OTAs Aren't Beating You on Price. They're Beating You on Payments

RoomStay

Hotel Marketing

January 23, 2026

5 mins read

Think about the last time you abandoned a checkout. Was it price? Or was it because you couldn't pay the way you wanted?

Your guests feel the same way.

Right now, OTAs are offering Afterpay, PayPal, and buy now pay later options while most hotel booking engines still only take credit cards. And it's costing you direct bookings.

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OTAs Aren't Beating You on Price. They're Beating You on Payments

Think about the last time you abandoned a checkout. Was it price? Or was it because you couldn't pay the way you wanted?

Your guests feel the same way.

Right now, OTAs are offering Afterpay, PayPal, and buy now pay later options while most hotel booking engines still only take credit cards. And it's costing you direct bookings.

What if your hotel payment options could match theirs?

RoomStay was the first travel partner to integrate Afterpay for hotels. We've since added PayPal Pay in 4, PlanPay, Stripe, Adyen, Till Payments, Windcave, RMS Pay, and CommBank.

That's not a feature list. That's how you stop losing bookings at checkout.

When a guest lands on your site and sees the flexible payment methods they actually use, they don't need to click over to Booking.com. They book with you. They stay in your brand experience. And you keep the full booking value instead of handing over commission.

Each of these integrations works directly within the RoomStay booking engine. No redirects. No pop-ups sending guests RS off to third-party sites. The payment happens right there, in the same window, as part of a checkout experience that feels as polished as anything the OTAs offer.

Why hotel checkout abandonment is costing you revenue?

Here's the reality: 81% of online travel bookings are abandoned before payment. Not because of price. Because of friction.

Clunky forms. Slow pages. Limited hotel payment options. And guests who can't pay the way they want to.

OTAs figured this out years ago. They offer digital wallets, buy now pay later hotels, and multiple payment gateways. They meet guests where they are.

Most hotel booking engines? Still asking guests to dig out their card number and fill in forms field by field. Still forcing guests through a checkout flow that feels like it was built a decade ago.

The gap between what guests expect and what most booking engines deliver is where you're losing revenue. Not on room rates. Not on availability. On the payment page.

Why BNPL hotel booking converts?

Buy now pay later isn't just for retail anymore. A $1,500 resort stay feels different when it's six payments of $250. Guests who might have downgraded their room or cut a night short will book what they actually want when they can spread the cost.

Properties using RoomStay see up to 92% increase in revenue per session and direct booking growth ranging from 35% to 434%. That's what happens when you remove friction from the checkout, including giving guests more ways to pay.

But it's not just about BNPL. Flexible payment methods mean giving guests options. Some want PayPal hotel booking because their card details are already saved. Some want Afterpay because they're budgeting for a trip. Some want to pay with their CommBank account because that's what they trust.

The point isn't which payment method is best. The point is that guests have preferences, and when you don't meet them, they leave.

Younger travellers expect flexible payments as standard. If you're not offering buy now pay later hotels, they're booking somewhere that does.

How RoomStay handles hotel payment options differently?

Most booking engines treat payments as an afterthought. You get one or two gateway options, maybe a PayPal integration if you're lucky, and that's it.

RoomStay was built with payments at the centre. We support more payment gateways than any other hotel booking engine on the market because we've seen what happens when you don't.

Here's what that looks like in practice:

Afterpay and PayPal Pay in 4 let guests split their stay into instalments. They book now, pay over time, and you get the full amount upfront. No risk on your end.

Stripe and Adyen give you enterprise-grade payment processing with global reach. Multiple currencies, fraud protection, and the reliability that comes with platforms processing billions in transactions.

Till Payments, Windcave, and RMS Pay connect directly with the systems Australian and New Zealand hotels already use. No awkward workarounds. No double handling.

CommBank integration means guests can pay with Australia's biggest bank, right in the checkout flow.

Every one of these options sits inside the RoomStay booking experience. Guests choose how they want to pay, complete the transaction, and you get the booking. No friction. No drop-off.

What changes when you offer flexible payment methods?

Fewer abandoned bookings.

When guests can pay the way they want, they stop leaving mid-checkout to price-check Booking.com.

Higher booking values.

BNPL guests book premium rooms and longer stays. They add extras. They don't downgrade to fit their budget.

Younger travellers.

Gen Z and Millennials expect flexible payment options. Meet them where they are, and they'll book direct.

Reduce OTA commissions.

Every booking that stays on your site instead of going to an OTA saves you 15-25% in commission. Over a year, that adds up to serious money.

A checkout that builds trust.

When guests see payment options they recognise, they feel confident completing the booking. That trust converts browsers into bookers.

The real question

You've spent money driving traffic to your website. You've invested in marketing, metasearch, and brand-building to get guests to your door.

Why lose them at checkout because you couldn't take their payment?

More ways to pay means fewer reasons to leave.

Ready to compete with OTAs on payments?

See how RoomStay helps you increase direct bookings and keep more revenue on your site.

Book a demo