How to grow your payments app with hostels and campsites
By SendPay Business · · 2 min read
Small hostels and campsites host travellers from many countries, often for a night or two. They take deposits for bookings, payments at check-in and extras like meals, tours and bike hire. A payments app that takes deposits by link and payments at the desk can win these owners, and every guest who pays sees your app.
Talk to hostel and campsite owners
Ask local hostel and campsite owners:
- How do guests pay deposits and the balance today?
- How often do guests book and then not arrive?
- How do guests pay for extras like meals and tours?
- What would make paying easier for guests from abroad?
Take deposits by link
A payment link for a deposit confirms the booking and cuts the number of guests who book and never arrive.
Take payments at the desk
A QR code at reception lets guests pay the balance and any extras in seconds, with a receipt for their records.
Grow along the travel route
Hostels and campsites work with tour guides, bike hire firms and cafes. One owner on your app can bring you the businesses their guests use.
Build it
Create your own financial platform.
Pick a template, name it, brand it, preview every page before you pay. Your brand, your users, your fees.
Build my platform →Questions people ask
What about guesthouses?
The guesthouses guide covers bookings and payments for small places to stay.
Guesthouses →Can I call it a bank?
In most countries "bank" is a protected word you can only use with a banking licence. Call it an account, a wallet, an app or a platform. The accounts and payments behind a SendPay Business platform are powered by licensed partners.
Is there a step-by-step plan I can follow?
Yes. The free launch checklist takes you from picking your people and naming your app to setting fees, going live and winning your first ten customers.
Digital bank app launch checklist →How do I start?
Pick a template, name it and preview every page before you pay. Your platform can be live on your own domain within 24 hours of confirmation.
Build my platform →Read next
This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. SendPay Business is a technology company, not a bank, and does not take deposits; regulated services on the platforms are provided by licensed partners. PayPal, Patreon and Substack are named as reference points only and are not affiliated with SendPay Business.