Weather the Storm: How Weatherplus™ Is Changing What Travel Businesses Can Offer at Checkout

Every travel business knows the feeling. A customer hesitates at checkout; not because the destination isn't perfect, or the price isn't right, but because they're staring at a TV report or a long-range forecast and quietly wondering: what if it rains or storms? That moment of doubt costs the industry billions every year in abandoned bookings, last-minute cancellations, and the kind of post-trip disappointment that never makes it into a five-star review.

 

Weatherplus™ is built for exactly that moment. Delivered as part of the Axcess Payment Gateway, Weatherplus™ is a fully integrated, weather-triggered payment feature that travel merchants can offer their customers at the point of checkout. No separate platform, no additional claims process, no complexity for the customer or the operator. When adverse weather is recorded during a protected booking period, eligible customers receive an automatic payment of up to £1,000 per day (up to £10,000 per booking period) issued directly to their bank account, usually by the next working day, without them ever having to lift a finger.

It is not insurance. There is no claim to file. There is no form to complete. The weather is monitored continuously by Poncho, a specialist meteorological data provider using satellite imagery, radar data and internationally recognised measurement systems. If rainfall exceeds a pre-set trigger, by example; if precipitation exceeds 1.5mm or wind speeds pass 39km/h for a cumulative period of between 1 and 3 hours (the time depends on the exact location and dates) between 9am and 7pm local time, the trigger is met  and payment is initiated automatically.

For travel product buyers, this is a genuinely differentiated offering. The ability to embed a weather guarantee directly into the booking journey, positioned as naturally as seat upgrades or baggage protection, addresses one of the most persistent friction points in travel e-commerce. Research from Weatherplus' s weather analytics partners suggests that up to 48% of hesitant bookers may be more likely to complete a purchase when a weather guarantee is available at checkout. That is not a marginal improvement. That is a structural shift in conversion.

The use cases are broad. Weatherplus™ is available to Axcess-integrated merchants across travel agencies, OTAs, hotels, resorts, campsites, cruise operators, golf courses, outdoor attractions, event organisers, and festival ticketing platforms. It covers bookings made for destinations across the United Kingdom, Europe, and countries bordering the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas and can be applied to trips of between one and 21 days, booked between 14 days and  12 months in advance. With the ability to repeat the offer within this window.

Critically, the product is designed so that customers can still enjoy their trip in full. Weatherplus™ pays alongside the experience, not instead of it. Customers keep their booking, enjoy their holiday or event, and receive compensation automatically if the weather falls short. For merchants, that means fewer cancellation requests, stronger post-trip sentiment, and a differentiated value proposition that doesn't require renegotiating your core product.

Weatherplus™ has been assessed and approved under Consumer Duty as delivering fair value to customers with transparent, fixed pricing, no hidden charges, and a playout structure that is objectively triggered and independently verified. The product is distributed exclusively through Axcess merchants, with all consumer-facing wording controlled centrally to ensure consistency and compliance across every channel.

In an industry where differentiation is hard and customer loyalty is harder, Weatherplus™ offers something rare: a product that genuinely solves a customer problem, integrates cleanly into existing infrastructure, and supports commercial outcomes at the same time.

The question isn't whether weather affects your customers' bookings. It does. The question is whether your checkout is working as hard as it could to protect them — and you — when it does.

Weatherplus™ is available to eligible Axcess merchants in travel, hospitality and events. To explore how Weatherplus™ can be integrated into your checkout journey, contact the Axcess team