Crypto Comes to the Short Term Rental Space
Disruption creates opportunity...
We’ve all heard of AirBnB, VRBO, HomeAway, and the myriad of other short term rental sites that have popped up in the last few years. Renting unique apartments, homes, castles, cabins, and more has become incredibly popular, especially as more people have found themselves able to work from home.
So in many ways, it was only a matter of time before a cryptocurrency startup merged the power of blockchain with the allure of travel.
Enter Stay365, a startup that launched this year. I recently caught up with Josh Williams, the young, energetic co-founder and COO of the venture. He was kind enough to answer a few questions of mine.
Q: How is Stay365 a disrupter in the world of short term rentals?Â
Josh: Stay365 is committed to providing a superior travel experience for digital nomads, across multiple key cities and regions – the hotspots of remote working. We’re enabling on-chain travel rentals, experiences, providing a sort of Proof-of-travel in the form of an NFT when travelers book trips.  With healthy crypto rewards for both booking and hosting in our native token, $STAYS. We will work with regional councils & travel and tourism agencies to integrate digital nomads directly with cities they most frequently visit. Our Travel Passport NFTs will connect directly to local transport networks and administrative services to augment trips with peace of mind.
Q; How does cryptocurrency change the game for renters and hosts?Â
Josh: Cryptocurrency enables multiple things really – it depends on who you are. So, a professional host could create a strong brand, rewarding renters with tokens, selling NFTs to maybe co-own the properties and fund getting new ones. Or if you’re a full travel ecosystem like we’re aiming to be, as you scale and get network effects, cryptocurrency can be a realty strong driver to ensure collaboration between all parties.
Q: Could you tell me more about $STAYS?
Josh: $STAYS feeds right into the above point. It will drive the ecosystem we’re building, giving hosts, experiences, transport options, city councils and incentive to get involved in the network, to integrate more deeply with a growing network of digital nomads. And then of course, when we reach a critical booking revenue level, $STAYS will be used as a de-facto payment method of its own right. Booking trips with $STAYS? Now that’s something I’d like to see.
Q: What attracted you to crypto?Â
Josh: I was first drawn into the ever-evolving environment that is crypto by the sheer levels of excitement in the space. Like, this is a group of random people on the internet who are building new tech, messing things up, trying again. Even when at first there was almost no enthusiasm from anyone else. Innovation is often like that. The energy was fantastic though – as well as the tech, and the endless possibilities it brings with it.
Q: How do you see cryptocurrency impacting tourism and hospitality in the next few years?Â
Josh: There’s a lot of potential with cryptocurrency impacting tourism broadly over the next few years. I’d be hesitant to say much macro stuff will change within 3 years. But already, big-scale organizations are seeing the potential. Say you want to encourage a growing population to visit your country? Or you’re looking for nomads as a temporary economy uplift? Crypto helps. It’s a structural layer issue – you might say well, you can do that with fiat. It’s just easier to align incentives from multiple parties with crypto. It’s better, faster. Sounds like a no-brainer to me.
Find out more about Stay365 here:
The Crypto Connection is for entertainment purposes only and is not meant to be financial advice. Please do your own research before investing in any asset class. Sara Celi is not a financial advisor, and holds several cryptocurrencies. To purchase her books on Amazon, please click here.