Handling of Customer Credit Card Details via Agencies is Still a Worry

“Each LateRooms reservation is sent through to the hotel via BOTH fax and e-mail. The fax copy includes customer credit card details to secure the reservation.” I really did have to step back and ensure I had successfully woken up this morning when I noticed this on the Laterooms website earlier today. It took me about twenty seconds to find this page and there, in black and white was what I have always considered to be a flagrant disregard for online bookers’ most sensitive of details.

Indeed, the very reason we developed our secure credit card storage system, Welcome Secure, was to help hotels comply with PCI regulations. It staggers me that companies such as Laterooms continue to send emails and pieces of paper to hotels which include the booker's credit card and address details. Firstly, the separation of these two pieces of information is an essential practice if hotels want to stand any chance of defending themselves in cases of fraud.

This has of course been a historical problem and one that the industry has grown uncomfortably used to. With the PCI Standard not currently enforced by law, I can see how such an old habit will be hard to overcome. That said, and encouragingly, the uptake of Welcome Secure amongst new and existing Welcome customers has been impressive, particularly given the low cost of the module.

I’d be interested to hear hotelier’s thoughts on the above.  Do you agree?  Perhaps I've got this wrong, are these agencies actively developing secure methods of credit card storage as we have done at Welcome?  Get in touch by clicking my name below.

Mark Ellis 23rd March 2009

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