When it comes to hospitality, there’s nothing like offering guests a way to pay that is familiar. That’s why hotels are rolling out the welcome mat for QR codes in an effort to lure Chinese travelers. However, hospitality is a challenging vertical, Merchant Link’s Director of Product Christian McMahon told PYMNTS in a recent conversation, and the migration to QR codes, like many payment innovations, may need to walk before it can run.  Read More...

Hotels are tapping into the power of word-of-mouth by working with social media influencers, but hoteliers may not have a process in place to handle these relationships. Companies such as Swayy seek to help hotels manage these collaborations — and find new collaborators. Swayy CEO David Gabriele explains the benefits of working with social media influencers – and how Instagram posts, as well as YouTube videos, can drive bookings.  Read More...

Capturing commerce’s magic moment — the one where the consumer is actually inspired to buy something — is easy to want, but not always easy to do. It’s a balancing act between the present tense — giving the customer what they really want now — and keeping an eye on the future to anticipate what the customer will want, hopefully before they have to ask for it.  Read More...