The Dtravel platform will be powered by the TRVL token and will allow payments in cryptocurrency.
Travel booking platform Travala announced yesterday that it is launching a decentralized home sharing platform to provide an alternative to Airbnb. The platform will be called Dtravel and will allow users to pay with cryptocurrency as well as with traditional methods for short and long term stays.
The team behind Dtravel consists of former executives from global technology companies such as Airbnb and Expedia. The project raised $ 5 million in a seed round supported by NGC Ventures, Kenetic Capital, AU21 Capital, Future Perfect Ventures and others.
The current model of the home-sharing economy is compromised by centralized control, high fees, limited payment options, and low levels of trust. These are all problems that Dtravel is trying to solve.
Juan Otero, CEO and co-founder of Travala, explains: “Traditional home-sharing platforms are targeted at their users in the early stages, but over time that changes. With the need to return profits to shareholders, home-sharing platforms are forced to get as much as possible out of the transactions on their platforms. Dtravel primarily meets the needs of the home sharing community. The product is easy to use, highly secure and optimized for the next generation of hosts and guests who want to regain control of their travel experience.“
The Dtravel Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) gives back control to the community by allowing it to manage the platform. The introduction of decentralized finance (DeFi) blockchain technology and smart contracts also creates better trust between guests and hosts.
The platform will have its own token, TRVL, which can be used to book stays, control the platform and qualify for rewards through staking. TRVL will soon be available on both Ethereum and the Binance Smart Chain, and more than $ 35 million in TRVL will be available for the first 100,000 hosts to register.
TRVL aims to align with the interests of Dtravel users, who can also earn additional revenue through referrals and participation in troubleshooting, community forums, and user support. Guests can pay for their stays with different cryptocurrencies and the fees are 7.5 %, compared to up to 20% charged by similar centralized platforms. Hosts can also enjoy up to $1 million in damage protection and liability insurance.
Future Perfect Ventures Founding Partner, Jalak Jobanputra, added: „With the incipient upsurge of travel and a record-breaking interest in blockchain technologies such as cryptocurrencies, Dtravel is giving eager people what has been lacking so far: control and ownership over their own travel experiences.“
