4 Companies Using Blockchain to Change Travel

Blockchain is a type of database that is commonly used in the cryptocurrency market wherein data is stored in blocks and then chained together. It is emerging as a powerful technological force that promises to change the travel industry’s status quo. In fact, it’s already being heralded as a game-changer for many other industries.

Travel and tourism is a very fragmented industry because the sector is broken up into different parts. Think flights, lodging, car and equipment rentals, entertainment, and more. So, how can blockchain help? The following service providers have resolved some common challenges and streamlined processes while building a more equitable ecosystem that shuns gatekeepers. 

The technology’s impact is more than hypothetical, though, with several businesses disrupting nodes within the industry’s supply chain. These companies are improving key aspects of the travel ecosystem and establishing blockchain’s place in the industry.  

1. Travala: Reducing Costs for All Parties

Travala is a travel booking service that uses blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies to bypass traditional banking. It uses services provided by Reap, a payment solutions provider. The AVA Foundation developed the token and blockchain Travala uses to increase the value of discounts, loyalty rewards, and other benefits offered to AVA token owners.

Travala claims to have access to 2.2 million properties, 400,000 activities, and more than 600 airlines globally, providing more than enough options for travelers comfortable with purchasing AVA, loading their account, and using it to book travel arrangements.

Travala accepts about 130 cryptocurrencies and has a non-fungible token (NFT) membership program. To gain access to the Travel Tiger NFT, you lock up (stake) 2,500 AVA and are granted access to airport lounges, discounts, concierge services, and other bonuses.

2. Webjet: Adding Assurances and Avoiding Inaccuracies

Inaccurate or lost hotel bookings add considerable stress and anxiety to a travel experience. When this happens, customers usually have to take on fees across several layers of the supply chain while providers consistently extract value. 

Thanks to blockchain’s immutable distributed ledger technology, Webjet has built a new model designed to avoid these irritating booking experiences. The company is a prominent online travel agency based in Australia and was founded in 1998. Webjet claims to be Australia and New Zealand’s leading online agency and a leader in online tools and technology.

Webjet officially launched its blockchain platform in 2019. The system enhances the customer experience by recording all entries on the blockchain’s immutable ledger, which reduces the likelihood of mistaken or lost bookings and reduces the layers between sellers and consumers. It does this by locating real-time data problems that may occur between customers, agents, and hotels and sending messages to every party.

The technology’s improved security features provide better protection for the ecosystem. Apart from building greater supply chain efficiencies and reducing hotel costs, travelers ultimately benefit from lower-cost bookings along with more transparency and greater accountability.

3. Accenture: Striving Towards Shorter Lines

Spending hours waiting in lines at airports is one of the major annoyances of traveling the globe, not just for travelers but also for airlines and airport staff. Congestion can add to the time spent in lines for security, customs, and passport control. Security needs are also trumpeted as the reason for tighter controls and oversight, all contributing to frequent travelers’ headaches.

To overcome these challenges and expedite the security process, Accenture (ACN) developed the Known Traveler Digital Identity System. The consulting firm partnered with the World Economic Forum (WEF) to help disrupt the global travel industry.

This blockchain is designed to collect and host identifying information from frequent international travelers, enabling a freer flow of data between travelers and customs agents to ease the clearance process.

This allows travelers to gain control over their digital identities with better security thanks to distributed ledger technology. Airports and airlines benefit from accelerated processing and better security, helping shorten lines all while alleviating one of the biggest traveler pain points.

4. Life: Creating Liquidity in Travel Bookings

Life is a blockchain-enabled secondary market for traveling. It started with hotel bookings, creating non-fungible tokens that represent a room reservation. Life is owned by Life Group Holdings Inc, based in San Francisco, CA. It was founded by Eduardo Ibanez in 2022 and provides blockchain-based travel reservation services.

The company aggregates hotel openings and event tickets and makes them available to consumers. Non-refundable, non-fungible tokens are created for reservations. While this might not sound intriguing to travelers who want to be able to get a refund if their plans change, they are able to post the tokens in a marketplace for other travelers to purchase.

This creates a secondary market for travelers looking for events and lodging—but even more interesting is the other opportunities it creates. Hotel bookings, airline reservations, event tickets, and more can be tokenized and resold via a marketplace; travel market liquidity is likely to be the result of this endeavor as investors realize they can purchase travel-related bookings and hold them for price appreciation when demand for the bookings rise. For instance, someone who purchases reservations at a hotel that is popular with concert-goers can reserve the rooms for concert days and sell them at a premium when demand is up.

The Bottom Line

Traveling should be comfortable, cost-effective, and, most importantly, enjoyable. While fees, booking irregularities, bad reviews, and long lines may be symptomatic of the current travel environment, blockchain is providing a way for companies to address these ever-present issues and modernize travel experiences.

Thanks to the formation of more equitable ecosystems constructed to reduce the presence of intermediaries, travelers and service providers can build more mutually fulfilling relationships that contribute to improved value for both.