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Dtravel platform, backed by the largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, was launched on June 16. Travellers can make their bookings through Dtravel and can pay in cryptocurrencies. The service will be launched on the Travala.com platform.
Now people who wish to travel post covid can do so by booking their stay via Dtravel after 16th June. The payment for the travel can be made through cryptocurrency, of its kind services that Dtravel has started.
Dtravel is a travel booking site backed by the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance is all set to launch a decentralized blockchain-based platform. It will be a competitor to Airbnb. The service will be available on the Travala.com platform. It will offer hosts and guests a decentralized platform to rent out rooms and homes similarly to Airbnb’s core business.
Juan Otero, Travala.com CEO and Co-founder has informed that the users can pay via cryptocurrency or TRVL token. Dtravel was launched on Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain on June 16.
Giving stiff competition to Airbnb services, Dtravel will also be focusing on homes, which will be integrated on the Travala.com platform. Otero believes that Dtravel will become a frictionless on-ramp into crypto and may become one of the largest, Decentralized DAOs worldwide. It could also become one of the best use cases for crypto because travel is one of the best features for crypto adoption.
The crypto craze
Travala.com was formed in 2017. It is a decentralized booking site that allows users to book accommodations, flights, and activities with its native token AVA along with other 40 cryptocurrencies. It has more than 3 million listings including flights, hotel, accommodation and activities. The site generates more than $1 million in a week, 70% of which is paid in crypto.
Dtravel business model
Dtravel will work with Travala and will be positioned as complementary to its core services. The UK based travel site, however, does not offer homeshare accommodations. Otero highlighted that Dtravel is a separate business model that will work with the centralized site.
Dtravel has had solid fundraising of $5 million by Kenetic Capital, Future Perfect Ventures, DHVC, Plutus VC, GBV Capital, AU21 Capital, Shima Capital, LD Capital and NGC Ventures including many angel investors. The functioning of Dtravel will be done by the executives of Airbnb and others. The investors have got tokens in exchange for their funds.
Dtravel Vs Airbnb
The fees of Dtravel are highly competitive and are less than what Airbnb charges. The fees of Airbnb is between 14% to 16% of the total booking amount. Whereas the booking fee that Dtravel charges is only 7.5%, with 1.0% going towards a protection pool to give insurance to hosts.
The other 6.5% will go into the community treasury, which will be spent to hire developers to make platform upgrades or to create user incentives.
Auspicious time to travel
The time is very right for the travellers as the world economy reopens. In 2019, $9,258 billion was contributed by the travel sector to worldwide GDP, as per the data by Statista. Moreover, the homeshare market is also on the rise.
The dominant player in the industry is Airbnb which has contributed to $92.33 billion. It is more than the valuation of international hotel chains Marriott, which is $46.53 billion, Hilton has contributed $35.56 billion respectively.
Key factors
There are certain key factors on which the model’s success is dependent. Dtravel is a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). The company’s rules are written as code called smart contracts that execute on top of the blockchain. Hence, there is no need to rely on people to perform tasks. TRVL token holders will help in running the company.
A fair and equitable distribution system, obtaining listings on leading exchanges are the other critical factors that Dtravel has to look into for its success.
Privacy is a very important factor in dealings with cryptocurrency. Dtravel will have to look into the privacy as well as security of the travellers and find a way to protect them without being unnecessarily invasive.
The platform boasts of verification check options for hosts and guests as far as privacy is concerned. The platform will also feature a review process for hosts and guests.
Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while pursuing his post-graduation major in blockchain development. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing, along with coding. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing skills, and a reliable craft at explaining the concepts such as blockchain programming, languages and token minting. He also frequently shares technical details and performance indicators of ICOs and IDOs.
