Another step towards mass adoption of cryptocurrencies was made on March 27 when Bitrefill, a Sweden-based firm providing digital gift cards and mobile phone refills, added an option to make Airbnb reservations with cryptocurrency.
Airbnb is the world’s largest community-driven hospitality company, offering short-term accommodations to travelers around the world. Now, for the first time ever, residents of the United States can use cryptocurrency to pay for Airbnb stays of less than 28 days.
Finally, our most-requested product is here! Rent your next #AirBnB with crypto!!!https://t.co/JAEUOmnGea#Bitcoin #Ethereum #Dash #Litecoin #Dogecoin pic.twitter.com/AOHmXUkCok
— Bitrefill (@bitrefill) March 27, 2019
Pay for Airbnb Bookings With 5 Different Cryptocurrencies
Per the announcement, Bitrefill enables customers to pay for Airbnb bookings with Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Dash (DASH), Litecoin (LTC), and Dogecoin (DOGE). However, the service is technically a voucher product, meaning customers cannot pay with cryptocurrencies directly.
Instead, customers must purchase vouchers from Bitrefill in $25, $50, and $100 increments with crypto. They will then receive a voucher code that can be used on the Airbnb platform. Therefore, Airbnb is not accepting or handling any cryptocurrency.
In addition to the Airbnb crypto gift cards offered by Bitrefill, the company also offers crypto gift cards that can be redeemed with a number of other merchants, including Netflix, Hulu, eBay, Amazon, and others.
Cryptocurrency and the Travel Industry
For whatever reason, a large part of cryptocurrency adoption is happening in the travel industry. Perhaps it’s because crypto investors enjoy spending their profits on recreation, or maybe because they travel the world to attend different crypto conferences.
Nevertheless, cryptocurrency adoption has been gradually permeating the travel space. As previously reported by IIB, Japan’s largest railway company, JR East will soon enable Japanese commuters and tourists alike to pay for their journeys with a variety of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.
Another country adopting cryptocurrency for commuting is Argentina, which is purportedly allowing residents to top up their public transport card SUBE (Sistema Único de Boleto Electrónico) with Bitcoin (BTC).
Apart from the crypto adoption developments in the travel industry mentioned above, numerous other developments have taken place as well, including the ability to book flights with Bitcoin through BTCtrip, CheapAir, SurfAir. At this rate, the travel industry is looking to be fully crypto-functional by the time other industries are just starting to dip their toes in.
What other crypto adoptions in the travel industry do you know about? Let us know in the comment section below.
