Stoneycreek Inns Ensures Credit Card Payment Security with Merchant Link Installs
Providing customers what the company calls "northwoods" hospitality, Stoneycreek Inns, a fast-growing group of expanded-service hotels throughout the Midwest, has recently added an offering that, while transparent to guests, is ensuring their credit card payments are managed securely and efficiently: an Internet-based payments gateway from Merchant Link, a provider of enterprise payment and security systems.
With 10 locations across Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin, growing at a rate of one new property per year, and with nearly 95% of its guest transactions made via credit cards, Stoneycreek Inns until recently handled credit card payments via a dial-up system, which was less than satisfactory.
"The dial up system was causing intermittent processing problems, and in some instances batches would attempt to transfer twice. When using more than one processor, this just added to our headaches," says Stoney Creek CFO Steven Noto.
Credit card security
In January, 2008, the company decided to address the ongoing issues by switching its property management system to MICROS Opera Express, and to consolidate its processing under Chase Paymentech. MICROS, in turn, introduced Stoneycreek Inns to Merchant Link.
"The MICROS folks recommended we look at the Merchant Link payments gateway and it's one of the best decisions we made," says Noto. "The changeover from dial up to the Internet-based processing was seamless, our people were quickly trained and up to speed, and I began to sleep better at night knowing our customers' personal credit card data had the highest level of security available."
Noto adds that the Merchant Link gateway has made life easier for his staff as well, citing their ability to quickly pull reports, and to call on Merchant Link at any time, day or night, for support or to address any questions or problems.
"If the Merchant Link technology has been terrific, the Merchant Link customer support has been absolutely superb," says Noto.
With 10 locations across Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin, growing at a rate of one new property per year, and with nearly 95% of its guest transactions made via credit cards, Stoneycreek Inns until recently handled credit card payments via a dial-up system, which was less than satisfactory.
"The dial up system was causing intermittent processing problems, and in some instances batches would attempt to transfer twice. When using more than one processor, this just added to our headaches," says Stoney Creek CFO Steven Noto.
Credit card security
In January, 2008, the company decided to address the ongoing issues by switching its property management system to MICROS Opera Express, and to consolidate its processing under Chase Paymentech. MICROS, in turn, introduced Stoneycreek Inns to Merchant Link.
"The MICROS folks recommended we look at the Merchant Link payments gateway and it's one of the best decisions we made," says Noto. "The changeover from dial up to the Internet-based processing was seamless, our people were quickly trained and up to speed, and I began to sleep better at night knowing our customers' personal credit card data had the highest level of security available."
Noto adds that the Merchant Link gateway has made life easier for his staff as well, citing their ability to quickly pull reports, and to call on Merchant Link at any time, day or night, for support or to address any questions or problems.
"If the Merchant Link technology has been terrific, the Merchant Link customer support has been absolutely superb," says Noto.