Safe Payments in a Modern Vacation Ownership World
- Bryan Griffin
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Modernization has become the defining theme of today’s vacation ownership industry. Cloud migration, digital incentives, mobile engagement, and streamlined tour flow systems are reshaping how resorts operate.
Yet one core component continues to lag behind: payments.
Guests are more modern than ever. Payment systems at many resorts are not.
This gap between guest expectations and on-property reality is one of the least discussed — and most operationally costly — challenges facing vacation ownership operators today.
The New Reality: Payments Are Now Guest Experience
Payments are no longer a “back-office” function. They are one of the most visible and emotionally charged moments in a guest’s journey.
When the device freezes, lags, or forces a guest to retry a tap, everything slows down:
Lines grow
Tours get delayed
Staff get flustered
Guests lose confidence
Conversion drops
IT receives yet another call
A resort can have beautiful lobbies and strong digital communication, but if the payment moment feels outdated or unreliable, the entire experience feels outdated.
Legacy Payments Were Designed for a World That No Longer Exists
Many operators still rely on payment flows created before EMV, before tap-to-pay, and long before guests started expecting payments to “just work.”
The most common pain points we see across the industry include:
EMV-only terminals
Outdated firmware and workstation drivers
Multiple peripherals per workstation
PC-dependent communication
Fully integrated payment flows that break during updates
Slow, friction-heavy transactions
These problems don’t stay hidden. They show up where operators feel them the most:
OPC
Gift Rooms
Tour Check-In
Ticketing
On-property upsell desks
Every one of these locations suffers when payments aren’t modern, fast, and reliable.
The PCI Challenge Operators Can’t Ignore
The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) has been clear for years:If your systems touch card data, you own the liability.
Legacy workflows often route cardholder data through:
Gifting and tour platforms
Ticketing systems
Workstation logs
API calls
Custom integrations
None of this is intentional.All of it is risky.
Reducing exposure isn’t just about compliance — it improves reliability and makes operations safer, simpler, and more predictable.
The Shift to Cloud-Connected Payments — Without Disrupting Operations
In the past, “modernization” meant ripping out systems and retraining staff.That’s no longer necessary.
Today’s payment evolution is:
cloud-first
workstation-light
compatible with existing systems
fast to adopt
minimally disruptive
Cloud-connected semi-integration removes the fragile link between the workstation and the payment device. That single step:
reduces failure points
improves transaction speed
supports tap-to-pay and mobile wallets
ensures consistent behavior across departments
cuts PCI scope dramatically
This is modernization that aligns with real resort operations, not against them.
Modern Payments Are Now a Competitive Advantage
Operators who upgrade to a modern payment stack see measurable improvements:
Faster lines
Shorter gifting queues
Higher tour throughput
Fewer staff workarounds
Stronger guest satisfaction
Better protection against PCI exposure
More predictable day-to-day operations
In a high-volume environment like timeshare, reliability is revenue.
Where Operators Should Start
Before rethinking incentives, kiosks, mobile tools, or guest engagement platforms, start by modernizing the payment layer.
Because payment friction is the foundation on which all other modernization efforts sit.
Download the Full Operator’s Guide
For a deeper look at architecture, operational risks, PCI exposure, and a phased modernization roadmap for OPC, gifting, tour check-in, and ticketing environments, download the full white paper:
Safe Payments in a Modern Vacation Ownership World
A practical guide for reducing risk, improving reliability, and delivering a better guest experience. Click Here