PYMNTS-MonitorEdge-May-2024

Otelier Launches AP Automation Product for Hotel Operators

hotel, hospitality, accounts payable, Otelier

Otelier has launched a product that automates accounts payable (AP) workflows for hotel operators.

The new DigiPay product streamlines back-office operations by eliminating time spent processing invoices and cutting checks to suppliers, the company said in a Tuesday (June 18) press release.

“Accounts payable is a critical function within hotels and management groups, and reducing the number of hours it takes to manage, approve and pay invoices, while assuring accuracy, can result in significant savings,” Vic Chynoweth, CEO of Otelier, said in the release.

DigiPay helps hoteliers’ AP teams verify invoice accuracy, streamline workflows and automatically direct invoices to the proper stakeholders, according to the release.

The product also allows them to automate writing checks for supplier payments, send invoice payments with no fees and track payments statuses, the release said.

It also ensures invoices are accurate by managing supplier profiles and invoice records, per the release.

DigiPay can be implemented as a standalone tool or bundled with Otelier’s other hotel technology solutions, according to the release.

A user of DigiPay, Prince Singh, chief operating officer at Five Rivers Hospitality, which owns and operates more than 30 hotels, said in the release that the solution has halved the time the company spends paying invoices.

“Paying invoices became highly organized and easy from a manager and back-office perspective,” Singh said. “We were probably spending six to seven hours per week paying invoices, and now we can do the work in almost half the time.”

In another recent development in this space, Canary Techologies said Friday (June 14) that it raised $50 million in a Series C funding round to support its deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) for the hospitality industry.

Canary offers a Guest Management Platform that digitizes “everything from post-booking through checkout” and is rolling out guest-facing AI, the company said.

In April, Guesty said it raised $130 million in a Series F funding round to expand the capabilities and global footprint its property management software platform for the short-term rental (STR) and hospitality industry.

Guesty’s solution helps STR hosts — including enterprises, small- to medium-sized businesses and individuals — advertise their properties and manage the entire rental process.

PYMNTS-MonitorEdge-May-2024