Check-in.com.au announces another first, buddying up with PayPal

Check-in.com.au, continue to build on its reputation as innovators in the online accommodation market by launching the globally recognised and award-winning payment system PayPal on their website.

Check-in.com.au is already well known in the Australian market for its fast and easy booking system as well as delivering great rates for leisure and business travellers Australia-wide, but the addition of PayPal to the website gives current customers added flexibility as well as potential new customers without credit cards access to their listed accommodation.

Simon Isaacs, Managing Director of Check-in.com.au says that it’s all about continuing to create solutions and tools which match the wants and needs of the customer, a trait which the company has been allowed to do due to its medium size and something that the “bigger” players in the online accommodation market seemed to have overlooked.

“We are very customer focused at Check-in.com.au. We have been in the accommodation industry for many years and our medium size means that we keep our ear on the ground, taking time to listen and understand how the online accommodation industry is evolving.

“We realised that there are a lot of people who were missing out on booking accommodation at discounted rates if they did not have a credit card, or if those people preferred not to share credit card details over the internet,” said Mr Isaacs.

Australia is well known for its heavy credit card usage, however Mr Isaacs believes that the addition of PayPal and it’s multiple funding sources will only enhance the usability of Check-in.com.au.

“With PayPal, customers have the same choices paying online as they do offline – they can fund their PayPal account with their credit or debit card, pay from a bank account or use a stored balance,” said Andrew Pipolo, managing director for PayPal in Australia. “The key difference is that with PayPal, customers financial information is never shared with anyone, which is one of the reasons behind PayPal’s rapid growth in Australia,”

“We’re delighted to welcome Check-in.com.au to the PayPal network,” Mr Pipolo said. “PayPal is committed to providing greater facilities for smoother, faster and safer transactions that benefit both merchants and their customers.”

“PayPal has over 5 million Australian accounts, so it’s a very popular, safe, easy and trusted way of transferring money” said Mr Isaacs. “It’s all about adding flexibility and tools which make life easier for customers. We recently listed all 3000 of our listed properties on the online mapping sites Whereis.com, Google Maps and Multimap which is shaping up to be a great success also. These are very exciting times for us.”

To help celebrate Check-in.com.au’s PayPal launch, Check-in.com is offering a ten percent cash back offer on all accommodation booked through PayPal on the Check-in.com.au website. This offer is valid until the 19th of March, 2008.

“This is an amazing promotion. Check-in.com.au already offers properties with up to 60 percent off the standard rate, so PayPal customers, new and old, will really be getting unbelievable deals,” said Mr Isaacs.