Checking in at the meta-lobby… don’t forget your crypto wallet. The hospitality industry is warming up to NFTs as a way to turn vacay cancellations into tradable tokens. Reservation “no-shows” and last-minute cancellations account for up to $100M in lost sales for US hotels every year. Now hotels are turning to the blockchain to make up for it:
Welcome to CaaE… or Crypto-as-an-Experience. NFT sales have plummeted as speculative investments get crushed by higher interest rates. But a growing variety of industries — from cattle farming to fine dining — are turning to the blockchain for real-world applications. The hotel biz is just the latest:
Sounds like a travel dream… at least for hotels. While they get to offload extra inventory and keep the sales from last-minute cancellations, travelers take on the burden of reselling their room — or being stuck with it if they can’t. Plus bot-operated ticket resellers could lock up blocks of rooms during popular travel periods, hoping to flip them at a profit. It's TBD how or if the trend will catch on as major hotel players like Hilton or Marriott sit on the sidelines.