New Itinerary: How Invoice-to-Pay Platforms Are Transforming Hospitality

Manual accounts payable (AP) processes are emerging as a significant pain point for the hospitality sector. In an industry known for its high transaction volumes, ranging from housekeeping supplies to food services, finance teams are inundated by a relentless stream of invoices and payment reconciliations each month. In such a setting, a reliance on manual processes introduces significant risk. Delayed approvals, costly errors, fraud and supply chain disruptions are just some of the hazards that can ultimately erode guest experience.

To address these operational bottlenecks, a growing number of hospitality businesses are turning to integrated invoice-to-pay platforms. By automating the entire AP cycle—from invoice intake to payment reconciliation—these platforms not only streamline back-office workflows but also free up staff for higher-value tasks. The benefits of this end-to-end automation include improved financial oversight, stronger supplier relationships, and a renewed focus on strategic management and guest satisfaction.

Manual AP Hampers Hospitality

Automation Elevates Efficiency—and Strategy

Automated Upgrade: Hotel Emma

Putting AP Automation Into Action for Hospitality

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Manual AP Hampers Hospitality

Manual AP processes pose a significant stumbling block for hospitality businesses striving to deliver both operational efficiency and seamless guest experiences. Overburdened staff and supply chain instability are just some of the side effects of these antiquated procedures.

Manual AP exacts a heavy burden on industries like hospitality.

Hotels, resorts and other businesses in the hospitality sector handle hundreds or thousands of vendor invoices every month, with volumes fluctuating drastically depending on the time of year. This fast and furious flow can engulf AP and accounting teams, leading to delays and high labor costs—including the need to add seasonal hires to avoid letting payables get backed up during peak times.

66%

of finance professionals expect their AP departments to be fully automated in 2025, up from 9% in 2022.

Manual payment processes also introduce hidden costs such as error correction and duplicate payments, which not only absorb extra labor but can eat away at profit margins. At best, manual invoice processing has a 2% error rate, which may sound manageable—until it’s multiplied a thousandfold. Resource constraints mean staff must spend excessive time on repetitive tasks and costly rework rather than financial strategy or planning improvements to guests’ getaways.

Outmoded AP can make late payments and shaky supply chains standard fare for hoteliers.

Payment delays and mistakes can strain vendor relationships, resulting in less favorable terms. Manual workflows leave invoices at risk of getting lost in accountants’ inboxes or misplaced in email communications. When vendors have to remind their clients to pay, it undermines trust and reliability on both sides of the relationship. The consequences range from vendor price hikes to supply chain interruptions—jeopardizing guest comforts and potentially derailing visits.

Manual invoice processing takes a toll in other ways as well. The lack of real-time visibility into invoices and payables data impedes cash flow management and proactive decision-making. Additionally, manual AP is more vulnerable to fraud and compliance risks due to weaker controls and oversight. Bad actors can impersonate vendors by writing fake invoices or sending official-looking emails demanding payment. Without digital proof, accountants have no way of seeing through these scams to protect their organizations.

A welcome change is on the horizon for hospitality AP.

According to PYMNTS Intelligence research, only 5% of mid-sized firms had fully automated their AP processes as of mid-2023, placing the vast majority of businesses at the mercy of manual payment weaknesses. However, a recent article predicts a change is coming this year. An Institute of Financial Operations & Leadership (IFOL) survey indicated that two-thirds of finance professionals expected their AP departments to be fully automated by 2025, up from a baseline of just 9% three years before. Indeed, new data this year suggests that hospitality businesses, in particular, are looking to AP automation to reduce the burdens of legacy manual payment processing.

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Automation Elevates Efficiency—and Strategy

Automated invoice-to-pay platforms offer a comprehensive solution to the inefficiencies of manual AP, elevating hospitality finance departments to a new role as a strategic growth driver for the industry.

Invoice-to-pay automation can turn hospitality’s manual payment challenges into revenue opportunities.

70%

Amount by which invoice-to-pay automation can shorten hotels’ invoice cycle times

Comprehensive AP automation platforms exist that are specifically tailored for the hospitality industry. Designed to handle high transaction volumes across multiple properties, these solutions deliver a range of benefits that help hotels streamline operations, reduce costs and even unlock new revenue opportunities. By automating the entire invoice-to-pay process, the systems reduce manual labor and its attendant human error. Enhanced security controls protect payments, reducing the risk of fraud. These solutions also integrate seamlessly with existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) and accounting systems, allowing companies to manage all invoices and payments from a single platform.

Additionally, invoice-to-pay automation fosters better relationships between hotels and vendors via payment options and self-service portals, enhancing collaboration and reducing friction. The platforms even support monetization options such as early payment discounts and cash-back rebates on payments to suppliers—effectively turning hospitality AP from a cost center into a revenue-generating function.

Automation is positioning AP to become a strategic growth driver in hospitality this year.

A recent article notes that consolidating fragmented AP systems with automated procure-to-pay platforms is becoming the top trend in hospitality procurement in 2025. Experts estimate that a small hotel leveraging automated invoice processing could shorten its invoice cycle times by 70%, reducing late payments while enabling the AP team to concentrate on driving value for the business. With payments that previously took hours now completed in seconds, staff are free to focus on more strategic initiatives, such as supplier relationship management and contract negotiation.

Moreover, automated platforms offer full visibility into spending across multiple properties, improving financial oversight and control. By enabling access to real-time insights, the systems are powering better decision-making and a shift from reactive to proactive risk management—with advanced tools helping hotels anticipate and mitigate supply chain disruptions. As a result, hospitality invoice-to-pay is rapidly evolving this year from a basic operation into a strategic driver of innovation and sustainable growth.

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Automated Upgrade: Hotel Emma

Few case studies offer a clearer example of invoice-to-pay automation’s promise for the hospitality industry than that of San Antonio-based Hotel Emma.

Hotel Emma saw a need for change in its payment operations.

For Hotel Emma, a prestigious boutique hotel in San Antonio’s historic Pearl District, automation not only revolutionized its AP operations but also generated a stunning financial windfall. The hotel’s previous reliance on paper checks meant that every payment had to be processed by hand, routed for multiple approvals and signed by two staff members before mailing—making vendor payments laborious, costly and slow. Realizing the limitations of this outdated approach, the AP team sought a more streamlined solution, quickly deciding on Edenred Pay’s Payment Automation Platform.

$30,000

Annual cash-back rebates earned by Hotel Emma since implementing invoice-to-pay automation

High vendor participation meant significant labor and time savings.

Platform integration was both seamless and swift, with the solution provider onboarding both employees and vendors to the new automated payment system. Although the hotel was initially doubtful about vendor participation, the response exceeded expectations, with many local vendors embracing the change despite having no prior experience receiving electronic payments. As a result, about 40% of Hotel Emma’s payments are now processed through the platform, saving the team four to five hours of labor each week.

Automation translated efficiency into a new income stream.

The hotel has reaped substantial financial gains, earning more than $30,000 annually in cash-back rebates from the platform. This direct boost to the bottom line from investment in AP automation has enabled reinvestment in other operations, transforming payments into a new income stream. Hotel Emma’s leadership reports only positive outcomes from the partnership, citing improved efficiency, vendor satisfaction and new revenue as key benefits.

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Putting AP Automation Into Action for Hospitality

For too long, manual AP processes have held hospitality businesses in check with delayed payments, increased fraud risk and strained supplier relationships. These inefficiencies not only burden finance teams but also threaten the seamless guest experiences that are central to the industry’s success. Integrated invoice-to-pay platforms can be an invaluable asset to hoteliers, as cases such as Hotel Emma’s demonstrate. By consolidating obsolete manual processes into a single, streamlined solution, automated systems produce labor- and time-saving efficiencies that have tangible, positive impacts on profitability.

Automation reduces invoice cycle times and errors, supporting stronger vendor partnerships and more resilient supply chains. It also opens new income streams through rebates and discounts. Advanced risk management tools enhance security, minimizing vulnerability to fraud. Real-time visibility into cash flow and spend enhances financial oversight, transforming back-office cost centers into strategic engines driving value for the entire enterprise. Finally, the reduction of manual workloads allows staff to focus on higher-value activities—such as delivering exceptional guest experiences.

Indications are that 2025 will be a pivotal year for hospitality as it looks to automation to solve the problems of legacy AP. Embracing these trends and technologies now will empower hoteliers to gain a competitive edge and position themselves for sustainable growth as the industry moves into the future of payments.

The hospitality industry runs on relationships—between guests, staff and suppliers. When payments are slow, error-prone or insecure, everyone feels the impact. At Edenred Pay, we’re helping hospitality businesses turn AP from a liability into a lever for growth—so they can strengthen supplier partnerships, boost profitability and free their teams to focus on delivering unforgettable guest experiences.”

Alex Hoffmann
General Manager, Edenred Pay North America