Travala.com, the cryptocurrency travel website, saw a 45.8% increase in the total number of rooms booked in May compared to April. While the platform is seeing more traction compared to April, May also saw a 60% decrease in rooms booked compared to March.
Juan Otero, the CEO of Travala.com, said that the platform is seeing more use as the rest of the travel industry, as he explained that domestic travel is seeing growth as the restrictions are being lifted.
He added:
“We’re fortunate to see our users coming back as soon as they have the opportunity to travel again, even if it is just locally or for short weekends nearby. […] The increase is mainly driven by domestic travel.”
However, data shared by Travala.com also shows that 60% of the bookings made through the platform in May were paid for in cryptocurrency.
#Travala sees 200% boost in booking revenue despite Covid-19. Organic traffic jumps 370% with brand performance Up 200% 16% of all bookings in May were paid in $AVA, making it the second preferred crypto payment option behind #Bitcoinhttps://t.co/lDgvNgebwP — Travala.com ✈️ 🏨 (@travalacom) June 1, 2020
It has been analyzed that Bitcoin (BTC) was used for 21% of the payments, the firm’s AVA token for 16%, 23% used other crypto assets.
Also, Otero explained that people are apparently more open to spending cryptocurrency now than before. In fact, he said that there has been a sharp increase in crypto payments on the platform.
He stated:
“Over 60% of our bookings are paid in crypto so we have seen a huge increase in the volume of travel bookings paid with crypto. I believe it’s not just because crypto adoption is growing every day but also because we have built a platform that allows people to pay with [with crypto while removing] a lot of the friction.”
https://t.co/wUzx09XGQ1, a crypto travel website, saw a 46% increase in booked accommodation nights in March despite the pandemic https://t.co/upb9hE56Jr — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) June 1, 2020
As per the report, only 40% of payments on Travala.com in May used credit cards or PayPal.
Otero explained that he believes Travala.com would not have grown as much if it supported fiat payments only, as he said that the platform’s crypto features play an important role in its business.
He further said:
“We appeal to a market that has been neglected in travel but is also growing really fast, the crypto enthusiastic so this is helping us grow faster than other [online travel agencies] that rely just on traditional markets.”
As it has been reported in late May, Travala.com merged with TravelByBit to expand its features from allowing paying for travel accommodations with crypto to also facilitate flight booking with cryptocurrencies.
Also, the firm had partnered with online hotel giant Booking.com, as the partnership allows Travala.com users to book any accommodation that’s present on Booking.com through the platform.
Thus, the company revealed that after the partnership, it saw its revenue grow by over 33.5% month-on-month.
Source: Cointelegraph | Image: WeTravel