Bitcoin for Luxury Travel?
The ultimate getaway, Virgin Galactic’s ambitious expedition to outer space, will accept payment in Bitcoin. Bitcoins price shot up almost 2000% in 2017. Some forward thinking speculators have done quite well investing in the coin, including the Winklevoss twins, known for their Facebook founder fracas and for being the first Bitcoin billionaires.
You Can Buy a Trip to Space with Bitcoin
Whether nouveau riche techies or blue-bloods like the Winklevoss brothers, a thousand or so people own around 100 billion worth of Bitcoin. Sir Richard is betting these forward thinking futurists will be keen to drop some ‘coin on his upcoming sub-orbital trip, priced at around a quarter of a million dollars, or about 200 Bitcoin. For those of us planning to stay on earth, an Asia-based luxury travel agent now accepts Bitcoins.
…Or Pay for Luxury Travel with Bitcoin Here on Earth
For Thai luxury travel agency Smiling Albino, the decision to accept Bitcoins was not just a move to target a specific market or ride a wave of hype. The Bangkok based business sees Bitcoin payment as an easy solution to the problem of international payment clearing. Their decision makes them one of the first travel planning companies focusing on Southeast Asia to allow clients to pay directly with the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. The destination management company has been operating in the region for over 15 years, designing highly customized one-of-a-kind itineraries for discerning clients.
Bitcoin is More Convenient than Banks for Some Travellers
The boutique travel agent’s Director of Business Development says “Our core clients are leaders in their fields and innovators.” As such, they are more likely than most to hold Bitcoin. As noted, the cryptocurrency has a practical advantage over conventional bank transfers, which may take longer to clear and cost more. “By adapting early to cryptocurrency we hope to facilitate, for some of our clients, easy payments for on-the-fly bookings or add-ons during their trips. Staying ahead in financial transactions is just one of the many ways we show we’re leading the way in luxury travel,” elaborates Stephanie Rowe.
Most of the boutique agency’s clients are booking from outside of Thailand, often the other side of the world. Bank transfers can take several days depending on the method used, and each country and bank pairing operates a little differently. Bitcoin transfer provides a one-size-fits-all approach for clients in over 150 countries, with lower fees and, in most cases, faster transaction processing times. Smiling Albino has been accepting Bitcoin since August 1st, 2017, for all their custom trips in Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia.
Will New Cryptocurrencies Be More Popular?
Smiling Albino Marketing Manager Andrew Clark reports that around 2% of their clients have chosen to use Bitcoin in the five months the agency has been accepting the cryptocurrency. Savvy trend watcher Clark notes while Bitcoin is a first step, other cryptocurrencies may end up being more popular with travellers. “There is early speculation that 2018 will be the year where alternative cyptocurrencies are adopted more widely. We are watching closely and may add other currencies to our payment policy. As Bitcoin becomes more popular, fees and transfer times have increased, leading some to believe Bitcoin may become a place to store crypto value while using smaller purchases of alternative coins to actually use for payment transactions.“
Bitcoin on the Rise in Asia…
Japan has taken major steps to embrace Bitcoin. The Japan-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitpoint has partnered with Nippon Pay to allow the mobile payment networks users to pay all kinds of bills with Bitcoin. Nippon Pay has deals to pass Bitcoin payments to Wechat Pay, Alipay, and Unionpay as well. Businesses are moving to provide similar services in Thailand, South Korea, and Taiwan.
…and Growing Acceptance of Bitcoin in the World Travel Market
Between two and four million people own $200 or more worth of Bitcoins and a handful of online travel retailers are reaching out to this market. Online travel giant Expedia accepts Bitcoin. Currently, they only allow users to pay in Bitcoin for hotels. Flights and car rentals are not available. Their smaller Spanish competitor Destinia, on the other hand, does allow customers to pay for flights, car rentals, and hotels in Bitcoin. Latvian national airline Air Baltic and Japanese airline Peach Aviation both accept Bitcoin as well.
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