Only five years ago, transactions made with cryptocurrencies began to enter the tourism industry for the payment of flight reservations and hotel accommodation, among other services.
2018 is the great year of blockchain technology and a large number of companies that participate in the sector are adopting this new technology and accepting crypto currencies as a payment alternative.
In this context, from LookOut Pro we have carried out an analysis of the companies to show some of the sites that offer alternative payment options to traditional methods:
CheapAir
CheapAir is an online travel agency based in California that was founded in 1989. It became one of the first travel agencies to accept cryptocurrencies as an alternative form of payment in November 2013.
Users can book flights from anywhere in the world to any destination with most leading airlines. It also offers hotel accommodation and car rentals during your trip, all paid with Bitcoin. However, in April of this year, it experienced some problems due to the recent decision from Coinbase to no longer support custodial solutions for merchants.
Jeff Klee, CheapAir’s founder and CEO, and self-described lover of cryptocurrencies, addressed users through the company’s corporate blog to explain the difficulties this situation is creating and asked them if they would be willing to use BIP-70 wallets to use BitPay as a processor. CheapAir also plans to begin accepting other currencies such as Bitcoin Cash, Dash and Litecoin.
Everything seems to indicate that this will be the alternative to choose from, as Klee said in the blog post, CheapAir is already testing these cryptocurrencies. The company’s idea is to continue offering digital payment options, as Klee believes it to be an easy, convenient and secure way to book flights.
Destinia
Destinia is an online travel agency that adopted the new payment technology in 2014. Ian Webber and the current CEO, Amuda Goueli set up the Spanish company back in 2001, and it expanded rapidly at an international level.
Destina accepts Bitcoin payments as long as the services or products are purchased directly through its website, but this does not include cruises, car rental and some hotels that only accept payment at reception, or flights where the airline only accepts credit card payments.
The website shows the price of flights and itineraries in thousandths of a bitcoin or mili-bitcoin (mBTC) as it believes this makes the process more user-friendly and more convenient when showing prices. Destina also provides a guide explaining what a Bitcoin is and how to book and pay from its website with cryptocurrency, and the exchange rate is set through BitPay’s Bitcoin Best Bid.
Expedia
This is one of the largest and most popular travel agencies in the world and part of the Expedia Group since 1996. The group partnered with Coinbase in 2014 to facilitate the purchase of bitcoins for reservations and also for buying flight tickets and booking accommodation when travelling.
Announcing that the company was accepting bitcoin, Expedia’s VP of Global Product, Michael Gulmann, said the company was now in a very unique position as one of the leading online travel agencies embracing the latest payment technologies and helping to solve travel planning and booking for customers and partners.
Expedia users simply choose a flight, hotel or car rental service on the company’s platform and then pay with bitcoin.
However, there are particular terms for paying with bitcoins that are listed on a specific terms and conditions page, where Expedia explains how Coinbase facilitates payments and asks customers to complete the transaction in less than 10 minutes as the cryptocurrency is volatile and exchange rates may vary.
It also highlights the fact that virtual currency transactions are irreversible and outlines the refund policies and commissions the Bitcoin platform charges for miners.
TravelForCoins
TravelForCoins is a website created in California in 2013 with the vision of expanding the usability of Bitcoin in the tourism market.
The company’s founders Aaron Soleimani and Riley Alexander are extremely passionate about the use and future of digital currency. Riley is also said to be the founder of ForCoins LLC, a company that includes PizzaForCoins.com, TravelForCoins.com and GiftsForCoins.com, which all accept bitcoins as a transaction currency. The group announced on its website that HotelsForCoins.com has also joined the group.
The TravelForCoins concept is simple: book a flight or a hotel room and pay in bitcoins. It only accepts Bitcoin for booking airline tickets and hotel rooms, and transactions are made through Expedia’s online platform.
AbitSky
ABitSky is a Lithuanian company for booking flights, hotels and renting cars that’s part of the UAB Interneto Partneris enterprise. It began operations in Lithuania in 2002 and currently offers booking services internationally.
It’s now present in several countries through several Internet domains such as Fly.ge in Georgia, Hotflug.de in Germany, Flysiesta.es in Spain and Flysiesta in Italy, among others.
AbitSky accepts payments in Bitcoin, and its website lists flight prices in BTC. The procedure is carried out through Bitpay or Coinbase.
BTCTrip
BTCTrip is a New York-based company set up by Yamil Alis and Martin Fernández in 2013 that allows users to pay in Bitcoin and has also been accepting Dogecoin and Litecoin since 2014. You can book flights and hotel accommodation in several destinations with BTCTrip.
According to comment on forums and social media, BTCTrip is proving to be extremely popular with Bitcoin users, and the company’s website includes testimonials from satisfied customers, including several CEOs of digital companies, executives and Bitcoin investors.
Touriscoin
13tickets.com launched Touriscoin at the beginning of the year, a cryptocurrency that is already being used in payments to access the Alhambra, thus positioning itself as a pioneer in Spain in the payment of cryptocurrencies. The ‘start up’ offers the possibility of contracting with both bitcoins and touriscoins.
Through the 13Tickets.com website, the user can select the activities he wants and pay them through these virtual currencies with the same guarantees as if he did it in cash. Among the experiences offered by the tourist ‘start up’ include visits to the Alhambra in Granada, the Cathedral of Seville, the Alcazaba de Málaga, sailing among whales in the Bay of Cádiz… Currently, the destinations that offer paid activities with the new cryptocurrencies are Madrid, Granada, Malaga, Seville or Cádiz. However, 13tickets.com will expand its offer to cities such as Barcelona, Valencia, Zaragoza, Mérida, Murcia, Cartagena, Córdoba, Bilbao and Santiago de Compostela.
