Sarova Hotels, Resorts & Game Lodges launch M-PESA Payment Plan with Safaricom

Online, October 6, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Sarova Hotels, Resorts & Game Lodges, in partnership with Kenya's leading telecoms operator Safaricom, will now offer guests the option of settling their bills through the globally-acclaimed M-PESA service.
This follows the signing of an agreement between Safaricom and Sarova Hotels after the successful conclusion of a month-long pilot project.
Sarova Hotels is the 1st hotel chain globally to implement m-commerce into its operations. The M-PESA option gives guests the flexibility of settling bills from the various restaurants, to making accommodation payments to ordering flowers into their rooms.
Customers are extremely pleased with this option as they can now pay and confirm payments through their mobile phones.
The launch of M-PESA payment platform enables Sarova Hotels to engage fully in mobile commerce, allowing customers to book and pay for their holidays anytime and from anywhere through their mobile devices. The payment option will reduce the time taken by customers to drive to Sarova's reservations office to make payment.
This agreement between Sarova Hotels and Safaricom provides both a reliable and convenient avenue for guests to settle their bills said J.S. Vohra, Sarova Hotels Group Managing Director. Mr. Vohra added that it is a valuable addition to Sarova's "Easy Pay Plan" option that was launched in 2002, that gives guests the option of paying for their holidays in easy installments. We are proud to be the first hospitality group to engage in M-commerce through Safaricom's M-PESA.
Speaking at the launch, Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph welcomed the partnership with Sarova, saying it was in tandem with the company's strategy of improving the utility of phones used on its network and coming up with solutions that are relevant and responsive to the needs of its customers.

"Since launch in March 2007, M-PESA has evolved beyond money transfer into a total mobile commerce solution. With this new service, we are bringing the benefit of secure, real-time transactions to the hospitality industry. We are bringing convenience to customers' palms as they can book and pay for hospitality services from the convenience of their living rooms. We welcome our subscribers to take advantage of this new service," said Mr Joseph.
The partnership with Sarova presents growth and a key win for an M-PESA functionality that has already been taken up by a growing number of the country's utility firms, bus companies and even airlines. With M-PESA's subscriber base having crossed the 10 million mark, and still growing, the service has taken off in a major way as a bills' payment platform.
M-PESA does not require users to have a bank account. Account holders purchase electronic funds at M-PESA agent outlets and send the electronic value to any other mobile phone user in the country, who may then redeem it for conventional cash at any M-PESA agent outlet.
To use the service, registered M-PESA customers will be required to select "Pay Bill" from the M-PESA menu; enter the Sarova Hotels business number for the hotel, resort or lodge, including the account number. The Pay Bill service, also known as C2B (Customer to Business), enables a registered M-PESA customer to pay or deposit money into an organization's account.
Customers would need to include the information of the service they are consuming either:
• F&B (and restaurant name if this is known). Example; F&B-Flame Tree Restaurant
• Accommodation (and room number if this is known). Example; Accommodation - Rm 201
• Conference and name of conference sponsor. Example; Conference-MoH Survey
• Extras - example; Extras-flowers
The customer will then be required to enter the amount of money he/she wishes to pay for the service (between Kshs100 and KShs.35, 000) and then enter their M-PESA Personal Identification Number (PIN). This transaction can be done twice a day meaning that any customer can pay a maximum of Ksh. 70,000 on any day to a Sarova Hotel, resort or lodge.
For all terms and conditions clients may reach the customer service care centre on 2767000 or log on to www.sarovahotels.com/m-commerce