Understanding Expedia Virtual Cards

What is an Expedia virtual card?

An Expedia virtual card is a digital payment card assigned to a specific reservation. The traveller pays Expedia when making the booking, and Expedia provides your property with a virtual card containing the amount payable for that reservation. Your property then processes the card like a standard credit card, following the activation date and payment instructions displayed in Expedia Partner Central.

Benefits of virtual card

This single-use credit card simplifies payment transactions and ensures that hotel owners receive their revenue quickly and securely. Here are the benefits of virtual card:

• Fast Payments: The Expedia Virtual Card operates similarly to a regular credit card, meaning payments are processed quickly and efficiently. As soon as the guest checks out, you can immediately charge the card for the booking amount, minimizing any delays in receiving payment.
  
  Your hotels benefit from real-time updates and quick money transfers, significantly improving their cash flow and financial planning. There’s no need to worry about pending invoices.

• Improved Cash Flow Efficiency: Efficient payment processing ensures a smooth cash flow, freeing up both time and resources. Faster payments reduce administrative burdens and help businesses access funds when needed. The reduction of delays helps the Expedia Virtual Card ensure that your hotels can manage the operations seamlessly without interruptions due to unpaid transactions.
  
  In case your hotel relies on timely payments to cover daily expenses like wages, utilities, or other operating costs, the improvement in cash flow management is invaluable.

• Easy to Use: The Expedia Virtual Card is designed for easy and straightforward use. There is no need to track payments or deal with complex invoicing processes. Each booking comes with a unique card number and booking details. Staff authenticate the card at check-in and charge it at checkout for the specified amount. This simple process reduces human errors and speeds up the entire payment process, providing a hassle-free experience for hotel staff.

• Enhanced Security: Security is always a top priority when processing payments, and the Expedia Virtual Card provides enhanced protection. Each card is tied to a single booking and a single transaction. Once charged, the card number becomes invalid, eliminating the risk of reuse or unauthorized charges.

How virtual cards work

Virtual cards replace manual invoicing between your property and Expedia Group with a secure, single-use digital credit card system.

1. The traveler pays for their booking: When a traveller books a stay through Expedia Collect or Expedia Collect+, they pay Expedia Group using their preferred payment method. This could be a physical credit card or a third-party virtual credit card.
   

   Note: The third-party virtual cards travellers may use to pay for their booking are different than the virtual cards we use to pay you.

    

2. Expedia issue a virtual card: Once the booking is confirmed, Expedia Group issues a unique virtual card for that reservation.
3. You charge the card: After the guest checks in, you can charge the virtual card just like any other credit card. Payment is processed within the standard timeframe for credit card transactions, with no need to send invoices or wait for manual reconciliation.

How to sign up to use virtual cards

Enroll your property to receive payments via virtual cards in Expedia Group Partner Central. After enrollment, all future Expedia Collect (EC) and Updated Expedia Collect (EC+) bookings will automatically include a virtual card for payment.

To sign up to use virtual cards, please follow the steps below:

1. Sign in Expedia 
2. In Partner Central, go to Payments.
3. In Payment settings, select Manage Payment Settings.
4. In the Expedia Collect Payment Information section, select Edit.
5. Select virtual card as your preferred payout method.
6. Select Save.

Once saved, your property is enrolled to receive payments via virtual cards.

Process Expedia virtual cards with Hotel Link Pay

If your property cannot process Expedia virtual cards through its existing payment provider, Hotel Link Pay provides a simple alternative. With Hotel Link Pay, you can:

After receiving booking payments from Expedia, in case you are still struggling to cash out from Expedia Virtual Card payments, Hotel Link Pay offers a faster and more efficient solution for your hotel.

• Process Expedia virtual cards directly through the Hotel Link system.
• Receive payouts according to the Hotel Link Pay payout schedule.
• Monitor payment status and transaction history.
• Generate reports for easier reconciliation.

For more information, see Understanding Hotel Link Pay.

If you need any assistance, please contact us at support@hotellinksolutions.com.