Various players across the travel industry have been
exploring – and debating – blockchain-based solutions for year.
Several years ago,
as PhocusWire began digging into this topic
, opinions were
mostly polarized - with some touting it as a revolution in the making and
others writing it off as a passing fad.
Fast forward to 2022 and there is more consensus that blockchain
can provide a smarter, faster and more secure mechanism for transactions of any
kind, which in travel can include booking, payment, settlement and identity.
Blockskye
,
Arise
and
Dtravel
are three of the companies
operating blockchain-based travel systems today.
In a session at
The Phocuswright Conference
, Blocksksye co-founder
and co-CEO Brook Armstrong says the company – focused on corporate travel - currently
handles about 2,200 transactions with $1 to $2 million in value daily. Blockskye’s
partners include Kayak and United Airlines and it is enabling direct bookings
for a large corporate client.
According to Arise co-founder and CEO Nadim el Manawy, Arise
operates a similar distributed-ledger based network for transactions between
hotels and travel sellers such as online travel agencies and travel management
companies. And Cynthia Huang is head of demand growth at Dtravel, which uses
blockchain to power direct booking websites and a direct booking engine for vacation
rentals.
In the discussion with Phocuswright senior technology and
corporate market analyst Norm Rose, panelists explain how blockchain enables a
new model that shifts the ownership and management of data to individual users
and that creates a transparent, scalable source of truth between transacting
parties – boosting security, efficiency and revenue.
Watch the full panel discussion below.
Executive Panel: Blockchain - Game Changer or Bust?