Innovative UAE-owned hospitality brand Stella Stays announces it now accepts crypto payments through its e-commerce platform. Stella Stays is taking a pioneering step as the first hospitality company in the Middle East to accept cryptocurrencies directly through their website!
Customers will be able to complete online transactions by paying in Bitcoin, Ethereum and over 35 altcoins, in just a few easy steps. When guests proceed to checkout, they can simply select crypto as the preferred method, and scan the QR code available to finalize their booking.
Stella Stays transactions use a USD-denominated stablecoin trading at 1:1 with the US Dollar, ensuring that there is no risk of fluctuations as BUSD and USDT is pegged to the dollar.
The developments in the crypto space have made it increasingly likely that cryptocurrencies will become mainstream in the near future.
At the beginning of 2022, the CEO of Airbnb, Brian Chesky, reached out to his 405,000 twitter followers asking for their suggestions on improving Airbnb booking service. The results showed a strong demand for crypto payments, suggesting that travelers are significantly more likely to own and utilize cryptocurrencies than the general public.
2021 proved to be a record year for the cryptocurrency market, surpassing $3 trillion in value in Q4. In September 2021, El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, a trend that is likely to spread in the near future as acceptance and legalization of cryptocurrency continues to increase globally.
Moreover, leading payment processing networks Visa and Mastercard are normalizing the use of cryptocurrency following Visa’s partnership with Vipps, a leading digital wallet, to accelerate mobile payments across Europe. Both Visa and Mastercard now support customers and businesses to move digital value through both traditional and crypto debit cards, enabling customers to initiate and receive payments as well as withdraw cash from an ATM with their card.
Through upgrading to a crypto experience, Stella Stays continues to be a rising star in the region’s hospitality industry. With the vision to redefine the hospitality sector, the brand offers well-designed and fully-equipped accommodation where guests can enjoy the comfort of a home and the service quality of a hotel. Stella Stays offers an unmatched, exceptional experience for guests looking for both short and long-term stays, guaranteeing a hassle-free and digital process throughout the length of their stay.
Stella Stays offers an expansive range of properties suitable for corporate travelers, digital nomads, groups of friends, and families looking for a place to stay for a period of weeks or months, with the luxury of spacious and well-equipped spaces that hotels can’t provide.
CEO and Co-founder, Mohannad Zikra, says: “Accepting cryptocurrency payments is a pioneering step for the hospitality industry in the Middle East. Being first to market with this offering, it gives us an edge as an early adopter. We are excited to offer this advancement into cryptocurrency and deliver a revolution to our digital savvy customers.
Stella Stays is a tech-centric hospitality brand that continues to build all digital offerings in-house from the development of our website with a sophisticated pricing engine to our iOS and Android apps.”
“We are constantly striving to offer our customers the best guest experience and the introduction of crypto payments is just the beginning toward futuristic tech offerings plans in the pipeline!”
Stella Stays’s 4.9 Google rating and five-star Apple App Store and Google Play rating continue to grow as the company offers its guests the ability to check out with cryptocurrencies. The company is seeing a steady increase of repeat guests that book a Stella Stays property regularly. Additionally, when Stella Stays began operations in 2019, the average length of stay was approximately three nights per booking. Today, post Covid, the average length of stay has increased to 18 nights per booking, a six times increase compared to when the brand was first established.
