Expedia has revealed that it will now allow its 700,000+ accommodations to be booked with digital currency payments via Travala.com, a crypto hotel booking platform.
Travala.com’s management confirmed on July 6, 2020 that the company had added Expedia’s accommodations to its crypto-powered travel platform’s existing 2 million+ options (available in most countries).
Alfonso Paredes, the Senior VP at Expedia Group, noted that the company is planning to further expand Travala.com’s business. He also mentioned that it’s important to be aware of the latest trends and innovations, which includes giving users the option to use their preferred payment method.
Travala.com will be working with Expedia Partner Solutions (EPS), a subsidiary of Expedia that has allowed Travala to access its Rapid API. The crypto travel booking firm is using the API to offer Expedia’s accommodations to its customers.
In November 2019, Travala.com teamed up with Booking.com by adding the company’s 90,000+ accommodations to its platform. Booking.com claims that its revenue increased by 33% after it had partnered with Travala.
In May 2020, Travala merged its services TravelByBit, another cryptocurrency flight booking service. The companies decided to work together so that they could provide the best services to people who want to pay for their travel expenses using cryptocurrencies.
In January 2020, Travala quickly surpassed its £200,000 funding target through its Crowdcube campaign.
Travala’s management had noted (earlier this year):
“We aim to be 15% cheaper than the rest of the market, travellers can use 21 different cryptocurrencies in addition to credit/debit cards to pay for accommodation bookings on the website, whilst having the option of earning real-world valued rewards with every booking.”
Travala noted that it generates revenue from multiple areas including booking commission at 5% to 16% of the booking value, listing fees for cryptocurrencies, and business and corporate accounts.
Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com announced in February 2020 that it had partnered with hotel booking platform Travala. Through the partnership, Travala is accepting CRO, the Crypto.com Coin, along with Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), Ethereum (ETH) and XRP through Crypto.com Pay.
Notably, Expedia and Travala.com have not discussed how their business has been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. However, the travel industry has taken a major hit due to the pandemic as most flights and travel bookings have been cancelled. It’s unclear how these businesses plan to maintain operations during these uncertain times.