Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb has hinted that the popular travel home-booking company may soon accept crypto payments based on a recent Twitter poll.
Chesky Says Users Want Crypto
A growing number of businesses are making crypto payment available to their customers. However, some businesses are taking an unusual approach to cryptocurrency adoption.
The #1 feature users are requesting in 2022, according to Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, is the feature to pay for bookings in cryptocurrencies.
“If Airbnb could launch anything in 2022, what would it be?” Chesky tweeted over the weekend.
Two days later, he revealed the list of the the top six suggestions out of roughly 4,000 received.
Got 4,000 suggestions. Here are the top 6:
1 – Crypto payments (top suggestion)2 – Clear pricing displays3 – Guest loyalty program4 – Updated cleaning fees5 – More long-term stays & discounts6 – Better customer service
Already working on most, will look into others now! https://t.co/rxEM4BXZci
— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) January 5, 2022
Clear pricing displays, a guest loyalty program, updated cleaning fees, more long-term stays and discounts, better customer service, and “commercial spaces (kitchens, co-working)” are among the other top proposals. The CEO of Airbnb specifically confirmed that the company is looking into commercial spaces, saying:
“Already working on most, will look into others now.”
Some governments ban foreign transfers, according to one person who suggested crypto. As a result, he relies on digital currencies. “We are looking into this.” Chesky replied.
In the travel sector, Airbnb maintains an online marketplace. There are already over 5.6 million listings worldwide, according to the company’s website. Airbnb has served over 1 billion clients since its inception in 2007, and over 4 million hosts have listed their properties on the marketplace.
In most countries, Airbnb accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and JCB as payment methods. Also accepted are Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Paypal. Airbnb presently does not accept cryptocurrency as a payment method.
Airbnb will join the ranks of Tesla and AMC, among others, in accepting cryptocurrency as payment if the popular recommendation is implemented.
BTC/USD slumps to $42k. Source: TradingView
Related article | IPO Windfalls from Airbnb Could Boost Bitcoin: DCG CEO
Airbnb Rival Already Into Crypto Pay
While Airbnb is just getting started with crypto pay, DTravel, a decentralized home-sharing platform made that possible in 2021
The platform is integrated into the Travala.com. This is managed by users holding the DTravel (TRVL) token, which is backed by Binance.
Customers may book 250,000 homes using cryptocurrency. With a global network of 20,000 homes, the TRVL token can be used to book homes. The TRVL token is listed on exchanges such as MEXC Global, Bybit, Gate, and KuCoin.
Airbnb has been considering crypto pay for quite sometime too. “We have been following the space for quite a long time,” Chesky said, noting that “the founder of Coinbase was an early employee of ours.”
“The key is when regular people understand how the new technology improved their lives, beyond the initial excitement,” the CEO added. “I’m particularly enthusiastic about several applications that ordinary people could utilize to improve their daily lives.”
Related article | Dtravel Home-Sharing Platform Arrives on MEXC Global & Bybit Launchpad
Featured Image from Shutterstock, Charts from TradingView.com
