Travala.com’s vision is to build the largest blockchain-based online travel agency (OTA) in the world. As evidenced by the growth of Travala.com since its creation in 2017, both in booking volume and in the total number of travel products available to book, this vision is quickly becoming a reality.
However, one of the missing pieces to achieve our goal of over 10 million travel products bookable on Travala.com was the inclusion of the best Homes on a global scale.
Travala.com explored collaboration with Airbnb but after several attempts the negotiations failed. This helped spawn an idea to support the creation of a decentralized home-sharing network that could help Travala.com reach its goal.
Upon validating both valuable synergies with the existing Travala.com platform and market demand for a decentralized home sharing platform, Travala.com became part of a genesis team to help take the project from concept to reality, together with other former executives from Airbnb, Expedia, and other leading technology companies.
Dtravel, which will be connected by a new token called TRVL, aims to secure a direct supply of vacation properties to build a new world for the home-sharing economy — one that puts hosts and guests on an equal playing field with network operators.
Property owners who list their homes on Dtravel will engage with a community-governed DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) and other community members rather than a centralized organization.
The primary activity on Dtravel is allowing hosts and guests to engage in booking short and long-term stays in a peer-to-peer manner. Dtravel will also incorporate additional elements that leverage DeFi (Decentralized Finance) among a number of valuable synergies with Travala.com and its community. Some examples of these synergies that will benefit Travala.com and AVA holders include:
- Creating a Homes vertical on Travala.com powered by Dtravel to expand Travala.com’s product offering and increase revenue
- Cross-selling and upselling core Travala.com products — such as flights, hotels and activities Dtravel users to increase customer reach and revenue for Travala.com
- AVA token holders will be able to earn TRVL — We will follow up with more details around this closer to the TGE launch
- AVA holders will be able to earn Dtravel VIP NFT Memberships — which grant access to exclusive benefits including discounts, unique experiences and monthly prize drops — will be available for frequent bookers on Travala.com
- AVA will be integrated as a preferred payment method on Dtravel for bookings
Other use cases that add value to both Travala.com and AVA in the Dtravel home-sharing economy, such as having AVA as a reserve/collateral asset for DeFi usage on Dtravel, will constantly be evaluated and communicated to the community.
Dtravel is currently managed by a standalone team of travel and blockchain industry experts with experience in companies such as Airbnb, Expedia, and other global technology companies. As part of the initial phase, Dtravel is receiving support from Travala.com to launch and distribute its home inventory.
Travala.com FAQ about Dtravel
Will AVA token holders be able to earn TRVL?
Yes, Dtravel will set aside a fixed amount of TRVL tokens exclusively for AVA token holders. The first airdrop will take place within 30 days from the token generation event (TGE). More details about this will be shared in the coming weeks.
Will AVA token holders have access to Dtravel NFT VIP Memberships?
Yes, a fixed percentage of all the Founder Edition NFTs created will be exclusively allocated to AVA token holders. More details about this will be shared in the coming weeks.
Who is the team behind Dtravel?
Dtravel is a community-owned project supported by contributors comprising former executives from Airbnb, Expedia, and other global technology companies.
How can I support Dtravel?
The best way to support Dtravel initially is by joining the Dtravel community channels on Telegram and Twitter.
What impact will this have on Travala.com and its community?
Travala.com expects to observe significant value added to the Travala.com platform and the Travala.com community as a result of synergies with Dtravel.
Firstly, Travala.com users will soon have the option of booking the best homes as part of their travel experience — a key driver behind Travala.com’s decision to contribute to Dtravel.
Secondly, it is likely that many Dtravel users will book their flights, connecting hotels, activities, and other future travel products on Travala.com. To capture this value, Travala.com and Dtravel will be engaging in cross-marketing initiatives across their respective communities, enabling both Travala.com and Dtravel to benefit from a wider audience and connect the communities with the latest technologies and products in travel.
Are funds from Travala.com being used on Dtravel?
No, Travala.com has not contributed any funds to Dtravel.
Dtravel has secured over $5M seed fundraising round from Kenetic Capital, Future Perfect Ventures, DHVC, Plutus VC, GBV Capital, AU21 Capital, Shima Capital, LD Capital, and NGC Ventures, as well as several angel investors including former executives at Airbnb, Expedia, Uber and Google, some of whom have also become contributors to Dtravel.
Would this derail some of the more decentralized and homestay ambitions that Travala.com had?
Travala.com sees a future where travel products offered on our platform are progressively decentralized. This means reducing involvement of third parties by directly contracting travel suppliers. Alongside improvements to the booking experience, travel inventory and synergies with blockchain ecosystem partners, we see a ton of value accruing to both Travala.com and the AVA token.
For comparison, this is similar to how Booking.com is a booking engine and has a stake and/or relationship with other booking platforms like Priceline, Agoda, Kayak, OpenTable, and RentalCars.
Will there be benefits or special discounts for Travala.com users or AVA holders?
Discussions continue with the Dtravel team in regards to expanding the range of benefits to Travala.com users and AVA holders.
You can find the links to Dtravel and TRVL information below:
