Hospitality data connectivity platform Hapi has partnered with financial technology firm Upgrade to automate the deployment of modern payment options across global hotel chains through Upgrade’s Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solution, Flex Pay.
The collaboration marks the hospitality industry’s first automated payment integration between a payment provider and an integration platform, creating a scalable model for handling Virtual Credit Cards (VCC) and flexible payment workflows across existing Property Management Systems (PMS) and reservation systems.
Currently deployed across thousands of hotel properties, the automated solution addresses a major industry friction point: complex, manual payment reconciliations estimated to cost the hospitality sector $1.5 billion annually. By shifting payment processing “above-property,” the integration automatically identifies eligible bookings, applies hotel policies, and settles transactions before guest arrival.
Jeff Bzdawka, CEO of Hapi, highlighted that the partnership offers hotels a scalable way to introduce innovative payment methods without altering existing operational workflows. Tom Botts, President of Flex Pay at Upgrade, added that providing seamless payment flexibility reflects evolving traveler expectations while simplifying booking journeys for hotel operators.
