Each guest gives a card for their stay when they book. You see it in the portal, one room at a time, so you can key it into your property management system (PMS).
The card is shown by our payment provider, inside a secure window in the portal. The full card number never passes through the ITS website and is never in the downloaded rooming list.
Opening a card
- Open the rooming list for the event (see The rooming list).
- In the Card column of the room, click View card.
- The Card on file window opens with the card's details. Key them into your PMS straight away.
- Click Next room to open the next room's card without going back to the list. The window shows where you are, for example "Room 3 of 12". Click Done when you've finished.
Each card you open, including with Next room, is recorded as a view of that card.
The security code: why it's limited
The security code (CVV/CVC) is the most sensitive part of a card, and card-security rules strictly limit how long it may be kept and how often it may be shown. So our payment provider shows it only a limited number of times, and then deletes it:
- Each card's security code can be shown up to 10 times, sometimes fewer. Every time you open the card while the code is available counts as one, including opening it with Next room or opening it again later. Treat the first view as the one to use.
- The code is only kept for a limited time. It's deleted when that time is up, whether or not anyone has viewed it.
So open each card when you're ready to key it in, and enter the code then rather than reopening the card later. The window reminds you: "This view is recorded, and the security code can only be shown a limited number of times — please key it in now rather than reopening this later."
If the security code isn't shown
Sometimes the card opens without its security code, and the window says "The security code is no longer available for this card — contact the housing team if your system requires one." That happens when the code has already been shown as many times as allowed, its time has run out, or it was never stored with the card.
- Key in the rest of the card (number, name and expiry). Many systems can hold a card without the code.
- If your system or policy needs the code, contact the housing company with the room's reservation code. They can ask the guest to add the card again, which comes with a fresh code, and the new card appears under View card.
- Or collect the code, or another form of payment, from the guest at check-in, as you normally would.
Don't ask the guest to email or text you the code.
Never write a card down or send it on
- Key the card into your PMS and nowhere else.
- Don't write it down, print it, photograph it or paste it into a spreadsheet.
- Never email, text or message a card to anyone, including the housing company or another hotel. If someone else needs it, they should open it in the portal themselves.
What the Card column can show
- View card: a card is on file and ready to open.
- Card to follow: the guest has only given a card for the ITS booking fee so far. The card for your stay hasn't been added yet. Check back, or ask the housing company.
- Pending: the card is still being stored by our payment provider. Try again shortly.
- None: there's no card on this room. Ask the housing company, or collect payment at check-in as you normally would.
- On file or Seen by the hotel, with no View card button: there's a card, but it expires before the stay. Contact the housing company.
- Replaced or Disposed of: that card is no longer available. Cards are deleted some time after the event.
If something goes wrong
- "That card has not finished being stored yet." Wait a few minutes and try again. If it keeps happening, contact the housing company.
- "That card is no longer valid for these dates." The card expires before the stay. Contact the housing company so they can ask the guest for another card.
- "The secure card viewer is unavailable right now." Our payment provider couldn't be reached. Try again shortly.
- The card is declined when you charge or authorize it. Contact the housing company. They'll ask the guest to put a different card on the room. As soon as the guest does, View card opens the new one. You can also ask the guest for payment at check-in, as you normally would.