The global travel and hospitality platform HotelRunner launched Ruby, an embedded finance infrastructure built specifically for travel (HotelRunner). The functionality addresses to fix the industry's main problems like settlement delays, multi-currency headaches, and messy payment flows. HotelRunner has partnered with Visa on this, which might indicate that the launch of Ruby is not just a test but a serious move into adding financial services to their existing software stack.
HotelRunner’s core features include sales & marketing, guests & operations and automation services. With Ruby, they are adding end-to-end financial infrastructure for B2B travel transactions. Travel agencies and hotels can process cross-border payments, settle in multiple currencies, and manage compliance activities like KYC through one system. The platform syncs and reconciles every transaction from booking through the actual hotel stay, so both sides can see what's happening with their money. HotelRunner is targeting travel agencies and accommodation providers, and they already have over 10,000 properties enrolled across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. They're aiming to process more than 4 billion dollars in transactions annually. They also plan to keep adding more acquiring, issuing, and settlement partnerships as they scale up.
PS: If you are keen to learn more about the possible Embedded Finance use-cases in the travel industry, have a look at our podcast episode 22 when I spoke with Eric-Jan Krausch about the complex world of travel payments.
