Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Cuts Back Payment Delays and Chargebacks with Sertifi
Opportunity
With over 700 rooms, the team at Fairmont Scottsdale Princess was eager to bring greater efficiency to their contracting and payment processes. The resort engaged Sertifi to provide additional financial security to their guests and partners, as well as a way to meet PCI compliance and capture payments with lower chargeback risk.
While the team tried different software to bring more automation and security to their processes, none of them had the user friendliness they desired. Then came Sertifi.
The Sertifi Solution
By implementing Sertifi’s front desk and sales solutions, the resort was able to:
✅ Maximize efficiency across teams.
By bringing overly manual, traditionally separate tasks into one system, it’s much easier for every department to stay informed and armed with the information they need. For example, the necessary parties are automatically notified via email whenever signed contracts, completed authorization forms, and payment information are submitted. And with simple processes and an easy UI, staff were able to get onboarded quickly.
“At the beginning, we were just using Sertifi for credit card authorization forms, but now it’s so much more. We can take a card payment, we can take an ACH payment, we can send out contracts – and it’s user friendly and better for everyone having it all in one place,” said Karlos Aquino, Director of Credit and Group Billing.
✅ Simplify steps for clients.
Clients now get simple, all-in-one requests from the sales team and can sign their contract and submit their payment at the same time. Plus, everything is taken care of in a secure online portal, making it easy to respond from anywhere. Clients receive automated reminders to stay on schedule, as well as copies of the signed contract and receipts to their email.
With a more convenient process, turnarounds often take less than an hour.
✅ Lower risk for delays and chargebacks on payments.
In addition to offering card payments, clients also have the ability to pay by ACH (eCheck), which, according to Karlos, has been the most efficient way to get bank payments from clients. For both card and ACH payments, Sertifi’s online form is convenient to access and secure to use.
ACH also helps the resort offset the cost of credit card fees, as ACH fees are significantly lower and card surcharging fees can be waived should the client opt to pay with bank information instead.
“ACH is a no-brainer. The cost to use it is minimal, and clients love the convenience of it. With just one payment, we can make back the cost.”
Karlos also noted the resort regularly aims to improve processes and evolve as the world evolves around them. With the growing threat of chargebacks, implementing methods to minimize fraudulent activity was important for the resort. Now, the property has a more secure, defensible method for capturing payment information.