The crypto-friendly company Travala, specialized in travel bookings, now offers reservations to more than 700,000 Expedia Group accommodations and hotels. Bookings through the company can be paid with more than 30 cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin also in the count. This became possible after a partnership has been established between Expedia Partner Solutions (EPS) and Travala.
Despite the outbreak of COVID-19, Travala registered a 170% spike in booking revenue from its 2 million locations in 230 countries. The new addition of 700,000 properties (ranging between over 35 property types) is spread among more than 35,000 worldwide destinations.
Among many other cryptocurrencies, such as BTC, ETH, BNB, NEO, BCH, Travala.com accepts payments with its native coin AVA. Expedia also accepted BTC payments on its website in the past. However, the company removed that payment option in June 2018.
Travala’s CEO Juan Otero noted that the goal of the company is to ensure transparency of pricing and a wide-range payment choice. He also praised EPS Rapid as the best API product used in the travel industry.
Last week Travala announced that their native coin AVA has been added on the point of sale (POS) system of Travelbybit. This means the cryptocurrency can now be used at over 500 merchants all across Australia. Very recently, in May, Travala merged with Travelbybit, enjoying backing from Binance.
In the company’s June report, Travala reveals its overall revenue from bookings – $184,296, a rise of over 170% from May. In total, 59% of the bookings were paid using one of the many cryptocurrency options. Of the cryptocurrency payments, 21% were made with Bitcoin. “The desire for traveling is returning”, Otero stated after the release of the company’s report.
