Expedia and Travala.com announced their new partnership on Monday.

Travala.com is a blockchain-based, crypto-friendly travel booking platform with access to over 2 million hotels in 230 countries. In a partnership with Expedia Partner Solutions announced Monday, more than 700,000 Expedia group accommodations can now be booked by travelers on Travala.com. (blog.travala.com)

Users on Travala.com are free to pay for these Expedia bookings in any of 30 cryptocurrencies. These include Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Binance Coin (BNB), and AVA, a cryptocurrency launched by Travala.com. Payments through traditional methods are also accepted.

The Expedia group has made these bookings possible through its Rapid API.

Travala.com: Cryptocurrency adoption on the rise

“With cryptocurrency adoption on the rise, we want to ensure our users have payment choice and transparent pricing for every trip booked,” said Juan Otero, CEO, and Co-founder. “EPS Rapid is the best API product in the travel industry and this partnership unlocks greater accommodation choice and availability for our users, including 4- and 5-star hotels in top destinations.”

Travel making a comeback after COVID

According to data from Travala.com, people are increasingly returning to travel. The site reported an 81% jump in room nights booked as per its latest month on month data. Moreover, website traffic surged 50% week on week.

The tie-up with Expedia follows the November deal with Booking.com

In November 2019, Travala.com signed a strategic partnership agreement with Booking.com. As above, travelers booking trips on booking.com through Travala.com are able to pay with cryptocurrencies as well as additional methods.

“Booking.com has recognized the value in making its vast portfolio of properties available to the growing blockchain and cryptocurrency markets,” the company said at the time. “Such a move by Booking.com is a sign that we are close to seeing the industry’s acceptance of cryptocurrencies as a standard form of payment for travel bookings.”

May merger with TravelByBit

In May, Travala.com merged with TravelByBit, a cryptocurrency-friendly flight booking portal. TravelByBit is backed by Binance, the global blockchain company behind the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

In the first instance, the companies agreed to cross-market each other’s travel offerings. At a later date, there would be a full integration between the two businesses.

The combined entity would become one of the largest online travel agencies in the world with over 2 million hotels and 600 airlines.

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