Merchant account fees for hospitality and restaurants
Restaurants and hotels take card payments all day, in several ways: at the table, at the bar, at the front desk and online. Each way can price differently on a processing statement.
A partner firm can read that statement against your agreement. Fairview Audit connects hospitality businesses with partner firms. Fairview does not perform the review itself.
Why merchant fees matter in hospitality
A restaurant sale is rarely a single swipe. A guest opens a tab, adds a tip, splits the bill or returns for dessert. A hotel may pre-authorize a card at check-in, then adjust the amount at checkout. Each step can produce a transaction type with its own pricing.
Tips add a further wrinkle, because the final amount can differ from the first authorization. Ask your processor how it handles that.
Hospitality also mixes card types. Rewards, commercial and debit cards carry different interchange rates, and a card that is keyed in or used online generally costs more than one read at your terminal. A statement that groups them together can hide what you actually pay.
What a review typically examines
A partner firm usually reads the processing agreement and several months of statements side by side. For a restaurant or hotel it may look at:
- Whether sales are being charged at the card-present rate or a higher rate meant for keyed or remote sales.
- How tip adjustments, tabs and pre-authorizations are handled.
- Whether the pricing model on the agreement matches the model on the statement.
- Monthly minimums, statement fees, gateway fees and equipment lease charges.
- Fees tied to your point of sale software or online ordering and booking platforms.
- Chargeback and retrieval fees, including those from guest disputes after an event or stay.
- Whether any card surcharge or cash discount program you run is set up in line with the card network and local rules. [VERIFY: current card network and local rules on surcharging]
- Whether each location or outlet has its own account, and whether terms differ between them.
Note: A partner firm reviews your existing agreement and statements. Whether it can change your processor or rates is a question for the firm. [CONFIRM: a partner firm supplies and approves how it works with existing processors]
What to have ready
- The merchant agreement, amendments and any fee schedule letters.
- Recent monthly statements for every outlet, bar, spa or online channel.
- Equipment lease agreements for terminals and handhelds.
- Details of your point of sale system and how tips are entered.
- A list of recent chargebacks, with the event or stay each one relates to.
- Notes on any surcharge or cash discount program.
- Contact details for the person who manages payments and the processor's account manager.
How matching works
Choose the request path that fits your business: larger business, smaller business or not sure or another need. There is no fixed size cut-off between the two types of firm. Your request goes to the matched partner firm, or to Fairview for manual matching. You then speak with the firm directly. Any fees are agreed between you and the firm.
The sequence after that is general: the firm contacts you, you share documents, and the firm reports findings to you. See how it works for the steps.
An independent partner firm that specializes in merchant account fees handles this work. Fairview Audit makes the match. We do not perform the review ourselves.Who does the work
FAQ
Do I need to leave my payment processor?
Not necessarily. Whether a firm works with your existing provider is something to ask directly.
Does the review cover online ordering and booking platforms?
Platform fees often appear separately from card processing. Tell the partner firm about every channel you use, so it can decide what to include.
Can a review look at more than one location?
Yes. Multi-site operators should supply statements for each location, since terms may differ between them.
Related pages
Read the parent page on merchant account fees and the hospitality and restaurants industry page. Two other costs common in this trade are waste removal for hospitality and restaurants and laundry and uniform rental for hospitality and restaurants.
Tell us what you need reviewed. We match you by hand with an independent partner firm. You keep your existing vendors.Find out what you are overpaying.