By Brian Dass, Founder and CEO, OneJourney
For decades, hotel finance teams have looked at payments through two very different lenses. Guest payments represent the most obvious stream of revenue to the business, so they receive executive attention, continuous technology investment and constant optimization. Supplier payments are typically viewed simply as operating expenses; an administrative obligation comprised simply of money leaving the business and deducted from the bottom line.
That distinction is increasingly inaccurate and outdated. In a behemoth global industry under persistent, ever-increasing pressure from labor costs, margin compression and fragmented systems, supplier payments deserve much greater strategic attention. Managed intelligently, they can improve cash flow, reduce operating costs, strengthen operational controls and create a whole new source of financial value. In other words, one of hospitality's most overlooked profit centers may already be moving through the Accounts Payable department at millions of hotels worldwide.
The blind spot in hotel payments
The hospitality industry has traditionally invested heavily in making it easier for guests to pay. Booking engines, property management systems, payment gateways and integrated technology partner relationships have all evolved around payment acceptance. This is understandable, since guest payment and the resulting revenue is visible, immediate and central to profitability, as well as to the hotel experience as a whole. The outbound side, however, is becoming equally consequential. In fact, Visa projects that global B2B payment value will reach approximately $124 trillion by 2028, which is roughly four times the value of payments from consumers to businesses.
Yet every hotel also supports a substantial outbound payment economy. Properties and management companies pay for a multitude of products and services, including food and beverage suppliers, linen providers, maintenance contractors, utilities, technology vendors, distributors and many other partners. Across a hotel property or an entire portfolio, those transactions represent significant and recurring spend.
Too often, the process remains fragmented. An approved invoice may still trigger a manual handoff, a check run, a bank file upload or a payment action disconnected from the accounting workflow. Digital invoice approval frequently leads into a manual payment process. That gap matters because approval represents only one stage of Accounts Payable. Payment execution determines how, when and through which rail a hotel's money moves. Those choices carry significant economic consequences.
Profitability is broader than revenue
The term "profit center" requires some context. Each payment carries its own economics, and the broader payment strategy can make a measurable contribution to the business. The most obvious opportunity is payment economics. Commercial payment methods can generate rebates or other shared financial benefits on qualifying spend. The result depends on supplier acceptance, payment type, program structure and transaction mix, so it should never be reduced to a blanket promise. At hotel scale, routing eligible payments through the right methods can convert existing spend into incremental value. The property creates that value from activity already underway.
The second opportunity is working capital. A strategic payment program gives finance teams more control over timing, while still paying suppliers according to agreed upon terms. That can keep cash available longer, create more predictable outflows and reduce ad hoc payment decisions. For an industry shaped by seasonality, renovations and uneven demand, the greater liquidity that creates can be substantial.
The third opportunity for hotels lies hidden in the optimization of operating efficiency. Payment processes built around checks, spreadsheets and disconnected bank portals consume staff time and invite potential for human error and revision. Automation can reduce manual touchpoints, exception handling and reconciliation effort. A 2025 American Express survey of 1,000 U.S. business decision-makers found that only 17% had fully automated their payment processes. The savings from automation directly affect the cost to process every invoice and the profitability of the operation.
Finally, modern payment strategies improve visibility and control. Centralized data can show what was paid, when, by whom and through which method. Payment credentials designed for a specific purpose and clear authorization rules can reduce exposure. Better controls help prevent leakage, duplicate activity and fraud, while making audits and reconciliation less painful.
The technology problem is also an organizational problem
If the opportunity is so compelling, why has hospitality been slow to pursue it? System fragmentation is one of the key reasons that hotels have not adopted a more efficient and profitable payment strategy. Hotel finance often spans property teams, management companies, ownership groups, accounting platforms, banks and suppliers. No single system governs the entire journey, so technology investments tend to stop at invoice approval, leaving execution outside the core workflow.
Another barrier to transformation is the way some organizations define Accounts Payable. When AP is measured primarily on invoice processing and timely supplier payment, there is little incentive to optimize payment mix, working capital contribution or financial return. Accuracy and timeliness remain essential. A strategic function should contribute more. That must change. Hotel CFOs should evaluate supplier payments with the same discipline applied to guest payments. What percentage of spend is addressable through each payment method? Where are manual processes adding cost? How much visibility exists across properties? Are suppliers being segmented according to acceptance, urgency and economics? Which performance measures belong on an executive dashboard? Answering those questions requires coordination among finance, treasury, procurement, technology and operational leadership.
A better way to think about the future
The strongest payment strategy accommodates several rails. Checks, ACH, commercial cards and other methods will coexist. The goal is intelligent orchestration: selecting the right method based on supplier relationships, security, cost, speed, cash flow and economic return. That requires connected systems. Invoice approval, accounting data and payment execution should operate as one financial workflow. As hospitality technology becomes more integrated, payment capabilities should become part of the industry's core infrastructure.
In order to grow and compete in an evolving global market, today's hoteliers need practical ways to protect their margins and make existing revenue work harder. Supplier payments offer exactly that opportunity. The money is already moving. Hotels now have an opportunity to manage that movement to create a strategic financial asset that contributes to the bottom line, rather than depleting it.
Sources:
1. Visa: B2B Digital Payments Offer Growth Opportunities for Latin America and the Caribbean
2. American Express: Amex Trendex B2B Payments Study