Challenge

Since its launch in 2006 as a solution for hotels to exchange booking information with travel websites, SiteMinder has transformed into a comprehensive platform for hotels of all sizes. The company’s end-to-end solutions now span demand generation, revenue management, guest experience, and operations—empowering properties to streamline management and delight guests at every touchpoint, from reservation to checkout.

This commitment to innovation drove SiteMinder’s transformation from its early days. The company first connected hotels with established booking channels such as Expedia, later integrated newer platforms such as Airbnb, and eventually developed its own booking engine for direct website and social media reservations. The company quickly expanded beyond its Australian roots into Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Americas, and also launched Little Hotelier—a specialized solution addressing the unique needs of small properties.

By 2015, SiteMinder’s growth trajectory demanded a payments infrastructure that could grow alongside its expanding business. The company faced three key challenges: managing payments across multiple booking channels, supporting global expansion without building country-specific infrastructure, and protecting transactions from fraud while offering diverse payment methods.

“We needed a global payment partner to help us enter new markets fast, so we could help hoteliers grow and capture as much of the revenue opportunity as they can in their space,” said Alex Macoun, chief of strategic operations at SiteMinder.

Solution

In 2015, SiteMinder selected Stripe to upgrade its payments infrastructure across the SiteMinder platform and Little Hotelier platform, beginning a strategic partnership that would evolve through three distinct phases of growth. First, Stripe helped SiteMinder manage its complex multichannel payment flows. Next, Stripe supported the company’s international expansion. And, most recently, Stripe enabled SiteMinder to bridge the online-offline payment gap for its hotel customers.

Stripe Connect provided the ideal backbone for SiteMinder’s unique business model by enabling the company to securely route funds to hotel customers—whether a booking came from SiteMinder’s direct booking engine or from third-party sites in the company’s channel partner network. Connect’s global payment licensing and merchant onboarding coverage supported SiteMinder’s existing user base, while also enabling the company to continue expanding into new markets, such as Malaysia and Singapore.

Through this integration, SiteMinder automated payment processing with Stripe, saving hotels more than 12,000 hours annually that would otherwise be spent manually handling payments. This automation transformed daily operations for properties of all sizes, allowing staff to focus on guest experiences rather than administrative tasks.

SiteMinder helps its hotel customers earn loyalty and repeat guests by providing a simple, smooth, and secure booking experience. With Stripe Payments, SiteMinder expanded its payment capabilities, offering hotels access to a comprehensive suite of payment solutions that meet their specific needs. To support regional preferences, the company enabled new payment methods, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and iDEAL.

To protect its hotel partners from the rising threat of fraud in the travel industry, SiteMinder implemented Stripe Radar. This integration provided sophisticated AI-based fraud detection across its network of properties, automatically screening transactions to identify and block suspicious activity before it impacts hotels’ bottom lines.

As SiteMinder continued to improve its online booking and payment options, the company also sought to solve one of its customers’ biggest challenges: consolidating online and in-person transactions for each hotel to improve the reconciliation process. In 2025, SiteMinder achieved that by integrating Stripe Terminal to unify in-person and online payments through a single provider. Using BBPOS WisePOS E, hoteliers can now accept in-person payments at guest check-in for items such as room payments, upgrades, and preauthorizations for incidental charges.

SiteMinder partnered with Stripe’s professional services team for added guidance on its Terminal integration. The team fielded technical questions to keep SiteMinder unblocked and maintain momentum toward launch. The teams also partnered for a four-week custom reporting advisory to optimize the company’s costs, building new processes and dashboards for continuous monitoring.

Results

SiteMinder expands to serve hotels in 150 countries with the help of Stripe

Through its partnership with Stripe, SiteMinder has transformed from a regional solution to a truly global platform, now serving hotels in 150 countries. Stripe’s flexible infrastructure has allowed SiteMinder to enter markets that would otherwise have been cost-prohibitive, including smaller European territories and emerging Asian markets.

“Stripe’s been a fantastic partner in helping us think strategically in the payment space, not just about what we’re doing today, but how we can improve that experience for our customers and expand to new markets,” said Macoun.

A 90% onboarding rate gets customers live on SiteMinder fast

With Stripe managing compliance and customer identification requirements, SiteMinder’s streamlined onboarding now sees a 90% success rate.

“The ease of onboarding with Stripe Connect has been a huge benefit for our customers, making it as simple and low friction as possible to get through the process and then get back to business,” said Macoun.

A 61% reduction in fraudulent payment volume protects hotels from losses

Since implementing Radar over a year ago, the company has cut fraudulent payment volume by 61% and reduced fraudulent bookings by 27%.

“Travel is an attractive vertical for fraud, and protecting our hotel partners from that risk is critical,” said Macoun. “Since implementing Radar, we’ve cut fraudulent payment volume significantly—giving our hotels meaningful protection against chargebacks and revenue loss. This translates directly to their bottom line and builds trust in our platform.”

Terminal unifies customer transactions and expands on-site payments

With Terminal, SiteMinder’s hoteliers can now avoid using multiple systems to take online and in-person payments. Instead, they can use one solution for all of their payment needs—from rooms to incidental charges—and gain a unified view of customers’ transactions.