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By ActivityPay
When a guest books a $2,500 multi-day rafting adventure on their rewards credit card, you're paying somewhere between $62.50 and $100 in processing fees. For seasonal businesses operating on tight margins, those fees add up fast—especially when 60% of your annual revenue comes through in just three months.
Most adventure operators assume credit cards are the only option for collecting deposits and final payments. But there's a significantly cheaper alternative that many of your guests would happily use: ACH payments, also known as bank transfers. The difference? ACH transactions typically cost between $0.25 and $1.50 per transaction, regardless of the booking amount. That $2,500 rafting trip that cost you $75 in credit card fees? With ACH, you'd pay less than two dollars.
The challenge isn't whether ACH works—it's knowing when to offer it, how to present it to guests, and which bookings benefit most from encouraging bank transfers over credit cards.
Not every transaction makes sense for ACH. A last-minute $85 kayak rental? That guest wants to book quickly with their credit card and move on. But certain booking types are perfect candidates for bank transfers, and these are exactly where the savings matter most.
Any booking over $1,000 becomes a meaningful cost difference. When you're booking a $3,500 week-long backcountry trek, the processing fee difference between credit card and ACH is roughly $80-$100. For guests booking well in advance—which most high-value trips require—waiting 2-3 business days for an ACH transfer to clear is rarely a concern. They're already planning months ahead.
The key is positioning: frame ACH as the payment method for serious adventurers who are committing to the experience. Many guests appreciate saving you money when they're already invested in the relationship.
This is where ACH delivers transformative savings. A corporate team-building group booking 20 spots on your zipline course at $150 per person generates a $3,000 transaction. The company's accounting department is already writing checks and initiating bank transfers—they're not putting this on a personal credit card for points.
Corporate clients and group organizers actually prefer bank transfers because it simplifies their reconciliation. You're making their job easier while cutting your processing costs by 90%. For tour operators who handle significant group business, switching even half of these bookings to ACH can save thousands monthly during peak season.
Here's a hybrid approach that works exceptionally well: accept the initial deposit via credit card for convenience and speed, then collect the final payment (typically 60-80% of the total cost) through ACH 30-60 days before the adventure date.
Guests get the immediate booking confirmation they want, you capture the reservation quickly, and the bulk of the payment—where fees really bite—comes through at minimal cost. This structure is particularly effective for bookings in the $800-$3,000 range where guests are planning ahead anyway.
Offering ACH as an option isn't enough. Most guests will default to whatever's easiest, which usually means the credit card field at checkout. You need intentional strategies to guide appropriate bookings toward bank transfers without creating friction.
Consider offering a modest discount for ACH payments on high-value bookings. A 2% discount on a $2,000 booking costs you $40—but you would have paid $50-$60 in credit card fees anyway. You're still ahead, and the guest feels like they scored a deal.
The psychology matters: don't frame this as a "credit card surcharge" (which carries negative associations), but rather as a "bank transfer discount" or "direct payment savings." Same economics, completely different guest perception.
Where you present payment options dramatically affects adoption rates. For bookings over $1,500, consider these tactics:
The goal isn't to hide credit card options or make them difficult, but to position ACH as the natural choice for guests who are already committed and planning ahead.
For expensive multi-day adventures, offering payment plans dramatically increases booking conversion—but only if the economics work for you. A $4,000 backcountry expedition paid over four monthly installments via credit card means you're paying processing fees four separate times, compounding the cost.
Switch those installment plans to recurring ACH payments, and suddenly the payment plan becomes profitable instead of a margin-killer. Guests get the flexibility they need to book ambitious adventures, and you're paying $1-2 per installment instead of $30-40. This approach opens premium experiences to more guests while actually improving your bottom line.
ACH payments do require slightly different operational handling than credit cards. Understanding these differences prevents problems and keeps the guest experience smooth.
ACH transfers take 2-4 business days to clear, compared to instant credit card authorizations. This doesn't mean guests wait for confirmation—you confirm the booking immediately and note that payment is processing. For advance bookings (which most ACH-appropriate trips are), this timing is completely acceptable.
The exception: last-minute bookings within 7 days of the adventure date. Here, stick with credit cards. The processing timeline for ACH is too tight, and you need immediate payment certainty.
ACH payments can fail if the guest has insufficient funds or enters incorrect account information. Unlike credit card declines that happen immediately, ACH failures surface 2-3 days later. Build a simple protocol: when an ACH payment fails, immediately email the guest with alternative payment options and a 48-hour deadline to resolve.
This rarely happens with advance bookings from committed guests, but having the process documented prevents scrambling when it does occur.
ACH refunds work just like credit card refunds—you initiate the reversal and funds return to the guest's account in 3-5 business days. For weather cancellations or booking changes, the process is nearly identical to what you're already doing with credit cards.
One operational advantage: because ACH is typically used for higher-commitment bookings made further in advance, these guests tend to have lower cancellation rates overall. They're more invested in the experience.
Let's make this concrete with realistic seasonal numbers. Imagine you're running a rafting company with $2.8M in annual revenue, heavily concentrated in summer months.
Currently, you're processing everything through credit cards at an average rate of 2.7%, paying roughly $75,600 annually in processing fees. Now shift just 30% of your high-value bookings (trips over $1,200) to ACH payments. These bookings represent approximately $900,000 of your annual revenue.
Processing those $900,000 in bookings via ACH instead of credit cards changes your fees from $24,300 to roughly $900-$1,350 (depending on your specific ACH rates). That's $22,000-$23,000 in annual savings—money that goes straight to your bottom line or gets reinvested in marketing, equipment, or guide training.
For seasonal businesses watching every dollar during the off-season, this kind of cost reduction isn't trivial. It's the difference between comfortable cash reserves and worrying about making payroll in February.
Don't try to overhaul your entire payment system overnight. Pick your highest-value booking type—maybe it's your premium multi-day expeditions or your corporate group packages—and introduce ACH as the recommended payment method for just those bookings.
Test the messaging, track the adoption rate, and calculate the actual savings over one season. Once you've proven the approach works, expand to other booking categories. Most operators find that within two seasons, 20-40% of their revenue shifts to ACH, delivering five-figure annual savings without any reduction in booking convenience or guest satisfaction.
The credit card networks have convinced us that plastic is the only way guests want to pay. For many bookings, that's true. But for the high-value adventures that define your business and eat up your margins in processing fees, your guests are often perfectly happy to pay the way businesses have paid each other for decades: directly from their bank account to yours.
By shifting just 30% of high-value bookings (over $1,200) to ACH, a tour operator with $2.8M in annual revenue can save $22,000-$23,000 yearly in processing fees. ACH transactions cost $0.25-$1.50 regardless of amount, compared to 2.5-3% for credit cards.
High-value adventures over $1,000, group and corporate bookings, and final payments on multi-day trips are ideal for ACH. Last-minute bookings under $100 should remain credit card transactions since guests prioritize speed and convenience for smaller purchases.
ACH transfers take 2-4 business days to clear, but you can confirm bookings immediately while noting payment is processing. This timeline works well for advance bookings but isn't suitable for last-minute reservations within 7 days of the adventure date.
Offer a 2% discount for ACH on high-value bookings, present bank transfer as the 'recommended' option first in your booking flow, and make the process equally simple. Frame it as a 'bank transfer discount' rather than a credit card surcharge to maintain positive guest perception.
ACH failures appear 2-3 days after initiation due to insufficient funds or incorrect account details. Immediately email the guest with alternative payment options and a 48-hour resolution deadline—this rarely happens with committed guests booking premium adventures in advance.