A&O Enables Payment by Smartphone in Germany

BERLIN and LUXEMBOURG, August 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

A&O HOTELS and HOSTELS cooperate with Yapital: guests are now able to pay for their stay by app. 

Yapital and A&O HOTELS and HOSTELS are enabling fast and easy payment by smartphone at 21 A&Os in Germany. Guests simply need to open the free Yapital app on their smartphones, scan the QR code displayed on the card terminal and confirm the amount.

Motivated by a 250% increase in mobile bookings in 2015 and following the successful launch of its customer service via WhatsApp, A&O is now introducing an additional mobile tool in the form of mobile payment.

"We have wanted a safe and easy-to-use payment system for our customers for a long time. With Yapital, we have now found a reliable partner who allows us to simplify payment. Signing receipts, entering PIN numbers or counting cash will become a thing of the past. Mobile payment is a great innovation in the hotel industry, and we are proud to be one of the first. We are constantly developing in the mobile area - the next step is opening doors by smartphone. First tests are underway in this area too," said a pleased Oliver Winter, General Manager at A&O.

Karsten Cornelissen, Managing Director at Yapital: "Our journey continues: we are very happy to expand our partnerships in the travel business with A&O HOTELS and HOSTELS. The smartphone has become an indispensable travel companion. Especially when travelling abroad, the smartphone comes in handy when trying to find your way or looking up public transport information. It is therefore very practical and easy to also be able to pay for your stay with it."

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About A&O HOTELS and HOSTELS  

Founded in 1999, the A&O HOTELS and HOSTELS currently run Europe's largest, independent hostel chain since the year 2000 with 26 locations in 17 cities and four countries (Germany, Austria, Netherlands and the Czech Republic). The A&O group offers more than 19.300 beds and registered more than 2.7 million overnight stays as well as a revenue of about 80 million euros in 2014. The hotel chain is currently growing at around 25 percent a year; further locations are scheduled to be opened soon. Openings planned for 2015: Stuttgart.

A&O unite hostel (Book Orange) and hotel (Book Blue) under one roof. Additional components such as seminar rooms, breakfast buffet, lobby and bars are always available for both categories. The hostel areas are used each year by around 15.000 class trips; more than 70 percent of A&O's guests book their accommodation online. The A&O target markets are leisure/city tourism (28 percent), groups/class trips (60 percent) and business tourism (12 percent).

The company provides vocational training at all locations. The company is 4-star QMJ certified, tested 'Youth Hostel Quality Standard' by TUV (Technical Inspection Association) and carries the youth travel quality seal of 'Reisenetz Deutschland' (Germany Travel Network). A&O are actively involved in sports and education and have supported SOS Children's Villages since 2004 and the Youth League of 1. FC Union Berlin since 2010 and the Youth League of SK Sturm Graz since 2014.

About Yapital Financial AG 

Yapital is the first European, cashless cross-channel payment solution operating across all channels: in-store, mobile, online and by invoice. Operation is easy, fast and secure: following online registration, the user can immediately make payments, send and receive money with Yapital, across all channels.

Payments with Yapital are transferred in real-time, leading to process reliability and a reduction in administrative costs for business partners. In addition, Yapital seamlessly covers all trade and service channels, thus enabling marketing channels to be converted into sales channels. Business customers can therefore not only reduce costs with Yapital, but can also simultaneously open up new revenue potential.

Yapital was established in 2011 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Otto Group. Yapital Financial AG is licensed in Luxembourg as an Electronic Money Institution.

More information on Yapital: 

Homepage: http://www.yapital.com
Blog: http://www.yapital.com/blog
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Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/yapital

Contact
Martin Zander
Yapital Financial AG
Tel.: +352-203-10-111
Email: press@yapital.com