KEY POINTS
Travala.com partnered with Expedia Partner
Solutions to bring Expedia listings to the former's crypto-friendly travel
booking site
More than 700,000 accommodations can now be
for paid using cryptocurrency like Bitcoin and Binance Coin
Reports suggested resurging interest among
people to travel despite the pandemic
Travala.com has announced a partnership with
Expedia’s subsidiary Expedia Partner Solutions (EPS) to allow users to book
Expedia’s over 700,000 accommodations using cryptocurrency via the former's
crypto-friendly travel booking platform.
Users can now book trips and hotel
accommodations using cryptocurrencies supported by Travala.com, including
Bitcoin, Ethereum, Binance Coin and AVA, the site’s native crypto token.
Travala.com said it has access to two million
hotels in 230 countries. EPS’ Rapid API made it possible for Travala.com to
directly list Expedia’s bookings in its own platform. According to its founder,
Juan Otera, EPS Rapid allows the platform to unlock more accommodation choices
and availability for its users.
“With cryptocurrency adoption on the rise, we
want to ensure our users have payment choice and transparent pricing for every
trip booked,” Otero added in a statement.
Despite the ongoing threat of COVID-19, Otero
is confident in the future of travel. He cited internal data that showed an 81%
increase in room nights booked as well as 51% increase in Travala.com’s website
traffic every week.
“Working with Expedia means we can drive
traveler loyalty throughout the recovery period,” he shared.
Reports from the New York Times and CNBC also
suggested resurging interest to travel despite the pandemic. However, airline
companies did admit to CNBC demand improvement is just moderate and nowhere
near the levels logged last year.
With travel in decline, Expedia is one of the
companies hit the hardest by the pandemic. The company was also a partner to a
recent advertising campaign that urged users to check out popular summer
destinations in the United States. Citing data from the Travel Intentions Pulse
Survey, 39% of U.S. travelers seek to take leisure trips in the next six months
within the country.
Travala.com recently merged with TravelByBit,
another cryptocurrency booking platform that is backed by Crypto exchange
Binance. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao noted both Travala.com and TravelbyBit’s
are important in driving crypto utility.
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