Do you fancy taking a luxury vacation? Are you a cryptocurrency fan? Well, now you can put your two loves together by paying for these luxury hotel rooms with bitcoin.
A Hotel with Bitcoin: Times Are Changing
Several hotels in Europe are now accepting digital currency as a means of paying for rooms. Vacation takes a lot of planning, and sometimes it’s easy to forget to bring cash (or to convert your cash into the fiat of the country you’re visiting). In addition, if you don’t have an American Express card or some other credit form that can be used abroad, things can get even more difficult, and do they even accept traveler’s checks anymore? Is that even a thing nowadays?
Who knows, but the point is that bitcoin and crypto, which are arguably becoming the payment methods of the future, are there for you, and hotel managers are showing great flexibility in their payment programs. One such hotel that’s willing to say “yes” to BTC is the Dolder Grand hotel, a five-star resort facility based in Zurich, Switzerland. One can utilize bitcoin to pay for several items including food, beverages, spa treatments and overnight stays.
It’s ironic that the hotel is based in Switzerland, as the country boasts some of the loosest and most open crypto rules in existence. It’s friendly nature towards digital currency has even given rise to what many analysts and fans affectionately dub “Crypto Valley,” a region within the country that plays host to several blockchain and crypto-based startups and enterprises. The name is taken from “Silicon Valley,” a region in northern California that houses some of the world’s biggest tech conglomerates including Apple, Facebook and Google.
Earlier this year, Dolder partnered with the fintech firm Inacta AG. That company later developed a mobile app that allows one to convert cryptocurrencies into Swiss francs and euros. Director of finance at Dolder Andre Meier expressed with confidence:
We believe bitcoin is here to stay. It only seems natural to offer more choices in the payment process.
At press time, Dolder-based rooms start out at roughly $796 per night.
Europe isn’t the only region making headway in this section. Canada-based hotel Sandman Hotel Group has been accepting bitcoin for room payments since early 2014, making it the “Overstock of the hotel world.” For nearly five years, the hotel has been partnered with popular U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, which processes the wallet payments so that Sandman can convert whatever currency it garners into fiat.
Playing Around with Digital Assets
Dan Simon, CEO of Vested, explained in an interview:
It’s interesting to see that it’s happening on a higher end. If you’re serious about crypto, you probably have quite a lot of money.
Interesting he would say that given crypto was initially designed for those in developing nations.