Mike Delafield
Infrastructure Engineer
June 26, 2025
Imagine it’s a busy Friday evening. Your tables are full, the kitchen is firing on all cylinders, and there’s a queue at the bar. Then, suddenly, your payment system goes down. No card transactions, no mobile payments, and most customers don’t have cash. For businesses like yours in the hospitality sector, the impact can be immediate and severe.
If you run a pub or restaurant, you’re often taking hundreds of small payments in a day. Gone are the days when most people carry enough cash to pay for more than a couple of drinks. With growing numbers of bars moving to being cashless, the importance of your systems increases.
If you manage a hotel, even a single lost payment could represent hundreds—if not thousands—of pounds. When customers can’t pay, they can’t complete their purchase. Some may wait, but many will simply walk away. In just a few hours, you could see a significant drop in income.
Your customers expect service and convenience. When your payment system fails, their experience suffers. People may be understanding in the moment, but it only takes one bad experience for them to choose a competitor next time. For hotel guests, payment issues at check-in or check-out create unnecessary friction, undermining the overall experience. In pubs and restaurants, your staff are left apologising instead of upselling, which erodes customer confidence in your reliability.
In the face of a payment outage, your team suddenly has to manage an awkward situation. They’re trying to calm frustrated customers, manually record orders, and explain what’s going on—all while keeping service flowing. This adds stress, increases the risk of errors, and reduces the time they can spend providing quality service. A payment failure turns a busy shift into a crisis management exercise.
People talk. If you can’t take payments, word spreads fast—especially on social media and review platforms. One Instagram or Facebook post about your payment problems can be seen by thousands. Even if the issue isn’t your fault, your reputation takes the hit. Future customers searching for a reliable venue may decide to book or dine elsewhere. In hospitality, perception is everything, and a single payment failure can leave a long shadow.
For hotels and venues that take deposits or prepayments for events, a payment issue doesn’t just impact today’s business—it disrupts your pipeline. If you can’t confirm a booking because you can’t take a deposit, you risk losing that customer entirely. The same goes for loyalty schemes and promotions tied to digital payments. Every missed transaction is a missed opportunity to build long-term relationships.
It really does depend on what is causing the problem.
If your internet is down, seek advice from your IT support company, but a simple router reboot may be all that is necessary.
If your IT support provider is a hospitality specialist, they will almost certainly be able to deal with most 1st line issues and help you get up and running again. One of our hotel clients lost payment ability at 6pm on a Friday recently. We had them working again in 20 minutes.
If that hasn't got your POS working again, your IT support provider should then liaise with your systems provider to identify a solution. Whilst you're still down, here's our suggestions...
To protect your business, you need to plan for the worst. Train your team to respond calmly and clearly if things go wrong. Because in hospitality, it’s not just about good food, a clean room, or great service—it’s about making it easy for people to pay for them.