Crypto-native travel agency Travala.com has integrated with booking giant Skyscanner, making it easier than ever before to discover and book over 2.2 million hotels using cryptocurrency.
The integration means that Skyscanner – a travel agency and search aggregator used by over 110 million people each month – will now list Travala’s vast inventory, where accommodation, flights and activities can be booked using over 100 supported digital assets.
Serving the Evolving Needs of Travelers
Already integrated with leading travel domains like Booking.com and Expedia, Skyscanner has made Travala its first crypto-native integration, reflecting the growing trend of tourists using digital currencies to pay for hotels, flights and other travel services.
“This collaboration with Travala.com underscores our commitment to offering diverse, cutting-edge solutions that cater to the evolving needs of travelers,” said Skyscanner’s Head of Hotels Sanja Vukik.
“By integrating Skyscanner’s market-leading search capabilities with Travala.com’s crypto-native platform, we’re making travel planning more accessible and flexible for the growing number of travelers who prefer alternative payment methods.”
The search capabilities to which Vukik refers are extremely powerful: Skyscanner users perform around 80 billion searches every single day. Getting in front of such a large user base is a major coup for Travala.com, a platform that incentivizes users to book hotels, flights and activities by offering them discounts and crypto rewards.
“Visibility is a crucial component of mass crypto adoption,” observes Travala.com CEO Juan Otero. “By displaying Travala.com on one of the world’s most popular travel marketplaces in Skyscanner, we’re demonstrating the utility of crypto and showcasing it as an available option from the moment travelers make their very first search.”
Travel Tokens
While many regard cryptocurrencies as speculative investments, platforms like Travala believe the monetary utility of such assets means that users will want to spend them. Founded in 2017, the travel booking service supports leading digital currencies like bitcoin and ethereum as well as US-pegged stablecoins and even memecoins like SHIB and PEPE. For those who prefer to deal in fiat rather than tokens, traditional payment options are also supported.
In recent years, Travala.com has promoted the use of its own rewards token, $AVA, which can be used to cover booking costs and trigger additional discounts. Its Travel Tiger NFT membership program, meanwhile, compels users to lock up (stake) $AVA tokens to gain access to travel perks like airport lounge entry and concierge services.
