High-risk · Travel Agencies & Tour Operators
Travel payment processing with terms you can plan around.
Agencies, tour operators, OTAs, charter brokers, and vacation rental managers take money months before the trip. HL Hunt supports deposits, installments, and multi-currency pricing with a reserve structure disclosed before you sign.
- Approved before your first charge
- No monthly fee or contract
- Same-day settlement
- Real humans on the phone
- Disclosed
- Rates, reserve, and settlement agreed in writing
- 0
- Automated terminations or surprise holds
- Ethoca + Verifi
- Chargeback alerts included on every account
- Dedicated
- Named risk manager who answers the phone
Why Travel Agencies & Tour Operators merchants choose HL Hunt
Deposits and installments
Collect a deposit now and schedule the balance automatically before departure.
Price in 135 currencies
Let travelers pay in their own currency and settle in yours.
Underwriting before go-live, not after
We review your products, marketing, refund policy, and processing history up front and propose terms before you sign. Nothing is imposed later.
Multiple acquiring relationships
Transactions route across acquirers that accept your vertical, with automatic failover so a single bank decision never stops your revenue.
Chargeback alerts and the Dispute Agent
Ethoca and Verifi alerts let you refund before a dispute posts. When one does, the Dispute Agent assembles and files compelling evidence automatically.
Compliant billing and disclosures
Hosted checkout and billing flows built to card-network rules for your category: clear pricing, consent capture, easy cancellation, and descriptor control.
Get a Travel Agencies & Tour Operators merchant account that stays open.
Create your account, get approved up front, and take your first payment today. No monthly fee, no contract.
How it works
- 01
Apply with your real business
Share your website, products, marketing, refund policy, and any processing history. Our risk team reviews within a few business days.
- 02
Agree terms in writing
You receive a plain-language proposal: rate, any rolling reserve, settlement timing, and volume caps. Sign when it works for you.
- 03
Go live and scale with a human on your side
Integrate checkout, payment links, or the virtual terminal. Alerts and the Dispute Agent protect your ratios while your risk manager helps you grow caps.
Payment processing for travel agencies, tour operators, and online travel businesses: what to expect
Travel is high-risk because of delivery lag: the card is charged today for a service delivered weeks or months later, creating exposure if the trip is cancelled or the business fails. Weather, geopolitical events, and supplier insolvency can trigger mass disputes. Processors respond with large reserves or outright declines.
We look at your booking-to-travel window, supplier mix, cancellation and refund policy, trust-account or bonding arrangements, and seasonality. Operators with shorter windows, clear terms, and strong supplier relationships receive lighter reserves.
Deposit and installment billing, multi-currency pricing with FX at 1.0%, payouts to guides and suppliers, chargeback alerts, and the Dispute Agent with itinerary and policy evidence attached. A risk manager who understands peak season.
What changes
HL Hunt vs a typical processor for Travel Agencies & Tour Operators
| HL Hunt | Typical processor | |
|---|---|---|
| Travel Agencies & Tour Operators accepted | Yes, with the right acquirer and disclosures | Prohibited or terminated after review |
| Rolling reserve | Only if agreed in writing, with a release schedule | 10 to 20 percent held indefinitely |
| Underwriting | Done up front, before your first charge | After you start processing, often mid-month |
| Account freezes | Never without a named human and a reason in writing | Automated holds triggered by volume or category |
| Settlement | Same day to your bank, instant payouts available | 2 to 7 business days, longer for new accounts |
| Disputes | Dispute Agent assembles evidence and responds for you | You upload PDFs into a portal and hope |
| Support | Phone, chat, and email answered by payments staff | Ticket queue with templated replies |
| Pricing | Published rates or a written quote, no hidden markups | Tiered pricing, PCI fees, statement and batch fees |
Pricing
Pricing for Travel Agencies & Tour Operators is quoted in writing
High-risk categories price on your real history, not a published card rate. You get one proposal with the rate, any reserve, and settlement timing before you sign. Nothing is added later.
- Quoted
- Card rate
- Disclosed
- Reserve terms
- $0
- Monthly, PCI, or statement fees
- Named
- Risk manager
Based on your volume, ticket size, and chargeback history
Only if required, with a written release schedule
You pay only when money moves
Answers the phone, knows your file
Everything included
One account covers all of it
Travel Agencies & Tour Operators is one part of the platform. Every HL Hunt account ships with the full stack, so you never bolt on a second vendor as you grow.
- Cards, wallets, ACH & BNPLEvery major payment method enabled from day one.Learn more
- Tap to Pay on any phoneTake card-present payments with no hardware.Learn more
- Invoicing & virtual terminalBill by email, take payments over the phone.Learn more
- Subscriptions & billingAny pricing model, automatic retries.Learn more
- Instant payoutsPay yourself or anyone in 180+ countries.Learn more
- AI agentsFraud, disputes, recovery, reconciliation.Learn more
- Fraud & dispute defense500+ signals and automatic evidence filing.Learn more
- Ledger & reconciliationEvery sale, fee, and deposit in one view.Learn more
- Open API & docsEvery endpoint documented, with test mode from day one.Learn more
Get started
Apply for a Travel Agencies & Tour Operators merchant account
Most applications get a written proposal within two business days. Have these ready and you can be live by the end of the week.
Prefer to talk first? info@hlhunt.org
- 01Legal business name, EIN, and a business bank account
- 02A website or product description showing what you sell and how you bill
- 03Government ID for the owner or an authorized signer
- 04Last 3 to 6 months of processing statements, if you have them
- 05Your refund, cancellation, and customer service policies
- 06Any licenses or lab results your category requires
Travel Agencies & Tour Operators FAQ
How large is the reserve for travel merchants?
It depends on your booking window and refund policy. Reserve percentage and release schedule are in your written proposal, and reserves are reviewed for reduction as history builds.
Do you support travel installment plans?
Yes. Schedule any number of payments before departure with automatic retries and traveler notifications.
Will my account be frozen or terminated without warning?
No. HL Hunt does not use automated terminations. If your dispute ratio or volume pattern changes, your risk manager calls you to work through it. Any change to terms is agreed in writing.
Is a rolling reserve required?
Sometimes. Where a reserve is needed, the percentage and release schedule are disclosed in your proposal before you sign, and reserves are reviewed for reduction as your processing history matures.
What are the rates for high-risk processing?
Rates are quoted per business based on vertical, volume, ticket size, and history. Every fee is listed in your proposal. There are no monthly, PCI, gateway, or setup fees.
Still have questions?
Talk to a payments specialist, or create an account and see it for yourself.
Start accepting payments today.
Create your account in minutes. Underwriting is done up front, so you are approved before your first charge.