Airbnb to start accepting cryptocurrency. It may soon join the increasing list of businesses that take cryptocurrency as payment for services.
“Crypto payments” topped the list of options, indicating that many individuals want to be able to book an Airbnb accommodation with digital assets.
Clear pricing displays, a guest loyalty program, updated cleaning fees, greater long-term stays and discounts, and better customer service are among the top six recommendations.
Airbnb to start accepting cryptocurrency
Airbnb, the online accommodation marketplace, may accept Bitcoin payments in the near future. The most common request for this year, according to CEO Brian Chesky, is to book lodgings using cryptocurrency.
Got 4,000 suggestions. Here are the top 6:
1 – Crypto payments (top suggestion)
2 – Clear pricing displays
3 – Guest loyalty program
4 – Updated cleaning fees
5 – More long-term stays & discounts
6 – Better customer serviceAlready working on most, will look into others now! https://t.co/rxEM4BXZci
— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) January 5, 2022
On January 3rd, Chesky asked his Twitter followers for Airbnb-related suggestions. After sifting through thousands of tweets, he came to the conclusion that crypto was clearly in the lead. After that, clear pricing displays, a guest loyalty program, updated cleaning fees, and improved customer service will be implemented.
Chesky claims to have seen a wide range of token concepts, implying that Airbnb’s future cryptocurrency payment options will not be restricted to just one or two tokens.
According to him, since 2013, Airbnb has received $336 billion in payments. At the moment, Airbnb accepts Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal.
“We get a lot of requests, I’ve been getting it for years, I have nothing to announce on it today,” Chesky told Fox Business in September.
To stay successful in the future, the company declared in its first public offering (IPO) prospectus that it needed to adapt to cutting-edge technology like cryptocurrencies and blockchain. ChangeTip, a Bitcoin tipping service, was purchased by the world’s largest rental marketplace in 2016.
It’s worth remembering that Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who is also one of the world’s wealthiest people, used to work for Airbnb.
In the face of decentralized blockchain-based competitors like Dtravel, a vacation rental service built by Travala.com, Airbnb’s recent move to crypto comes as a surprise.
In an IPO filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Airbnb showed interest in the use of emerging technologies such as tokenization, cryptocurrencies, and other blockchain-based applications (SEC).
In 2016, the online rental marketplace purchased ChangeTip, a Bitcoin tipping service.
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