ROOMIE, a Malaysian hospitality guest engagement platform, has launched what it describes as the country’s first integrated payment gateway built specifically for the hotel and tourism industry.
The new solution allows hotel guests to pay directly for services including room bookings, room service, laundry and on-demand entertainment without leaving their preferred chat or booking channel.
The payment gateway is now available for travellers from key Asian markets, including China, India, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, allowing guests to use payment methods they are already familiar with.
The launch comes as Malaysia extends its Visit Malaysia Year campaign through 2027, with hotels looking to cater to growing numbers of international visitors and provide a more seamless digital experience throughout the guest journey.
Supporting eWallet Payments Across Asia
ROOMIE’s payment gateway supports regional eWallets and payment methods familiar to international tourists, including Alipay for China and Southeast Asia, UPI for India, TrueMoney and LINE Pay for Thailand, and GCash for the Philippines.
By integrating these payment methods directly into the hotel guest journey, ROOMIE aims to remove the friction associated with traditional payment processes, including currency conversion and switching between different platforms.
Guests can use their preferred eWallet to pay for snacks, beverages and on-demand movies directly within the chat experience. Orders are only processed once payment has been completed, helping hotels minimise cancellations and no-shows.
CS Goh, Chief Executive Officer of ROOMIE, said the company’s latest payment gateway was designed to extend a seamless Malaysian hospitality experience to inbound travellers.
He added that the solution allows guests to interact in languages they are comfortable with while using payment methods they already know and trust.
Reducing Payment Friction for Hotels
ROOMIE said the integrated payment experience has helped lift transaction conversion for in-hotel payments by 40%, compared with industry cart abandonment rates of around 80%.
Beyond payments, the platform enables hotels to manage bookings, payments and guest interactions directly through social media and messaging channels.
By bringing these functions together, ROOMIE aims to reduce the friction associated with traditional credit card checkout while giving hotels more opportunities to upsell additional services during a guest’s stay.
“Every additional step between a guest deciding to purchase and completing that purchase creates hassle and frustration that can lead to a failed transaction,” said June Yap, Vice President, Business Development & Strategic Partnership at ROOMIE. By simplifying the process, hotels can make it easier for guests to say yes to the services they want, while giving operators a more effective way to generate additional revenue,” she added.
Digital Guest Engagement Beyond Payments
ROOMIE’s hospitality technology platform also supports mobile check-in and check-out, while consolidating guest communications across WhatsApp, Facebook and hotel customer relationship management systems into a single interface.
The platform is designed to secure guest chats, profiles and payments while supporting data protection and information security requirements. This also helps hotels maintain consistent guest service across different shifts.
ROOMIE has achieved an ISO security certification for data protection and information security, addressing hotel concerns around compliance with Malaysia’s Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) and the protection of guest data.
A Decade of Hospitality Technology Experience
ROOMIE said its latest payment solution builds on a decade of experience providing hospitality solutions and services to hotels across Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
The company has engaged 5.8 million hotel guests on behalf of its hotel partners and processed and automated 3.6 million orders and guest requests covering food and beverage, housekeeping, maintenance, reservations and sales.
The company has also invested in developing ROOMIE AI for Hotels, including training its artificial intelligence capabilities to support hotel operations and guest engagement.
Its chat-based booking process records average abandonment of less than 56%, compared with an industry figure of 84% for hotel booking sites cited by the company.
ROOMIE also reported that a city business hotel achieved more than 30% mobile check-in conversion, helping to ease congestion during peak check-in periods.
Meanwhile, four-star business hotels recorded a 101% increase in the number of online reviews over a six-month period after implementing ROOMIE, while a family resort hotel saw a 76% increase in positive guest reviews and direct bookings after introducing a strategy involving shared discount vouchers.
Growing Across Southeast Asia
ROOMIE currently serves around 100 hotel clients across Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam and aims to double its customer base over the next 12 months.
The company has also recently signed a contract with a hotel group covering approximately 1,800 rooms, which it described as one of the largest single room volumes transacted by a hotel technology provider in Malaysia and significantly above the industry’s typical 100- to 200-room deal.
Its hotel clientele includes brands such as St. Giles, Wyndham, Hard Rock, Frasers Hospitality and Resorts World.
With international tourism continuing to drive demand for more convenient digital services, ROOMIE’s latest payment gateway positions familiar eWallet payments as part of a broader effort to make hotel stays more seamless for travellers across Asia.
