A Conferma Connect update for communication to Premier Inn is approaching in approximately 2 weeks, and we wanted to make sure you have the information you need.
Premier Inn electronic card not present (eCNP) API
• Communication of payment instructions to Premier Inn will be conducted by an API, removing the need for manual intervention on property
• eCNP API optimises the transfer of payment instructions by delivering them directly into the premier inn property management system (PMS)
The process today
• Conferma connect automatically redirects fax requests to an email address specific to premier inn
• The fax number is used as the identifier to trigger the email
• Premier inn have switched off fax machines on property and will not be providing a fax number for any new hotel openings
How the eCNP process will work
• TMC makes a booking and the booking platform used sends a communication request to Conferma, containing the target address and content of the message required
• Conferma Connect receives the communication request and attempts to identify the intended recipient using the hotel name, full address, telephone, fax and email if they are present in the Conferma supplier database
• On successful identification, the original request is suppressed and replaced with the preferred communication configured against the hotel in the Conferma supplier database – in the case of Premier Inn this will be by API
• An API call containing: deployment ID, Premier Inn booking reference, final 4 digits of virtual card number and a translation of the payment instructions text field will be sent to Premier Inn and updated directly in the PMS
• The translation of the payment instructions text field provides a specific format for predetermined fields in the Premier Inn PMS, fields below:
| Breakfast/ Meal deal | Full breakfast or Meal deal |
| Dinner allowance | Specified value |
| Alcohol allowed | Yes/No |
| Car parking allowed | Yes/No |
| Wifi allowed | Yes/No |
• The automatic population of these fields eliminates manual intervention onsite at the Premier Inn, removing potential conflict regarding administration errors or lost messages
Requirements on the TMC and Booking Platform
• Conferma require a communication command to enable the process, this communication request must contain a target address for the request to be received and processed. Please note any blank communication requests will not be processed
• Successful identification requires the hotel address details to be present in the deployment at the point of the communication request, the same details must feature within the conferma supplier database. In the eventuality that a property cannot be identified, the original delivery method in the communication request will be processed
• TMC should provide clear and concise payment instructions to optimise the automated process.
Best practice suggestions:
- Pre-book meal deal or breakfast when required. If neither are pre-booked but are authorised, the restrictions must be stated in the payment instructions
Breakfast = 'breakfast', 'brfast', 'bfast', 'bandb'
Meal deal = ‘meal deal’ not to be preceded by 'no', 'not', 'excluding', 'excludes', 'excl', 'exc' or 'except'
- Dinner allowance requires a specified limit – provide a monetary value to ensure this is identified
Dinner = 'dinner', 'meal', 'meals', 'evening', 'eve' followed by a monetary value £/$/€
Dinner allowance can only be used for spending on an evening meal
- If alcohol, car parking or Wi-Fi is permitted please provide the authority for clear identification
Alcohol = 'alcohol', 'alcoholic drink'
Car parking = ‘park’, ‘parking’
Wi-fi = 'wifi', 'internet'
All must not be preceded by 'no', 'not', 'excluding', 'excludes', 'excl', 'exc' or 'except'
Offline Amendments
• Amends should be completed online, as Conferma require the updated booking details to be able to provide the required funds on the virtual card for payment
• In the eventuality that a booking must be amended directly with the property by telephone, the property will request a CNP password. Conferma provide a CNP password for all bookings within the “Audit History” on WebPay:
