What Is Hotel Collect?

With Hotel Collect, the guest pays your hotel directly.

• You charge the guest’s card

• You receive the money into your bank

• You decide when to charge

Many hotels choose Hotel Collect because it feels more familiar and gives a sense of control.

What Is Expedia Traveler Preference?

With Expedia Traveler Preference, the guest can choose how to pay:

• Pay the hotel directly, or

• Pay Expedia

If the guest pays Expedia, Expedia later pays the hotel either:

• By bank transfer, or

• By virtual credit card (VCC)

Implications of this Choice

Hotel owners usually focus on getting paid earlier.

But in practice most Expedia bookings are made close to arrival, so cash flow differences are usually small.

What changes is who can book your hotel.

Package Bookings and Visibility on Expedia

Expedia sells many packages, especially to international travelers:

• Hotel + flight

• Hotel + flight + car

For these packages:

• Expedia must charge everything together

• Hotel Collect cannot be used

If your hotel only uses Hotel Collect:

• Your property may not appear in package results

• You may lose bookings without realising it

This is especially important for hotels targeting:

• US and European guests

• Long-haul travellers

• Higher-value bookings

Real-World Insight From a Hotel Operator

A Tab customer recently shared their experience after reviewing a full year of Expedia data. They found that using only Hotel Collect did not improve cash flow, but it did reduce access to package bookings.

After switching to Expedia Traveler Preference, they expected:

• Better visibility

• More bookings

• Easier payments for international guests

Expedia Payments: Bank Transfer or Virtual Card?

If you use Expedia Traveler Preference and guests pay Expedia, you’ll be paid in one of two ways:

Bank transfer

• Paid weeks after check-out

• Can take time to reach your account

Virtual credit card (VCC)

• Card is active when the guest arrives

• You charge it like a normal card

• Faster access to funds

Many hotels prefer virtual cards, if they’re easy to manage. You can charge these virtual cards using Tab, or your terminal.