Travala expands booking support to Solana-based assets, offers SOL travel rewards

Crypto-native travel bookings platform Travala has integrated with Solana, the fourth-largest blockchain by market cap, expanding support to its third network beyond Ethereum and BNB Chain.

Travala CEO Juan Otero announced the news during a panel discussion at Solana Breakpoint in Singapore on Saturday. The integration will allow users to book flights, hotels and accommodation with Solana-based assets, including SOL, USDT and USDC, among others.

Users will also be able to receive up to 10% of their bookings' value back in SOL travel rewards through its loyalty program, alongside BTC and Travala’s native token, AVA. 

“The Solana network has become one of the most-used blockchains due to its cost-effectiveness and scalability,” Otero said in a statement shared with The Block. “The technologies that can be harnessed on the Solana network open significant avenues to build the next phase of travel.”

Following a community vote, AVA is also being deployed on Solana in addition to the Ethereum and BNB Chain versions of Travala's token.

Although Travala currently supports dozens of cryptocurrencies for bookings, fewer than ten are natively supported within the platform's user account wallets. Following the integration, users can now deposit and withdraw SOL, USDT and USDC on the Solana network directly into and out of their Travala accounts, with zero-fee transactions on travel bookings.

Travala also plans to embrace Solana in a big way in the future. “Solana will become a cornerstone of Travala’s development strategy moving forwards, with the goal of creating products that expand the real-world utility of the Solana ecosystem,” the Travala team said.

Skyscanner integrates with Travala

Earlier this month, global travel marketplace Skyscanner, which claims to have 110 million monthly users who make 80 billion searches daily, integrated with Travala to offer hotel bookings in over 100 cryptocurrencies.

Skyscanner's integration is a first for a crypto-native platform, making Travala’s 2.2 million hotel inventory discoverable alongside leading travel agencies such as Expedia and Booking.com.

Originally built on the Neo blockchain when it launched in 2017, Travala migrated to BNB Chain in 2020 to benefit from the network’s improved scalability, lower fees and greater adoption as part of a broader effort to expand its reach and tap into the larger crypto and decentralized finance ecosystems.