a payment gateway account with Shift4.  Similar to option two, we will neither touch nor store credit card information in the Cloud PMS, however we will link directly to Shift4’s account so you can process credit cards right from the Cloud PMS without the extra step of logging into the 4Word account.  This option streamlines the process for your property by requiring the least amount of steps and avoids manual data entry errors when processing transactions.   

As informative as this information may be, processing credit cards is complex and there are many players involved.  Do not hesitate to ask questions as we’re here to help make your life easier and provide you with option that meets your needs.  Feel free to contact us at sales@rezstream.com to learn more.