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Hotels Now Accept Bitcoins

200,000 Hotels Now Accept Bitcoin Through Online Travel Agency CheapAir

California-based travel agency CheapAir.com has announced that it is expanding its service to allow bitcoin users to book hotel stays with the cryptocurrency.

CheapAir has been accepting bitcoin for flight bookings since Novemberwhen it partnered with Coinbase, however until today, users have not been able to pay in bitcoin for its extensive hotel inventory.

Speaking to CoinDesk, CEO and founder Jeff Klee voiced his enthusiasm for becoming the “first company in the US” to allow bitcoin users to book hotel stays with the virtual currency:

“Bitcoin gets a bad rap in mainstream media. What I found is that the people who use bitcoin are great, they’re passionate and they’re looking to solve a lot of the problems inherent in the economic system and the world.”

The news garnered a largely positive reaction on reddit and the BitcoinTalk forum, with ambitious bitcoin users even suggesting they would pass the news along to other travel companies that have expressed a cautious interest in bitcoin.

Better-than-expected return

“For it to become a really big part of our business, bitcoin itself needs to grow. We think it will.”

Klee indicates that the decision to expand its program to include hotels was due to a “better than anticipated” response from the community after it began accepting bitcoin payment for flights.

“We had no idea what to expect, however, it generated a nice enthusiasm,” Klee recounts.

Klee did not share specific numbers, but did say that bitcoin customers are more likely to become loyal than traditional customers, and that his company receives “a nice volume of emails from bitcoin customers”. Still, despite these benefits, he won’t call bitcoin a game-changer for CheapAir just yet, though he thinks CheapAir’s position could change as the currency gains more loyal users.

How CheapAir pays hotels

For CheapAir, paying hotels and flight providers is still a challenge, but one they find worthwhile given the currency’s dedicated customers and engaged base. Klee noted that in order to process transactions, CheapAir must accept the bitcoin and exchange it for fiat currency before paying hotels. This means certain hotels, those that require patrons to pay at checkout, will still be off limits to bitcoin customers.

Klee notes that “once in a while you’ll see a hotel on our site that won’t have a bitcoin logo by it”, but that the majority of properties on the site will see the bitcoin logo clearly displayed on its listings.

Source: http://www.coindesk.com/200000-hotels-accept-bitcoin-cheapair/

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Bitcoin ATM in Singapore

Singapore’s First Bitcoin ATM to Arrive in March

A Singapore company is planning to install the island’s first bitcoin ATM by April.

The firm, Bitcoin Exchange, has purchased a Lamassu unit that it expects will arrive mid-March. It plans to install more ATMs if the first unit is well received. Zann Kwan, one of the company’s directors, said:

“The good thing is that the Singapore government has left bitcoin alone. It’s treated like silver or gold, and if you want to [deal in it] it’s at your own risk. The ATM will create a lot more interest in bitcoin.”

According to Kwan, the machine’s location hasn’t been decided just yet. The company is looking for a location inside one of Singapore’s many shopping malls.

Kwan made it clear that the ATM would not charge a fee for each transaction, supplying bitcoin at a premium to market rates instead. She said the company had not decided what exchange it would take its rates from yet.

The Singapore bitcoin economy has been growing, although it’s still mainly driven by early adopters, she added:

“There are a few bars that are accepting bitcoins now, and people are talking about it. But you need a few people to start the ball rolling, then the momentum will pick up.”

Bartini Kitchen

One of the republic’s cryptocurrency-accepting bars is Bartini Kitchen. The cocktail bar and restaurant, located in the heart of the city’s financial district, began accepting bitcoin payments at the end of November.

Several customers have paid for their food and drinks from Bartini Kitchen’s modern European menu in bitcoin since then, according to bartender Amir. He said:

“There’ve been just a few transactions, not many of our customers know about bitcoin. But overall, it’s been a positive response.”

Bartini Kitchen draws a cosmopolitan after-work crowd from the office towers that dominate the skyline in this part of town. The restaurant is part of a group of seven other bars and eateries, including a Japanese restaurant called Mariko’s that also takes bitcoin.

According to Amir, the group’s management are keen bitcoin supporters. Bartini’s mixologists are led by Barnaby Murdoch, a British expat who mixed drinks at London nightspots Kitts, Rudy’s Revenge and Rubicon.

Singapore’s tax authority issued guidelines on how to tax bitcoin back in December, becoming one of the world’s first regulatory institutions to do so. The republic is also the base of digital currency startups, like payment processor GoCoin and Ripple Singapore, a bullion exchange using the Ripple network.

Source: http://www.coindesk.com/singapores-first-bitcoin-atm-due-march/

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