1. INTRODUCTION In recent years, experts have expressed alarm at the increase in Internet privacy violations and cyberattacks on e-commerce systems, especially in the hospitality industry. “In 2011, Trustwave SpiderLabs conducted 42% more data breach investigations than the previous year. Over 85% of these data breaches occurred in the food and beverage, retail and hospitality industries.” (Savitz & Percoco, 2012). It seems logical that any company understands that building a secure business is important for long-term success. (Vacca, 2012). E-commerce as a catalyst has led to the diversification and availability of various electronic means of payment. It is therefore necessary for an emerging e-commerce business to keep up with the trend of convenience by making various payment options available. The growth of e-commerce and the sophistication of web solutions in recent years has led to an increase in online bookings made via hotel websites. These hotels not only use the Internet to facilitate guest bookings, but also to engage customers in loyalty programs. With all the promises ahead, international hotel groups need to make sure they take steps to protect these new payment channels. (Ilori, Payment Security: Security Options, 2013). Using the Internet to connect with and engage customers in loyalty programs is a subset of social commerce. “In this new way of doing commerce mediated by social media, both companies and consumers benefit. Consumers make informed decisions based on information not only from companies but also from other consumers.” (Shadkam & O'Hara, 2013) This paper explores the security and payment issues faced by e-commerce companies in the hospitality industry. Uses...... half of the document......t.net/hub/233979/file-61930032-pdf/Content/The-state-of-mobile-commerce-in-retail.pdfTiggas, MS ( 2012, March 13). Mobile commerce: leading the way in a rapidly changing world. Retrieved from ISO News: http://www.iso.org/iso/home/news_index/news_archive/news.htm?refid=Ref1535Turban, E., Lee, J.K., King, D., McKay, J., and Marshall, P. (2008). E-commerce: A managerial perspective [electronic version] (5th ed.). Prentice Hall.Turban, E., Lee, J., Warketin, M., & Chung, M. (2002). Electronic commerce: a managerial perspective. Prentice Hall. Vacca, J. R. (2012). Computer and information security handbook [electronic version] (2nd ed.). Morgan Kaufmann.Wunsch-Vincent, S., & Vickery, G. (2007). Participatory web and user-created content: Web 2.0, Wiki and social networks. Paris, France. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from www.oecd.org/dataoecd/57/14/38393115.pdf‎